Baseball
Scholastic Notebook – 05/25/2012
May 25, 2012
Seven of the eight teams in the WPIAL baseball finals are quite familiar with this championship stuff. They all have won at least one title in the past nine seasons. As championship traditions go, the eighth team in the finals is like the odd man out. Belle Vernon has never won a WPIAL championship, and the WPIAL has been staging championships since 1914. Belle Vernon will try to win its first title when it plays Blackhawk in the Class AAA championship Tuesday night at Consol Energy Field in Washington.2012 WPIAL BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
May 23, 2012
After a long Monday of baseball with seven finalists spots secured with some outstanding diamond action, with a suspended game thrown in for the fun of it. Now the Final Four is officially in the books after that suspended Class AAAA game was finished and the finals are set in the 2012 WPIAL Baseball Playoffs. Here are ALL of the final scores from Semifinals Monday and Tuesday, plus the four championship game matchups set for CONSOL Energy Field in Washington next week.2012 WPIAL CLASS AAAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:#9 Mount Lebanon Blue Devils (14-8) vs Seneca Valley Raiders (17-4) AT CONSOL Energy Park in Washington on Wednesday, May 30th at 8:00pm on MSAsports.netWPIAL CLASS AAAA Semifinals:WPIAL Baseball Playoff Recaps for Monday, May 21st (& Tuesday, May 22nd)
May 22, 2012
Here are the updated recaps from all EIGHT Semifinals contests all heard only here on the MSA Sports Network.A special thanks to Randy Gore, Ken Laird, Mike Azadian, Sam Hall, Lee Mohn, Hugh Mulvey and Bob Gregg for their help on these recaps.WPIAL BASEBALL CLASS AAAA SEMIFINALS:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 05/20/2012
May 20, 2012
It's a golden time for some of the spring high school sports as we countdown to a holiday weekend this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have EXCLUSIVE coverage of the 2012 WPIAL baseball and WPIAL softball Quarterfinals and Semifinals along with District 6 high school baseball playoff action and the championship matches for WPIAL boys volleyball, WPIAL boys lacrosse and WPIAL girls lacrosse, plus news from the auto racing world with Rappin on Racin and pro baseball featuring the Class AA Eastern League's Altoona Curve and the Frontier League's Washington Wild Things ALL here at MSAsports.netScholastic Notebook – 05/19/2012
May 19, 2012
Aliquippa High School doesn’t have a track where athletes can practice. But the Quips always seem to have kids in the fast lane. On Thursday night at Baldwin, Aliquippa’s 400-meter relay won the WPIAL Class AA championship in grand fashion, setting a meet record and a school record with a time of 42.87 seconds. The team consisted of Hassan Thompson, Shaquere McBride, Dravon Henry and Kaylan Kenney. While this team’s run was impressive, having a group of top sprinters is nothing new for Aliquippa, despite the school not having a track. It was the seventh time in nine years that Aliquippa won the 400 relay title.WPIAL Baseball Playoff Recaps for Wednesday, May 16th
May 17, 2012
For those teams who enjoyed an opening round bye, it was the first taste of postseason play after a lengthy rest. For all others, it was a quick turnaround after winning a playoff game just 24 hours before. Day Two WAS Round Two of the 2012 WPIAL Baseball Playoffs as the Quarterfinals was the focus in all four classifications. Here are recaps from the games heard here on The Network as the winners head to the Final Four while the losers are left to wonder...what happened?WPIAL Baseball Playoff Recaps for Tuesday, May 15th
May 16, 2012
We had to wait 24 extra hours for the curtain to officially go up on this 2012 WPIAL baseball postseason, but it was worth the wait with tight opening round action here, there and everywhere. Few blowouts with many down to the wire finishes as most of the favorites advanced to Round Two. Here are the recaps of the games heard ONLY here on the MSA Sports Network.Special thanks to Jess Levo, Josh Rowntree, Randy Gore, Mark Schaas, Dennis Fischer, Sam Hall, Don Rebel, Greg Kuntz, Ken Laird, Hugh Mulvey and Bob Gregg for their help on these recaps.WPIAL CLASS AAAA FIRST ROUND:MOTHER NATURE KO’s DAY ONE OF WPIAL BASEBALL & SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS
May 14, 2012
Steady rain on Sunday and more rain in the forecast for Monday throughout Western Pennsylvania forced the WPIAL to postpone opening day in both the WPIAL baseball and softball playoffs.ALL 21 of the First Round baseball games scheduled for Monday have been pushed back 24 hours to Tuesday with one doubleheader site change. In softball, there were 9 Preliminary Round or First Round games postponed on Monday. Seven of those games are now scheduled for Tuesday while two contests have been pushed back to Wednesday.Check below WPIAL baseball and softball playoff articles below for all of the latest changes.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 05/13/2012
May 13, 2012
Spring playoff fever (along with a little precipitation) is in the air as we wind down the high school sports year this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We have EXCLUSIVE coverage of the 2012 WPIAL baseball and WPIAL softball playoffs along with District 6 regular season and playoff baseball and the start of the WPIAL boys volleyball, plus news from the auto racing world with Rappin on Racin and pro baseball featuring the Class AA Altoona Curve and the 2012 debut of Washington Wild Things baseball ALL here at MSAsports.netMonday, May 14th:TALK SHOW - Rappin on Racin at 6:00pm on MSAsports.net2012 WPIAL BASEBALL STANDINGS
Here are the FINAL WPIAL baseball standings for the 2012 season, plus the latest WPIAL PLAYOFF CLINCHINGS. The standings will be updated daily throughout the regular season. You can follow the district high school baseball season with schedules, scores, weekly rankings every Monday and game broadcasts every day through the postseason here on the MSA Sports Network.The top three teams in each section qualify for the WPIAL playoffs while the top eight teams make the Pittsburgh City League postseason.# - Clinched Section Title * - Clinched Playoff Berth x - Eliminated From Playoff ContentionWPIAL Class AAAA: (SET WITH 13 PLAYOFF TEAMS - 3 BYES)2012 WPIAL SOFTBALL STANDINGS
Here are the FINAL WPIAL softball standings for the 2012 season, including the FINAL WPIAL PLAYOFF CLINCHINGS. The standings will be updated daily through the regular season. You can follow the high school softball season with schedules, scores, weekly rankings every Tuesday and game broadcasts through the MSA Sports Hometown Softball Program here on the MSA Sports Network.The top three teams in each section qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.Teams in all caps are members of the MSA Sports Hometown Softball Program.The 2012 WPIAL Softball playoffs on the MSA Sports Network will be sponsored by Carlow University.Scholastic Notebook – 05/11/2012
May 11, 2012
The way the WPIAL baseball playoffs are set up, a team that makes it to a championship game could use its No. 1 pitcher in three of four contests. That is extremely good news for Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson pitcher Greg Schneider hasn’t just been unbeatable this season. It has been almost impossible to score on him. Schneider had one of the most dominating regular seasons of any pitcher in recent WPIAL history. Schneider, a Thomas Jefferson senior and a Pitt recruit, led Thomas Jefferson to the Class AAA Section 3 title. His statistics were remarkable.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Baseball Playoff Rankings 2012
May 10, 2012
Each Monday during the regular season, MSA Sports ranked the top ten WPIAL baseball teams in each of the four classifications. Now on the brink of the 2012 Baseball Playoffs, we rank ALL of the 54 teams that will battle for the four golden trophies in the finals, which are once again set for CONSOL Energy Field in Washington on Tuesday, May 29th and Wednesday, May 30th ONLY here on MSA Sports. The Network's exclusive coverage of the district postseason begins with the Playoff Pairings Show on Friday night at 7:00pm..Records through Wednesday, May 9th in parenthesis.WPIAL CLASS AAAA: 13 Teams - Three Byes1) SENECA VALLEY RAIDERS (15-3)2) NORWIN KNIGHTS (16-0)Northern Lights
In the May edition of the Northern Lights, a new football coach at New Castle and a look ahead to the upcoming baseball playoffs will be on deck. ? COWART HIRED AT NEW CASTLE: 31 year old Joe Cowart, the starting quarterback and safety of the 1998 WPIAL championship team, was named the new head coach of the Red Hurricanes last month, but it wasn't without some controversy. Accusations were made by school board president Allen Joseph of members of the high school administration, asking candidates to step aside to pave the way for another candidate, former New Castle star Bruce Clark, who went on to play at Penn State University and for the New Orleans Saints.This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 05/07/2012
May 7, 2012
The regular season winds down in high school baseball and scholastic softball this week here on the MSA Sports Network. We feature plenty of WPIAL and District 6 baseball and softball including the WPIAL Baseball and Softball Playoff Pairings Shows along with WPIAL boys volleyball, boys and girls lacrosse, plus more women's pro football with the Pittsburgh Passion and news from the auto racing world with Rappin on Racin and pro baseball featuring the Class AA Altoona Curve ALL here at MSAsports.netMonday, May 7th:TALK SHOW - Rappin on Racin at 6:00pm on MSAsports.netScholastic Notebook – 05/04/2012
May 4, 2012
Peters Township not in the WPIAL baseball playoffs? It will seem strange, but it could happen. And if Peters Township doesn’t make the postseason, you can almost be assured it will be a close call. Peters Township, one of the WPIAL’s top baseball programs, hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2002. But the Indians are in fourth place heading into today’s game against Mt. Lebanon. Peters Township is 6-4 in section and 7-10 overall. The top three teams make the playoffs, and Bethel Park (8-2), Upper St. Clair (8-3) and Mt. Lebanon (7-3) are all ahead of Peters Township. If Peters Township loses to Mount Lebanon Friday night on MSA, Peters Township is out of the playoffs.MSA Sports Top Ten – WPIAL Baseball – 05/01/2012
May 1, 2012
Each week during the regular season, MSA Sports will rank the top ten baseball teams in the WPIAL in all four classifications every Monday at www.MSAsports.net Here are this weeks rankings, iThis Week on the MSA Sports Network – 04/29/2012
April 29, 2012
As the mercury keeps rising and the calender changes from April to May, we have stretch run regular season softball and baseball action this week here on the MSA Sports NetScholastic Notebook – 04/27/2012
April 27, 2012
It took four years for Serra Catholic pitcher Alain Girman to finally lose a game. Then it happened in consecutive days.Scholastic Notebook – 04/24/2012
April 24, 2012
The Ellwood City baseball team fell from the ranks of the unbeatens last week when it dropped a 1-0 decision to Riverside. But Ellwood City still might be having the most impressive season of any team in the WPIAL – at least in terms of statistics. Ellwood City is now 12-1 on the season. In 12 of those 13 games, Ellwood City has given up two runs or fewer. Five of the wins have come by shutouts. Christian Kerns has been the main stopper for Ellwood City this season. He had been 13-0 over the past two seasons until taking the loss against Riverside. Anthony Carusone also has been stellar on the mound. Ellwood City and Riverside are now tied for the Section 5 lead. Maybe Ellwood City is smarting a little after going 15-5 last season, but missing the WPIAL playoffs. The Undefeateds:
