Spartans, Warriors, Vikings softball lead sections

With a little more than two weeks remaining in the WPIAL softball section ledger, three Westmoreland County teams sit atop their respective sections with undefeated records. Hempfield Area leads Class 6A Section 1 at 8-0, Penn-Trafford paces Class 5A Section 2 at 7-0, and Mount Pleasant Area tops Class 3A Section 1 at 6-0. The Spartans notched four section wins last week, all in lopsided fashion. Hempfield Area opened the week with a 13-3 victory at home against North Allegheny, followed with a 15-0 win at Mount Lebanon on Wednesday, and swept a home doubleheader against Butler Area 18-0 and 14-4 on Thursday. The Warriors won three games last week, all in decisive fashion. PT notched a 9-2 victory at Franklin Regional on Monday, returned home to overwhelm Kiski Area 18-2 on Tuesday, and blasted homestanding Armstrong 16-4 on Wednesday. Lastly, the Vikings also went 3-0 last week. Mount Pleasant held serve at home on Monday by edging Yough 5-3, and then swept a home-and-home series against Ligonier Valley on Wednesday and Thursday, prevailing 6-2 in Ligonier and 9-4 in Mount Pleasant.

Greater Latrobe baseball sweeps Franklin Regional

Greater Latrobe baseball continued its surge last week, as the Wildcats swept their series against Franklin Regional in Class 5A Section 1. Greater Latrobe edged the Panthers 4-2 in nine innings in Murrysville on Monday, and rallied for a 9-8 victory at home two days later. In the first contest, Jack Stynchula produced a two-run base hit to break a tie in extras to give GL the victory. Earlier in the contest, Eli Boring delivered an RBI single to deadlock the contest at 2-2 in the sixth. Conversely, Ethan Raver and Chase Lemke each had a pair of hits in the setback for FR. On Wednesday, the Wildcats scored five times in the bottom of the sixth inning, turning a narrow deficit into a 9-5 lead. The hosts then held off a late surge from the Panthers, as Aaryn Chappel earned the save. Luke Williams had a pair of hits, including a home run, and three RBIs for Franklin Regional. As a result, Greater Latrobe sits atop the section standings at 6-2, while the Panthers fell to 4-2 and are tied for third place with Penn-Trafford.

Mutter, Hoffman win Collins Award

A pair of Westmoreland County standouts garnered the James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award last week, as Mount Pleasant Area’s David Mutter and Alexandra Hoffman of Greensburg Central Catholic were two of the 20 winners. For earning the 34th-annual award, Mutter and Hoffman will each receive a $1,000 college scholarship. Mutter is a star swimmer for the Vikings, as he captured five WPIAL and five PIAA gold medals in his decorated career. In the process, he established a new WPIAL meet record for 200 medley as a junior, broke his own record in the 100 butterfly as a senior, and also set a state record in the 100 butterfly as a junior. His efforts helped carry Mount Pleasant to the PIAA team title this winter. Academically, he boasts a 4.0 GPA. Meanwhile, Hoffman starred in both tennis and track and field at GCC. She captured first place in the 4x100 meter relay in her freshman campaign in track, while she placed second in the WPIAL Class 2A Girls Tennis Doubles Championship in her junior year. She has compiled a GPA of 4.38.

SHU’s Novotny reaches 200-win milestone

Seton Hill University men’s lacrosse coach Brian Novotny reached a milestone last week, as the veteran coach captured his 200th career win. The achievement came in an 18-2 home victory against Frostburg State on Wednesday. The Griffins scored the first 11 goals of that contest, as Braden Lockyer tallied a game-best four goals. Seton Hill followed with another lopsided victory at home later in the week, as the Griffins blasted Davenport University 25-5 on Saturday to improve to 14-1 overall. Seton Hill has already clinched the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) regular season crown, as well as the top seed in the conference tournament. Novotny is in his 20th season leading Seton Hill, the only coach in program history.

Former Griffin Monteverde reaches MLB

Patrick Monteverde made his Major League Baseball debut over the weekend, becoming the first former Seton Hill University baseball player to achieve the feat. Monteverde was called up by the Miami Marlins on Saturday, and pitched in the game later that day against the Philadelphia Phillies, allowing nine hits and four runs in 3.2 innings. Monteverde, a Fox Chapel Area graduate, played for the Griffins from 2018-20, starting 18 games. In those contests, he went 4-4 with a 2.85 ERA, racking up 108 strikeouts in 91.2 innings. He finished up his college career at Texas Tech University before the Marlins selected him in the eighth round of the MLB draft.