Tag: Blackhawk

PIHL Notebook – 2014-2015 Class B & C Preview

October 27, 2014

Welcome to another installment of “PIHL Notebook” as we wrap up our season preview four-pack with a look inside what used to be the Open Class. Instead, it will now be known as Varsity Division II, divided into Class B and Class C. It bears mentioning, as touched upon in our feature on the new alignment on October 6, only co-op teams are allowed in Division II. Class B is the cream of the crop, at least on paper. Defending Nailers Cup champion Harbor Creek headlines things, joined by four semifinalists from the 2014 Open Class Playoffs. Also in the mix is a Penn-Trafford squad down from Class AAA, a brand new “B Team” from Upper St. Clair, and a blast from the past in Meadville.

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Hometown Volleyball Match Recap – Blackhawk Cougars – 10/07/2014

October 7, 2014

The Blackhawk Cougars JV won their game Tuesday night and the Cougars Varsity couldn't carry the torch as they fell at home to Beaver 3-0. After getting up early 14-9 Blackhawk saw that lead diminish and the first game ended in an extra volleyball loss 29-27 and the momentum was on Beaver's side. Beaver took that momentum and rode it into the second game winning 25-19. Up 2 games to 0 the Bobcats rode that wave and again playing extra volleyball in game 3 winning 26-24 to secure the victory. Taylor Hineman led all Bobcats in kills with 7.

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Hometown Volleyball Match Recap – Blackhawk Cougars – 10/01/2014

October 1, 2014

The Blackhawk Cougars continued on the road towards a possible section title with a 3-1 victory over the Laurel Spartans in WPIAL Section 1-AA girls volleyball action last night in Chippewa Township. The win moves Blackhawk to 8-1 in section play, trailing only Hopewell in the standings at the start of play on Tuesday. Those two teams could meet for the section title on October 16th. Blackhawk took the first game by a 25-18 score, pulling away in the later stages with the help of senior Nikki Beatty with some key points to allow the Cougars to gain a 21-13 advantage which they would not relinquish.

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CTK ’14: WPIAL AAA Parkway Conference Preview

August 14, 2014

The Parkway Conference has dominated the WPIAL title picture since 2009. The last five champions have come from the conference and in three of the last five, two conference teams have played each other in the title game. The Parkway has been represented at Heinz Field every year since 2005. It has to start with the coaches, who have racked up 14 WPIAL titles at their current schools. Even the newcomer to the conference, has made two title game appearances. Add in a pair of coaches who won gold as players and you have a great collection of championship gold and some tough football games. Five playoff spots are guaranteed in the conference, a sixth is possible with the WPIAL wild card, that race for post season play will be exciting as always.

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2014 MSA Sports Diamond Studs Baseball All-Star Team

June 18, 2014

Blackhawk’s Brendan McKay and Norwin’s J.J. Matijevic were history makers. They did things this baseball season that hadn’t ever been done in the WPIAL before. McKay and Matijevic were so dominant and so terrific that the MSA Sports staff had trouble separating the two for Player of the Year honors. So, MSA decided to do a rare thing. They picked McKay and Matijevic as co-Player of the Year. McKay and Matijevic lead MSA’s Diamond Studs team, which is made up of the top 10 players in the WPIAL. The team is heavy with pitchers, but some of the pitchers also excelled in the field and as hitters. Here is a look at the MSA Sports Diamond Studs team as well as the co-Player of the Year. CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR

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2014 MLB Draft: Multiple Former and Current WPIAL Players Selected on Day 3

June 8, 2014

On day three of the Draft, former North Allegheny and Kent State pitcher Eric Dorsch was selected in the 15th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Dorsch, while at North Allegheny, won the 2009 WPIAL AAAA Baseball Championship and was a runner up finisher in 2010. At Kent State, Dorsch was moved to the role of closer and thrived in his Redshirt Junior Season, posting ten saves with a 3.56 ERA. 

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Scholastic Notebook – 06/03/2014

June 3, 2014

WPIAL baseball champions took it on the chin three times in the first round of the PIAA playoffs Monday. But history shows WPIAL champs often have trouble in the PIAA playoffs. Take a look at past years and the statistics say that WPIAL champs have only a slightly better than 25 percent chance of making it to a PIAA title game.   The PIAA championships started with one class in 1977, expanded to two classes in 1979, three classes in 1999 and four classes in 2005. Since the PIAA playoffs started in 1977 and through last year, there were 96 WPIAL champs. Only 26 of those 96 teams (27 percent) made it to a PIAA title game.

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2014 WPIAL Baseball Championship Game Previews

May 26, 2014

Consol Energy Field is the home of the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League but this week, the WPIAL Baseball Championships take center stage as four new champions will be crowned. Upsets(and rain) were the story of this championship tournament, who will come out on top. Here are previews of all four games, all of which can be heard right here on The NETWORK:  

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Scholastic Notebook – 05/23/3014

May 23, 2014

The perfect championships don’t happen often in WPIAL softball.  But for the Deer Lakes Lancers, they’ve been in the perfect storm before. Deer Lakes is 18-0 and will play Beaver (15-0) for the Class AA championship Thursday at California University of Pennsylvania. It is only the third time in 17 years that a softball title game will match two undefeated teams. But it’s the second year in a row for Deer Lakes. In 2013, Deer Lakes and Riverside both took undefeated records into the title game before Riverside came away with a 5-1 victory. The only other time in the past 17 years that two undefeated teams met in a final was 1998 when Carmichaels beat Sto-Rox for the Class AA crown.

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Scholastic Notebook – 05/09/2014

May 9, 2014

With every zero that he puts on the scoreboard, Blackhawk senior pitcher Brendan McKay continues to climb the national list for the longest scoreless streak? That naturally brings up two questions: Is McKay anywhere near the national record and does he have a chance to break it before he graduates? The answers are yes and yes. McKay beat Montour, 3-0, earlier this week to stretch his scoreless streak to 58 innings, dating back to last season. That is the fourth-longest streak in U.S. high school history, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, the governing body of high school sports in the country.

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