Mar 31, 2022 7 min read

High school softball

Alyssa Rager belted three extra-base hits and drove in six runs as Trinity defeated visiting South Fayette 11-1 in six innings in the Hillers’ Class 5A Section 4 opener Thursday.

Rager went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a pair of doubles as Trinity improved its record to 5-1 overall with the first four wins coming in Tennessee.

Riley Hoy, Regan Miller and Hanna Suhoski each contributed a double for Trinity and Addison Agnew drove in two runs.

Winning pitcher Taylor Dunn struck out six and did not issue a walk.

Haley Nicholson doubled and scored the lone run for South Fayette (0-2, 2-3).

• Nicole Palmer fired a four-inning perfect game as Frazier blanked Washington 15-0 in Class 2A Section 3.

Palmer struck out 10 batters and got plenty of offensive support as the Commodores (1-0, 2-0) had 12 hits, including three that went for extra bases. Victoria Washinski had a double, triple and three RBI. Maria Fisher and Grace Vaughn also drove in three runs apiece. Vaughn had a double.

• Jordyn Cruse and Kendell Weston each smacked a double and triple to power California to an 11-1 win in six innings over host Beth-Center in Class 2A Section 3.

Cruse drove in three runs for California, and Weston scored three times and drove in a pair. Kendall Griffin, Harley Harkins and Abby Slazman each had a triple for the Trojans, and Gabby Pendo smacked a double. Eight of the Trojans’ 13 hits went for extra bases.

All the offense backed the winning pitching of Amaya Owens, who tossed a four-hitter.

Freshman Mia Smith fired a two-hitter over 6 1/3

• innings and struck out 14 as Penn-Trafford built a lead in the middle innings and held off a late rally to edge Canon-McMillan 5-3 in non-section play.

The Warriors scored one run in the third, three in the fourth and one in the fifth for a 5-0 lead. Canon-McMillan scored three times in the sixth after P-T switched pitchers. One of the runs came on a double by the Kiersten Williams. The Warriors brought Smith back in to pitch in the sixth after the Big Macs had closed to within 5-3.

C-M pitcher Brooke Perri struck out 13.

• Winning pitcher Olivia Kolwitz threw a four-hitter and was a force at the plate by driving in five runs as Belle Vernon defeated Laurel Highlands 15-2 in a five-inning game in Class 4A Section 2.

Kolowitz had a home run and two singles as Belle Vernon (1-0, 2-1-1) unleashed a 15-hit attack. Ashley Joll had a single, double, triple and three RBI, and Maren Metikosh smacked two doubles and a single to go with three RBI.

Lexi Grimm and Payton Vitikacs each hit a solo home run to account for the lone runs for LH (0-1, 0-2).

High school baseball

Mario Griffin, Zakery Burt and Wayne Sparks-Gatling combined for nine RBI as Washington picked up its first win of the season, 18-7, over Monessen in a non-section game at Wild Things Park.

Griffin drove in three runs, two on an inside-the-park home run. Burt and Sparks-Gatling each drove in three runs and hit a double. Nick Blanchette had a triple among the Prexies’ 12 hits.

Iain Callan and Griffin combined on a six-hitter as Wash High improved its record to 1-2.

Jack Sacco had a double for the only extra-base hit by Monessen (0-2).

• Brock Wallace and Brogan Meighen combined on a three-hit shutout as McGuffey won its Class 3A Section 4 opener over Frazier, 10-0 in six innings, at Wild Things Park.

Wallace allowed two hits, struck out five and walked only one over five innings for the win.

McGuffey (1-0, 2-1) took advantage of six errors by Frazier (0-1, 0-2). The Highlanders scored four times in the second inning, added three runs in the third and ended the game with a three-run sixth.

Keith Ryan went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs, Austin Hall smacked a triple and Jacob Ross doubled.

• Caden Norcutt pitched six strong innings and leadoff hitter Johnny Ioannou had a double and triple as Plum defeated visiting Ringgold 6-1 in a non-section game.

Norcutt threw six shutout innings, striking out six and walking only two. Ringgold (1-1) avoided the shutout with a run in the seventh on an RBI double by Zane Mahoney that scored Brad Banaszak.

• Carmichaels scored eight runs in the fourth inning en route to an 11-1 win over West Greene in non-section play.

Drake Long and Trenton Carter combined on a six-hitter with Long pitching the first four innings. Carter struck out four over two innings.

Carter hit a three-run homer and Nick Ricco added a two-run shot, both coming in the big fourth inning by the Mikes (2-0). Long hit a triple, and Chris Barrish had a double and triple. Long, Barrish and Ricco, the top three hitters in the Mikes’ lineup, went 8-for-12 with four runs and five RBI.

Corey Wise hit a solo home run for West Greene.

• Belle Vernon pounded out 14 hits and defeated vsiiting California 13-3 in six innings in a non-section game.

Brady Hoffman had a double, triple and four RBI to lead the Leopards at the plate. Jake Wessel had two doubles and scored three times, Andrew Sokol tripled and parker Lind doubled.

Lind and mark Toth combined on a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts. The lone hit for California was a two-run single by Jordan Kearns.

WVU hires coach

South Dakota women’s basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit, who took the Coyotes to a surprising run to the Sweet 16, was hired Thursday as coach at West Virginia.

Plitzuweit replaces Mike Carey, who retired two weeks ago after 21 seasons.

South Dakota beat Ole Miss and No. 2 seed Baylor in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Michigan, 52-49. The Coyotes finished the season 29-6.

“Dawn is a proven winner everywhere she has been, and her track record for sustained success is impressive,” West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons said in a statement. “When we started our search, it was quite obvious that her reputation as a program builder and championship coach put her at the top of our list.”

Lyons said Plitzuweit will have a five-year contract worth a total of $3 million with a starting salary of $550,000, plus incentives.

Plitzuweit went 158-36 in six seasons at South Dakota, including four NCAA Tournament appearances. She was named the Summit League’s coach of the year three times.

She won a Division II national championship in 2006 as head coach at Grand Valley State.

Plitzuweit has the task of replacing West Virginia’s all-time winningest coach. Carey went 447-239 but had just one NCAA Tournament appearance in the past five seasons and never took the Mountaineers past the second round in his career.

“I just cannot wait to get to Morgantown to meet with our team and to connect with them,” Plitzuweit said.

She’ll inherit a team that went 15-15 this past season and lost leading scorer KK Deans to the transfer portal last week.