Eleven Westmoreland baseball teams clinch

Entering the final week of the WPIAL baseball regular season, 11 teams from Westmoreland County have already secured their spots in the playoffs. In Class 6A, Norwin and Hempfield have qualified. The Knights finished in a tie for the top mark in Section 2 at 8-4, although they lost the tiebreaker to Canon-McMillan for the section crown, while the Spartans tied for third at 7-5. In Class 5A, Greater Latrobe, Penn-Trafford, and Franklin Regional are all in. The Wildcats and Warriors, along with Plum, are tied atop Section 1 at 8-2, while the Panthers sit in fourth at 7-3. In 4A, Belle Vernon Area, Valley, and Derry Area have clinched. The Leopards are tied for second place in Section 2 at 8-2. Meanwhile, the Vikings finished tied for first from Section 3 with Indiana Area, with the teams notching 8-2 marks, while the Trojans placed fourth at 4-6. In Class 3A, Mount Pleasant Area and Burrell have secured their spots. The Vikings are currently in second place from Section 3 at 7-3, while the Buccaneers finished their section slate at 7-5, and currently reside in third. Lastly in Class 1A, Greensburg Central Catholic has punched its ticket, as the Centurions have secured the title in Section 1 with a mark of 10-0. Additionally, Ligonier Valley is currently in a top-four spot in Class 3A, while Jeannette sits above the playoff cutline in Class 1A.

Spartans oust Knights in softball showdown

Hempfield Area softball finished its section ledger with an exclamation point on Friday, as the Spartans defeated Norwin 8-2 in a marquee Westmoreland County clash. Julia Varhola earned the win in the circle for the host Spartans, as she went the distance, giving up six hits while racking up a dozen strikeouts. Moreover, Jayelyn Luft went 4-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, while Lauren Howard had two hits and four runs batted in. Emma Gibson produced both RBIs in the defeat for the Knights, while Abbie Telli was saddled with the loss. As a result, Hempfield Area finished the Class 6A section ledger unblemished at 14-0, and moved to 17-1 overall, while the Knights dipped to 10-4 in the section, and 10-6 overall.

Quartet of boys volleyball teams secure playoffs

As the boys volleyball regular season reaches its conclusion, four Westmoreland County squads are guaranteed postseason spots. In Class 3A, Penn-Trafford, Hempfield Area, and Norwin have all clinched. Competing in Section 3, the Warriors hold the top spot at 7-1, while the Spartans are in second at 6-2, and the Knights reside in third with a mark of 5-3. Meanwhile in 2A, Derry Area has secured a playoff berth, as the Trojans are tied atop Section 2 with a record of 5-1. The playoff seeding will be unveiled on Friday. Additionally, the final poll of the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Association was released today. In Class 3A, the Warriors are ranked seventh, while the Spartans are eighth, and the Knights round out the list at 10th. In Class 2A, the Trojans are ranked 10th. Furthermore, Hempfield Area senior middle hitter Donny McMullen and Jayden Holnaider, a senior middle hitter for Greater Latrobe, were among the Class 3A Players of the Week.

Griffins MLAX repeats as conference champs

Seton Hill University men’s lacrosse repeated as champions in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), as the Griffins bested Davenport University 16-10 on Saturday. It’s the fifth G-MAC title overall for Seton Hill. The homestanding Griffins used a 6-0 run spanning the second and third quarters to outpace the Panthers. Carter Green produced two goals and three assists for the Griffins, while Carter Li netted four goals, Dexter Hannigan tallied three goals and an assist, and Nate Herbster added a hat trick. Tommy Becker scored four goals in the loss for Davenport. With the win, the Griffins moved to 16-2 overall, and they earned the fifth seed in the North Region of the NCAA Division II Tournament. As a result, SHU will play at fourth-seeded Pace University in the first round on Sunday.