Scholastic Notebook – 04/25/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, April 25, 2015 | 12:13 AM

It opened some eyes in October when Bailey Parshall accepted a scholarship from the Penn State softball team. Parshall is a freshman and when she accepted the scholarship, she had yet to pitch an inning in high school.

But after a month of the WPIAL softball season, it has become clear why Penn State went after Parshall.

Parshall already has established herself as one of the WPIAL’s top pitchers – as a ninth-grader. In the latest WPIAL statistics published by the Post-Gazette, Parshall leads the WPIAL in strikeouts with 115 and she is tied for the WPIAL lead in wins. She has a 10-1 record. Chartiers-Houston’s Kaitlyn Dittrich also is 10-1.

Parshall is a 5-foot-7 left-hander and she has helped Belle Vernon to an 11-2 record this season. The Leopards are 6-1 in section play.

Mighty Joe Campagna

Although Joe Campagna had a good season a year ago for the Blackhawk baseball team, you didn’t hear much about him. Blackhawk star Brendan McKay got the headlines, and rightly so. McKay was one of the best pitchers in WPIAL history.

But McKay has graduated and now Campagna has stepped into the spotlight.

Campagna, a senior shortstop, is having a monster season. He is among the top 10 in the WPIAL in hitting, home runs and RBIs. Campagna is tied for ninth in hitting with a .560 average. He leads the league in home runs with four and is tied for third in RBIs with 19.

Campagna will play next season at Slippery Rock University.

Dual Threats Times Two

Neshannock’s baseball team has a terrific one-two punch in Frank Fraschetti and Rich Serigenese. But they are a one-two punch with a one-two punch of pitching and hitting.

Both Fraschetti and Serigenese entered this week tied for the WPIAL lead in pitching wins with four. They both had 4-1 records.

But Fraschetti and Serigenese were also hitting .472 and .469, respectively. They are two of the main reasons Neshannock is the MSA Sports No. 3-ranked WPIAL Class AA team.

Gribble Changes to Pitt

When Norwin girls basketball player Alayna Gribble was named to the MSA Sports All-Netters all-star team in March, she was a William & Mary recruit.

Now, she is known as a Pitt recruit.

Gribble, a 6-foot guard-forward and one of the top juniors in Western Pennsylvania, made a verbal commitment to William & Mary in December. But on Wednesday, she backed out of her commitment and accepted a scholarship to Pitt.

Gribble turned to Pitt in just the past week. Her coach at Norwin, Brian Brozeski, was talking to Upper St. Clair coach Pete Serio at last Thursday’s Roundball Classic banquet, and that’s when the ball started rolling. Serio’s wife is Pitt coach Suzie McConnell-Serio.

“[Serio] asked coach Brozeski what track my recruiting was taking,” said Gribble. “They just started talking and coach Serio said maybe I should check out Pitt.

“Coach Brozeski told me and I just started thinking about it. We called [Pitt] and set up a meeting.”

Gribble visited Pitt on Tuesday and that’s when McConnell-Serio offered a scholarship. Gribble accepted on Wednesday.

Gribble averaged 18.6 points a game this past season in leading Norwin to a WPIAL title for the first time in school history. She averaged 6.5 points and shot 44 percent from the field. She has 1,251 career points.

Gribble is the third player on MSA’s All-Netters team that will play for Pitt. The others are Vincentian’s Brenna Wise and Seton-LaSalle’s Cassidy Walsh.

Best Ever

There has never been a javelin thrower in the history of the WPIAL like Madison Wiltrout. And she’s only a sophomore.

Wiltrout won the PIAA Class AAA javelin championship last year with a throw in the low 150s. She had bettered that throw a few different times this spring. Then on Thursday, Wiltrout went where no other girl javelin thrower from the WPIAL has ever been.

At the Penn Relays in Philadelphia Thursday, WIltrout threw 168 feet, 5 inches. It bettered the all-time WPIAL mark of 165-9 by Knoch’s Jen Crouch in 1989. WIltrout’s throw is the second-best in the country this year.

No. 1 is Sophia Rivera of Brentwood, Mo., who threw 169-6 at the Penn Relays to beat Wiltrout.

Coaching News

* One of the WPIAL’s top girls basketball coaches has resigned. North Allegheny’s Sherri McConnell stepped down after eight seasons. She won 20 games or more four of the past five seasons.

* Burgettstown hired Mark Druga as its new football coach. Druga has been a Burgettstown assistant since 2007. He takes over for Terry Havelka, who resigned after three seasons. Havelka remains as Burgettstown’s AD. Druga played at West Allegheny and Washington & Jefferson.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Blackhawk, Burgettstown, Knoch