Westmoreland notebook: Anticipated Hempfield-Norwin baseball series awaits

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, May 1, 2021 | 4:07 PM

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Finally.

The much-anticipated two-game baseball series between Hempfield and Norwin is set for Monday and Tuesday.

The Section 2-6A series features Norwin (10-1, 6-1), ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL and No. 4 in the state, against the sneaky-good Spartans (10-5, 6-2), who are perched third in the WPIAL ranks.

Monday’s game will be at Norwin, before the teams head to Hempfield on Tuesday.

Norwin has 12 college-committed players, including Jake Kendro (Tennessee), Alex Gabauer (Penn), Elijah Dunn (Hartford) and Eric Chorba (Longwood).

Jayden Walker and Jake Bazala are headed to Mercyhurst.

Bazala was 5-0 with a 1.05 ERA for the Knights and could go against Hempfield’s Phil Fox (3-1, 2.67) or Jake Kramer (4-1, 3.76).

Ryan Scavnicky leads Norwin with a .444 average, while Chorba was batting .417 and Kendro, .406.

Chorba and Kendro each had three home runs and Kendro had 13 RBIs and 10 runs. Senior Alex Gabauer had 10 RBIs.

Hempfield’s Brandon Coughlin was hitting .467 with 14 RBIs.

Williams all-state

Greensburg Central Catholic junior Brevan Williams had a breakout basketball season at Greensburg Central Catholic.

The high-flying finisher averaged 20.3 points per game and led GCC to a runner-up finish in WPIAL Class 2A.

He was recognized last week as one of the top players in the commonwealth, too, as he made the Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State Third Team for Class 2A.

“I’m not sure he realized how good of a year he had,” GCC coach Christian Hyland said. “He continues to get better. We expect big things from him next year.”

The 6-foot-3 Williams also pulled down 9.4 rebounds and shot 60% from the field.

Belle Vernon star junior guard Devin Whitlock also was a third-team pick, in 4A.

Softball showdowns

WPIAL Class 3A No. 1 Southmoreland lost its first game of the season when it returned from a covid-related stoppage and fell to South Allegheny, 13-12.

The Scotties (8-1, 3-1) now face a tough stretch as they look to stay among the classification’s elite. They play the Nos. 2 and 3 teams this week with Waynesburg (10-3, 5-2) coming to Alverton on Monday and the Scotties traveling to Mt. Pleasant (11-2, 5-1) on Wednesday.

In between is a tough out against South Allegheny (7-4, 3-3).

Southmoreland swings for the fences. The team has 16 home runs, including seven from freshman Amarah McCutcheon.

Another game to watch Wednesday is Hempfield (8-3, 4-2) at Norwin (9-2, 6-1) in Section 2-6A.

Roundball attendance

Roundball Classic organizer Allen Deep said he has received a number of inquiries about fan attendance at the all-star basketball event set for May 13, 14 and 15 at Geneva College.

Deep said 450 fans will be allowed to attend each of the eight games. That would equate to about 15 % of the 3,000 capacity at Geneva’s Metheny Fieldhouse.

Deep said there will be temperature checks at the door, masks must be worn and social distancing will be asked of spectators.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 children under 16 and are good for that day’s games.

The event will not be livestreamed.

Recruiting

Penn-Trafford football standout Cade Yacamalli, a junior running back and defensive back, added Fordham to his growing list of Division I offers.

• Senior Ben Zimmerman of Southmoreland decided to play college golf at Mount Union.

• Greensburg Salem senior Wyatt Ramer will play soccer at Cal (Pa.). Ramer was an all-section midfielder for the Golden Lions.

• Taylor DeStefano, a senior at Penn-Trafford, will continue her soccer career at Carlow. Her brother, Hunter, plays basketball and volleyball for the same school.

• A number of other Penn-Trafford athletes made college commitments: Robyn Caswell (Stevenson, hockey), Allyson Doran (Mercyhurst, field hockey), Sarah Eisenhuth (Westminster, softball), Lucas Killen (Pitt-Greensburg, soccer), Sydney Marchand (Geneva, soccer), Kaidyn Orders (Bethany, lacrosse), Austin Prokopec (Clarion, swimming), Joe Whipkey (Grove City, cross country) and Ben Yant (Canisius, swimming).

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

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Norwin, Penn-Trafford