Westmoreland notebook: GCC, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland in PIAA softball playoffs

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, June 4, 2022 | 5:34 PM

The PIAA softball playoff field is set and three local teams will begin play Monday.

All three will have lengthy road trips.

WPIAL Class 5A runner-up Penn-Trafford (18-3) will play at Twin Valley (17-8), the District 3 runner-up, at 4 p.m.

In Class 3A, Southmoreland (14-4) visits Bald Eagle (10-5), the District 6 champion, at 4 p.m. at Milesburg Little League Complex in Bellefonte.

And in Class A, Greensburg Central Catholic (13-6) plays at DuBois Central Catholic (19-3) at 3 p.m. at Heindl Field in DuBois. DCC won District 9.

The state quarterfinals are Thursday.

Cunningham tournament set

The 2nd Tre Cunningham Memorial Boys Basketball Tournament is set for Thursday through Saturday at Jeannette.

Eight boys varsity teams are in the field.

Opening games Thursday include Deer Lakes vs. Jeannette at 6:30 p.m. and Greensburg Central Catholic vs. Latrobe at 7:30 at Jeannette High School; and Monessen vs. Penn-Trafford (7) and Geibel vs. Jeannette (8) at Jeannette Middle School. On Friday, Monessen plays Yough (6:30) and Penn-Trafford faces Geibel (7:30) at the high school, with GCC vs. Deer Lakes (7), and Latrobe vs. Yough (8) at the middle school.

A single-elimination tournament will follow Saturday, with games beginning at 10 a.m.

The top two teams will play for the championship at 5 p.m.

Penn-Trafford is the defending champion.

The winner gets a championship chain, and the MVP takes home a $1,000 scholarship.

*****SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT*****
2nd Annual Trè Cunningham Memorial Basketball Tournament Matchups! Concession stands, Raffles, 50/50, and more!!! Who will take home the Championship Chain AND $1000 MVP Scholarship? @JNTEDFOUNDATION @BillBeckner pic.twitter.com/j2maZTImX9

— Tim Carney (@carney_tim) June 3, 2022

Yough AD search

Yough is expected to vote on approving a new athletic director at its next board meeting, set for June 14.

It has been nearly four months since Scott Morrison resigned after almost two years on the job.

The AD position will be full-time moving forward.

Brendan’s Angels

A hit-a-thon will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 18 at Hempfield Park to raise money for the Brendan A. McGowan Memorial Charity’s “Brendan’s Angels in the Infield.”

Cost is $20 per person, and registration ends June 15.

Funds will go toward “college scholarships, supplies and gear for local adaptive baseball teams, and medical and nutritional resources.”

Participants can seek pledges for hits and how far they go, in feet. Each hitter gets 10-15 pitches.

McGowan, a North Huntingdon resident and senior at Greensburg Central Catholic, was killed by a lightning strike in 2019 while fishing at Mammoth Park.

More information: brendansangelsintheinfield.org

Greene acres

Penn-Trafford junior football player Conlan Greene now has two Division I Football Bowl Subdivision offers.

Temple, of the American Athletic Conference, offered the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder, who was an all-conference defensive end last season for the WPIAL and PIAA Class 5A champion Warriors.

After a great talk with @StanDraytonTU and @DLpride1 I am excited to have received an offer to Temple University @DSabock @CoachScheier @Temple_FB @ptwarriorfb pic.twitter.com/UefGB3ELNL

— Conlan (@ConlanGreene) May 29, 2022

Greene also played tight end but could see a position change this season.

His other FBS offer is from Central Michigan, a school he planned to make an official to over the weekend.

Recruiting

Norwin junior kicker and punter Joey Castle has his first Division II offer from Clarion of the PSAC.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Jeannette, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland, Yough