George Guido: Apollo-Ridge baseball halts Serra Catholic’s long streak

By: George Guido
Saturday, April 24, 2021 | 6:32 PM

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The Apollo-Ridge baseball team ended Serra Catholic’s 34-game home winning streak Monday with a 5-4 victory over the Eagles at Boston Field.

Junior Brady Schrock’s two-run homer lifted the Vikings to a 5-4 victory over previously undefeated Serra. It proved to be the first home loss for the Eagles since April 16, 2016, when the Eagles fell to Greensburg Central Catholic, 8-4.

Apollo-Ridge (4-1) is now a half-game behind Serra in the Section 3-2A standings. The Vikings lost to Serra at home last Tuesday and will play Jeannette Monday and Tuesday.

Walker retires

Former Pine-Richland standout and 12-year major leaguer Neil Walker announced his retirement last week.

The first time I saw Walker was as a freshman catcher with Pine-Richland on May 8, 2001. Walker blasted a pitch from Knoch’s Jason Dolmayer far over the left-center field fence at Laura Doerr Park. It threatened to hit a pavilion way beyond the fence.

Walker also doubled to ignite a seven-run rally as the Rams clinched the Section 3-AAA title. Knoch needed the win to create a tie for section honors. One could easily see a bright future at the time for Walker.

Pine-Richland mess

Also on the Neil Walker front, the former big leaguer weighed in on the Pine-Richland football coaching situation with Eric Kasperowicz being told his contract wouldn’t be renewed.

Walker said he hopes the controversy won’t give the school district a “huge black eye” that affects the football and overall sports programs, along with the school district itself.

Walker is right.

Pine-Richland has everything going for it right now — financial resources such as high property values and a solid academic reputation with 72% of the students taking advanced placement courses.

The annual median household income in Pine Township is $153,312. That means as many households earn more than 153K as those who earn less. Contrast that with my native town of Arnold, where the median household income is $29,167, according to datausa.com.

Yes, Pine-Richland has come a long way since the days when I was broadcasting for WKPA Radio and Westmoreland Cable TV-3. There was no press box at the old football stadium along Bakerstown Road, and then-athletic director Ozzie Santacroce — one of the all-time nicest guys — would set us up in the bed of the school pickup truck and we’d pray for no rain.

Its press box now eclipses that of many small colleges.

But Pine-Richland better be careful. It doesn’t take long for a school district to go from world class to world morass. All you need is for the public to elect a couple of clunkers to the school board. Or for the school board make a couple of bad administrative hires.

In a Sports Illustrated article several years back, Pine-Richland was referred to as “a tony suburb of Pittsburgh.” You better believe Arnold and other aging, riverfront towns wish they were “tony.”

The truth in the current controversy lies somewhere between youthful shenanigans and something serious enough to report to the police.

Here’s some more advice for Pine-Richland: Next time you do something clumsy, do it after 5 p.m. on a Friday. By then, most of the media executives are gone for the weekend and the public in general is getting ready for their respective weekends.

If the Kasperowicz coaching situation had come to light on a weekend, the story might not have the legs that it does now.

You’re welcome.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Pine-Richland