May 10, 2021 7 min read

High school baseball

West Mifflin scored four runs in the fourth inning Monday and defeated visiting Ringgold 5-2 to clinch at least a share of the Class 4 A Section 3 championship.

Three pitchers combined on a six-hitter for West Mifflin (9-1, 10-4).

The Titans trailed 2-1 before scoring the four runs in the fourth on consecutive two-run singles.

Hunter Mamie had two of the Ringgold (3-6, 7-8) hits, including a double.

• Albert Gallatin rallied from a 4-0 deficit after three innings to down Trinity, 8-5, in a Section 4 game in Class 5A.

AG (3-6, 3-7) is hanging on to fourth place in the section. The Colonials took advantage of five Trinity errors and eight walks.

Brent Kurts had two RBI and Brandon Robaugh doubled for Trinity (1-9, 4-11).

High school softball

Madi Blaker threw five shutout innings Monday to lead Mapletown to a 10-0 win over Monessen and sew up a playoff berth from Class A Section 2.

Taylor Dusenberry had two hits and two RBI as Mapletown (5-2, 7-5) scored eight times in the bottom of the fifth to end it. Briell Price had a single and RBI.

Monessen (1-7, 1-13) was eliminated from playoff contention.

• London Whipkey homered, doubled and drove in four runs as Class A Section 1 leader West Greene defeated Avella 11-1 in five innings.

Whipkey’s home run was one of three round-trippers for the Pioneers (7-0, 11-2). Olivia Kiger belted a solo homer and winning pitcher Kiley Meek had a three-run shot in West Greene’s 10-run third inning. In the circle, Meek struck out nine, walked two and fired a one-hitter. Meek and Whipkey also doubled.

Reilly Ullom had the lone hit for Avella (1-8, 1-11).

• Lexie Vetter went 3-for-3 with a home run, and Hanna Binek homered and doubled as South Fayette defeated host North Hills 9-3 in a non-section game.

Vetter, Delaney Homer and winning pitcher Stephanie Binek had three hits each for South Fayette (11-6), which had a 15-hit attack. Homer had a double, as did Abbey Girman.

The Lions broke a 2-2 tie with a four-run third inning and scored seven unanswered runs.

• Callie Sowers threw a four-hitter and struck out 11 as Hempfield scored all its runs early and defeated visiting Canon-McMillan 4-2 in a non-section game.

Hempfield (10-5) scored a pair of runs in both the second and third innings to build a four-run cushion. Canon-McMillan (7-7) battled back behind Olivia Ulam, who went 3-for-3 with a solo homer, a double and scored both Big Macs runs.

Emma Hoffner had a double and triple for Hempfield but didn’t score or drive in a run.

• Victoria Washinski homered, doubled twice and drove in five runs, and Madison Bednar threw a three-inning no-hitter as Frazier defeated Beth-Center 20-0 in Class 2A Section 3.

Frazier remained in first place in the section at 10-0 (13-3 overall). Beth-Center dropped to 2-7, 4-8.

The Commodores wasted no time taking control of the game, scoring 12 runs in the top of the first inning.

Riley Evans and Delaney Warnick each homered, Jensyn Hartman had a triple and Bednar doubled twice. Hartman and Evans each drove in four runs.

Bednar struck out five and walked two.

• Elizabeth Forward inched closer to the Class 4A Section 2 title with a 6-0 victory over Belle Vernon.

Kailey Larcinese fired a six-hit shutout and struck out 16 as the Warriors improved to 10-0 in section and 13-2 overall. EF’s Anna Resnick went 3-for-4 with a home run and double, and Shelby Telegdy also homered.

Maren Metikosh provided half of the hits for Belle Vernon (6-5, 9-8) with two singles and a double. Abby Fabian had two doubles.

• California’s Mylaina Pendo hit two solo home runs but Brentwood defeated the Trojans 18-5 in six innings in a non-section game.

Brentwood (6-8) had a 22-hit attack and took advantage of six California errors. The Spartans had to overcome an early 4-0 deficit.

Jordyn Cruse had a double for California (5-12).

• Penn-Trafford slipped past Trinity 5-3 in a non-section game. No game details were made available. The Hillers were scheduled to play a Class 5A Section 4 doubleheader against Western Beaver on Monday but those games were canceled and replaced with the Penn-Trafford contest.

Cal’s Riggle receives Dal Canton Award

California University honored one of its greats last weekend with the presentation of the 12th Bruce Dal Canton Pitching Award, which is given to a Vulcan pitcher who exemplifies greatness of character. The award is in memory of Dal Canton, a former standout at California and in the major leagues, who died in 2008 from esophageal cancer.

Senior Nick Riggle repeated as the recipient of the award. He holds a 7-3 record and ranks fourth in the PSAC with a team-best 3.15 ERA. Riggle is tied for the league lead with 11 starts and sits third in the conference, and fifth in the country, with five complete games. The Keystone Oaks graduate has set a career high with 50 strikeouts over 68.2 innings.

In his career, Riggle has a 23-12 record over 45 appearances with 44 starts.

California (25-15) begins play in the PSAC tournament Wednesday at Mercyhurst.

ESPN re-signs Berman

Chris Berman will continue to host “NFL PrimeTime” after agreeing to a new contract with ESPN.

The multiyear agreement was announced on Berman’s 66th birthday Monday.

“We’ve been working on it for awhile, and this was the perfect time to do it,” Berman said during a telephone interview. “ESPN has been almost two-thirds of my life. I’m honored that what I do still works.”

Berman has been an integral part of ESPN throughout its history after joining the network a month after its launch in September 1979. Besides being one of the original “SportsCenter” anchors, he has been a key part of the network’s NFL and baseball coverage.

In the NHL

Taylor Hall scored his second goal of the game 2:53 into overtime and the Boston Bruins beat the New York Islanders in their home finale on Monday night to clinch third place in the East Division.

Brad Marchand also scored for Boston, which will face second-place Washington in the first round of the playoffs. Tuukka Rask had 16 saves.

New York will face East champion Pittsburgh in the first round.

In the NFL

When the Indianapolis Colts didn’t select a left tackle in the NFL draft, they started shopping for veterans.

On Monday, they may have found a solution.

The Colts filled their most glaring need by signing free agent Eric Fisher, according to two people with direct knowledge of the negotiations. They requested anonymity because the Colts have not officially announced the move. Terms of the deal were not immediately available.

If the two-time Pro Bowler returns quickly from the torn left Achilles tendon he suffered in January, he could be the perfect blindside protector as new quarterback Carson Wentz tries to revive his career.

Correction

Pitcher Austin Beattie was misidentified on second reference in the McGuffey baseball story in Sunday’s edition.