South Hills notebook: Thomas Jefferson’s 1st-round softball win a thriller

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, May 28, 2018 | 8:30 PM

Notebook items from around the South Hills:

• One of the more thrilling games in the WPIAL softball playoffs was won by Thomas Jefferson in a Class 5A first-round matchup with Moon.

The Jaguars scored three runs with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to edge the Tigers, 3-2.

Abby Chalovich led off the seventh with a single. Two outs later, Claire Whalen recorded a bunt single, and Paige Truax was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Haleigh Karcher.

Karcher stroked a hard ground ball to the right side of the infield and beat the throw to first. Not only did Chalovich score on the play, Whalen also raced home from second base to tie the score. Bella Bucy then drove in the winning run.

Bucy, the winning pitcher, and Whalen finished with two hits apiece.

“The game was amazing,” TJ coach Heidi Karcher said. “We were down 2-0 until the top of the seventh.”

The Jaguars, who won their final three regular-season games, improved to 11-5; Moon ended up 11-6 overall.

• Baldwin had an impressive list of qualifiers for the WPIAL Class AAA track and field championships, led by shot putters Laurel Bristow and Bailey O'Malley.

Bristow, a senior and Akron commit, and O'Malley, a junior, became the first tandem in school history to capture both shot put events at the WPIAL finals. Bristow also placed second in the javelin and third in the discus.

Other Baldwin qualifiers included junior Brendan O'Malley (200, 400, long jump); senior Alina Stahl (200, 400, long jump); sophomore Angelo Priore (100); senior Mike Starzynski (110 hurdles, long jump); junior John Ziegler (800); sophomore Ted Boehm (3,200); seniors Logan Richards (javelin), Nick Lachut (pole vault) and Sedrick Riddick (triple jump); and junior Macy Hale (800, 1,600).

Five relay units from Baldwin also advanced to the WPIAL meet.

“I have to attribute the success for this program to my assistant coaches,” said Ed Helbig, Baldwin's veteran coach, “all former Baldwin track and field athletes: Chuck Helbig (hurdles, sprints), Tony Anderson (jumps, sprints), Dave Klueber (pole vault), Mike Wallace (shot put), Keith Huebner (discus) and Tom Damiani (javelin). All of these coaches competed for Baldwin as an athlete and are on the honor roll. So they are very aware of the past. The only coach not from Baldwin is Rich Wright (distance), who is originally from Keystone Oaks. I'm sure if you look inside Rich, you'll find he is purple and white through and through.

“Funny how many of these coaches will use the honor roll to motivate their athletes to do better than they did when they competed. When the athletes do have one of those performances, they definitely make sure their coach knows. All of these men work extremely hard to develop their athletes, and the results were on display at the WPIAL championship meet.”

Along with Bristow and Bailey O'Malley, Baldwin's WPIAL medalists were Stahl (200, 400, long jump), Brendan O'Malley (long jump), Lachut (pole vault), Richards (javelin), Hale (1,600); and the boys 1,600 relay team of Starzynski, Brendan O'Malley, Ziegler and Lachut.

Bristow (shot put, discus, javelin), Bailey O'Malley (shot put), Stahl (long jump), Hale (1,600), Brendan O'Malley (long jump), Lachut (pole vault) and Richards (javelin) qualified for the PIAA Class AAA finals at Shippensburg.

• The starting lineup for the Brentwood baseball team in its WPIAL Class 2A first-round playoff game consisted of senior Austin Veatch (CF), sophomore Jayneil Latham (2B), senior Easton Klein (SS), junior Brandon Griener (C), senior Brendan Donnelly (LF), senior Kevin Brown (P), junior Logan Keach (DH), senior Stephanos Mavroides (1B), sophomore Zach Keib (3B), with sophomore Aidan Davis in right field.

Klein and Brown, the winning pitcher, both had two hits, including a triple apiece, in the 8-2 win over Chartiers-Houston.

• Former Seton LaSalle athletic director John Ashaolu is the athletic director at Community College of Allegheny County.

Ashaolu coached the girls basketball team at Seton LaSalle in 2012-13, guiding the Rebels to a 12-0 section record, berths in the WPIAL finals and PIAA semifinals, and a 27-3 overall mark.

• Wright and West Mifflin coach Mike Mazzarrese were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Tri-State Track Coaches Association at the WPIAL track and field championships at Baldwin Stadium.

• Seton LaSalle coach Mark Walsh will conduct two boys basketball day camps this summer for players in fourth to eighth grade.

Session 1 will be June 18-22, and Session 2 will be July 16-20.

The camps are 9 a.m. to noon daily at Seton LaSalle and will feature individual competition, team competition, a free-throw contest, skill development, knockout games, three-on-three games and a layup contest.

The cost is $80.

To register or for more information, contact Walsh at 412-979-2913 or coachmrwalsh@gmail.com.

• Baldwin sophomore Mia Fischetti sang the national anthem May 17 at the WPIAL track and field championships at Baldwin Stadium.

• Eric Falcione announced his retirement from the Baldwin coaching ranks. He has been coach of the Baldwin boys volleyball program for 22 seasons.

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Baldwin, Brentwood, Seton-LaSalle, Thomas Jefferson