Norwin notebook: After slow start, baseball team finds footing

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, April 15, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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After a slow start, the Norwin baseball team is regaining its footing.

The Knights opened the season with four straight losses but rebounded by winning two out of three games against Baldwin in a three-game Section 2-6A series.

Chris Slatt went 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs, while Nolan Ryan went 4 for 4 with a double and Jake Auld and Justin Weaver each drove in two runs in a 10-5 win in Game 1.

After a 4-3 loss in the second game, the Knights cruised to a 13-3 win in the final matchup as Ryan went 4 for 4 with 3 RBIs and Slatt added two hits.

The Knights (3-5) then won the first game of a three-game series against Canon-McMillan, 7-5, at Wild Things Park in Washington on April 10. Slatt went 2 for 2 with a home run and Auld doubled and drove in a run.

Softball rebounds

After a 4-0 setback against WPIAL Class 6A No. 1-ranked Seneca Valley, the Norwin softball team rebounded with a 7-4 win over Pine-Richland.

Alyssa McCormick hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to put the Lady Knights ahead to stay.

Butera places

Dom Butera finished second in the 115-pound bracket in the 11-12-year-old division at the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling Youth State Championship at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

Champions from Westmoreland County included Greensburg Salem’s Gianna D’Angelo (girls 9-10, 94 pounds), Latrobe’s Sebastian Shine (9-10, 70), Yough’s Jett Sidun (8-and-under, 50) and Kiski Area’s Marco Hutcherson (boys 9-10, 90).

Right on track

Norwin’s track and field teams moved to 2-0 with wins over Indiana. The boys took home a 92-58 result, while the girls won 102-48.

Freshman Annie Czajkowski ran a time of 2:21.4 to win the 800, while Hannah Shaw soared to a personal-best 11 feet, 6 inches and won the pole vault, and Savannah Schneck threw the shot put 36 feet, 2.5 inches.

Trey Huha took the 200 in 22.6 seconds for the Knights.

Volleyball still ranked

Despite a 3-2 loss to Hempfield, which rallied from two sets down, the Norwin boys volleyball team reamined ranked, moving from the No. 2 spot to No. 4 in the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association rankings.

The rest of the top five were Shaler (1), Penn-Trafford (2), North Allegheny (3) and Canon-McMillan (5).

Norwin rebounded with a 3-1 win over Central Catholic. The Knights won three straight sets after losing the first one.

Jackson Genicola had 14 kills, while Mike Mihalov had six digs and Lucas Churchfield six digs in the win.

College scene

Updates on Norwin athletes playing in college:

Softball

Westminster: Sophomore Sydney Lokay doubled and scored in a 7-1 victory over Bethany. She added another hit in a 3-0 win in the second game of the doubleheader. Lokay, a third baseman, has played in all 22 games and has two home runs, eight RBIs and 12 runs scored. She also has four appearances in the pitching circle and is 1-0 with a 1.40 ERA.

Baseball

Mercyhurst: Sophomore Eric Chorba hit a grand slam as the Lakers rolled past Gannon, 11-0. He finished 4 for 5 with five RBIs in the victory. Chorba also had a hit in the first game of the doubleheader, while sophomore Landon DiBeradin doubled, and sophomore pitcher Jake Bazala pitched five innings of three-hit ball in a 5-3 win over the Golden Knights.

Women’s track and field

Clarion: Junior Courtney Kosanovic posted a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12 minutes, 40.58 seconds.

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

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