Westmoreland high school notebook: County teams play baseball, softball doubleheaders Monday

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, May 19, 2018 | 8:18 PM

Westmoreland County softball and baseball fans will be treated Monday to several playoff doubleheaders around the district.

The Yough and Latrobe softball teams will get a preview of the new site for the WPIAL championships when they play separate games at Seton Hill.

It will be one of three softball quarterfinal doubleheaders featuring local teams.

In Class 4A, No. 2 Yough (15-3) plays No. 7 Indiana (13-5) at 2 p.m., followed by Class 6A No. 3 Latrobe (10-3) vs. No. 11 No. Peters Township (10-8 at 4.

Seton Hill will host the WPIAL finals on May 30-31.

“I like it,” Yough coach Dutch Harvey said of playing a second-round game at SHU. “I hope it is a preview for us.”

Two games at Latrobe feature Class 5A No. 3 seed Penn-Trafford (16-3) facing No. 11 Thomas Jefferson (11-5) at 5 p.m. and Class 6A No. 1 Hempfield (17-3) takes on No. 8 Connellsville (10-6) at 7.

And at Fox Chapel, Class 4A No. 1 Mt. Pleasant (15-0) plays No. 9 Knoch (13-5) at 3 p.m., followed by Class 6A No. 5 Norwin (11-6) vs. No. 4 North Allegheny (14-7) in 6A at 5.

Meanwhile, Class A baseball rivals Jeannette and Greensburg Central Catholic, the teams that met in last year's WPIAL championship game, will play back-to-back at Fox Chapel.

No. 3 seed GCC (12-5) will meet No. 6 Eden Christian (8-7) at 2 p.m., followed by No. 5 Jeannette (12-3) vs. No. 4 Quigley (13-1) at 4:30.

All-section teams

The Big ⁵⁄₆ Conference, which recognizes accomplishments of WPIAL schools in Classes 6A and 5A, announced all-section baseball and softball teams.

Local Section 2-6A first-team baseball players were Isaiah DiAndreth, Luke Hudson and Jake Anderson of Hempield; Nick Zona of Norwin; Jordan Sabol and Zach Mancz of Penn-Trafford.

Hempfield's Tim Buzzard was named coach of the year.

Section 3-5A baseball: Alex Frey of Franklin Regional, and Griffin Clark of Latrobe.

Section 2-6A softball: Megan Monzo, Laura Fox, Ashley Orischak, and Maddie Uschock of Hempfield; Sarah Blair, Kiley Myers and Makayla Munchinski of Latrobe; Hailee Culbertson and Alex Brentzel of Norwin. Brian Mesich of Norwin won coach of the year.

Section 3-5A: Mallory Halleck, Christina Kemerer and Angalee Beall of Franklin Regional; Morgan Nedley, Emma Armstrong, Emma Nedley and Brooke Cleland of Penn-Trafford; and Megan Andree of Kiski Area.

Penn-Trafford's Denny Little was the coach of the year.

WCCA results

The sixth Westmoreland County Coaches Association football underclassman showcase last weekend drew 122 participants from Westmoreland, Allegheny and Fayette counties.

Organizers said there were 48 college coaches on hand to evaluate players in a number of drills.

Top finishers included: Bryce Kurpiel of Greensburg Central Catholic (4.41 seconds, 40-yard dash and 10 feet, 5 inches in standing broad jump), Nick Leopold of Franklin Regional (3.75, pro shuttle run) and Mike Evans of Franklin Regional (29 reps at 135 pounds, bench press).

A good cause

Yough softball announced it raised more than $6,000 for its “Strike Out Cancer” fundraiser game earlier this month.

The money, raised through the selling of shirts and hoodies, and pledges from players for hits, steals and other highlights in games, will go to help cancer-stricken Yough students Devin Science and JT Waywood.

Cougars coach Dutch Harvey said he would donate 10 percent of his coaching salary to the cause.

Recruiting

Latrobe junior football player Trent Holler added four Division I scholarship offers last week: Fordham, Lehigh, Maine and Connecticut.

The 6-foot-3, 285-pound center and defensive end also has offers from Youngstown State, Duquesne, Robert Morris and Albany.

• Derry wrestler Dom DeLuca received his first Division I offer, from Virginia Military Institute. DeLuca went 48-5 last season and finished runner-up at the PIAA championships at 220 pounds after winning a WPIAL title.

• Norwin football standout Jayvon Thrift picked up an offer from Ohio University.

Monessen firsts

Monessen is one of four county schools to send its baseball and softball team to this week's WPIAL quarterfinals.

The Greyhounds' baseball team is coming off its first playoff win in school history — 2-0 over Western Beaver — and softball, despite recent success in the program, captured its first section title.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Hempfield Area, Jeannette, Mt. Pleasant, Yough