High school notebook: Tough week for Derry on diamond

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, April 28, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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Derry was dealt a pair of crushing injuries last week.

Senior softball standout Chelsea Bisi said she dislocated her kneecap and tore her MCL as she hit a home run Monday against Uniontown. The Penn State recruit said she likely is done for the season. She hit .706 last season with 22 runs and 21 RBIs.

Senior baseball player Isaac Buterbaugh, meantime, was hit in the head by a pitch Monday against Deer Lakes and appears to be done for the remainder of the season. He is the Trojans' leadoff hitter.

Bisi does not need surgery but will have to undergo physical therapy. Her mother, Brandy, said Chelsea plans to play in some travel tournaments before leaving for Penn State at the end of June.

Buterbaugh has a concussion, according to Derry baseball coach John Flickinger.

“Tough loss,” Flickinger said. “This team has gone through a little bit of everything this season. It has definitely been the strangest season in my 18 years of coaching varsity baseball here. It goes from worse to more worse, and then add the weather … .”

Senior Dom Jellison and junior Dante Klapchar have missed time with illnesses.

Vertacnik steps down

Jeannette is looking for a girls basketball coach after the resignation of Janine Vertacnik, who coached the Jayhawks a total of seven seasons over two stints.

She wants to pursue other coaching opportunities.

“I just seemed to have lost my passion there,” she said. “It was different this second time around, and I didn't expect it to be that way. I feel like the culture surrounding the program, the overall lack of interest in the sport at the lower levels, and the overall adversity surrounding the program was too much to overcome to meet my expectations and desires.”

Vertacnik, who also coached at Greensburg Salem, Yough and Pitt-Greensburg, had a record of 90-103 at Jeannette and won a WPIAL title in 2010.

Barnes, Johnson draw attention

Recruiting continues to pick up steam for the Jeannette junior football duo of Marcus Barnes and Anthony Johnson.

Barnes, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound receiver and defensive back, now has offers from all three major military academies after Navy came forth. In addition to Air Force and Army, he also has offers from Holy Cross, Robert Morris and Howard.

Johnson (6-5, 220), who went from a first-year varsity player last season to a standout defensive end, picked up his first Division I FBS offer, from Syracuse. His other suitors include Ball State, Holy Cross, Robert Morris, Howard and Central Michigan.

Michigan State was at Jeannette on Thursday to see the pair work out.

Give him a Holler

Michigan State also paid a visit to Latrobe to see junior lineman Trent Holler. Cincinnati and Youngstown State are showing interest in Holler (6-3, 280), who has offers from Robert Morris and Albany.

More recruiting buzz

Norwin football player Gianni Rizzo, a junior receiver and linebacker, now has eight Division I level opportunities after receiving an offer from The Citadel.

Rizzo (6-2, 215) also has offers from Holy Cross, Albany, Furman, Fordham, Bucknell, Yale and Robert Morris.

• Yough senior lineman Scotty Houseman announced he will attend Lackawanna College. Houseman (6-4, 320) initially had offers from West Liberty, West Virginia State and Seton Hill. He will join Jeannette star Robert Kennedy and Norwin's Tevin Thrift at Lackawanna, a junior college in Scranton.

• Jeannette baseball player Tyler Elliott, an all-section shortstop, will play at Penn State New Kensington.

• Pitt baseball coach Joe Jordano was at Yough on Thursday to see Cougars junior pitcher Jarrett Bach. Bucknell also is interested in the 6-4 left-hander.

• Southmoreland's Benton Bickerton will run cross country and track at Seton Hill.

• Latrobe's Gracie Stynchula will continue her field hockey career at Seton Hill.

Fenton shines

Latrobe junior basketball standout Reed Fenton was named to the all-Hoop Group Showcase League first-team at the Pitt Jamfest AAU tournament.

The 6-4 guard from the PK Flash was one of seven players named to the first team.

Volleyball jam-up

It is getting tight at the top of boys volleyball Section 3-AAA.

After a tightly contested week, Penn-Trafford and Norwin share the top spot with 9-1 records. Hempfield is second at 7-3.

All three teams have been ranked in the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association poll top-10 all season.

Latrobe is in fourth place. The top four teams make the WPIAL playoffs.

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

Tags: Jeannette, Latrobe, Southmoreland, Yough