Four Westmoreland baseball teams sweep section series

Many WPIAL baseball teams opened section play last week, and a quartet of Westmoreland County teams swept their first series of the campaign. In Class 5A, Franklin Regional is perfect, while Yough, Greensburg Salem, and Burrell are all unblemished in Class 3A. The Panthers bested Penn Hills 5-3 at home last Tuesday, and followed with a 10-1 win on the road the following day to take first place in Section 1. Meanwhile, the Golden Lions and Cougars, along with McGuffey, sit atop Class 3A Section 4. Greensburg Salem opened the section ledger last Monday by winning 9-4 at Waynesburg Central, and completed the sweep of the Raiders by a 6-4 margin at home the next day. Likewise, Yough recorded a 5-2 home win against Brownsville Area on Monday, and followed with a lopsided 12-1 road triumph on Tuesday. The Buccaneers, who are tied with Freeport Area atop Section 3, knocked off homestanding Valley 7-2 last Monday, and returned home the following day to edge the Vikings 7-5.

Offensive explosion propels FR softball

The Franklin Regional softball team had an offensive performance for the ages against Plum, as the Panthers erupted for a 28-19 road victory in eight innings last Monday. Sophomore Toryn Fulton enjoyed a historic effort for the Panthers, as she went 6-for-6 with four home runs, nine RBIs, and seven runs scored. Additionally, Sydney Jackson notched four hits, including a home run, while Madison Nguyen and Lexi Patburg also cleared the fences for FR. The Panthers led the Mustangs 15-4 after three innings, but trailed by a run after five frames. With the game tied at 19 after seven innings, Franklin Regional scored nine times in the extra frame to secure the win.

Tarabrella, Nelson garner volleyball honors

A pair of Westmoreland County boys volleyball players received accolades last week, while several area teams continued to rise in the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association rankings. Penn-Trafford senior setter Daniel Tarabrella was selected among the Class 3A Players of the Week, while Greater Latrobe senior outside hitter Tyler Nelson garnered the same accolades in Class 2A. in the Class 3A team rankings, Norwin jumped from the fifth spot up to second, trailing only Shaler Area. Penn-Trafford, meanwhile, held steady at third, while Hempfield Area dropped one place, down to ninth. Meanwhile in Class 2A, Greater Latrobe ascended to the top position, moving up one spot from the previous week. Additionally, Derry Area remained at seventh.

Wildcats’ Havrilla wins tennis sectional

While the spring sports season is just a few weeks old, WPIAL boys tennis has already completed singles sectional tournaments. Last week, Greater Latrobe senior Josh Havrilla captured the Class 2A Section 1 title at Valley High School. Havrilla narrowly edged Valley senior Nicholas Bussard in the title match 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (6). Havrilla’s teammate, senior August Lawrence, took third in the sectional, securing his spot in the WPIAL Class 2A tournament. Meanwhile, a pair of Franklin Regional players clinched their spots in Class 3A on their home court, as senior Aaron Allen and junior Dhruv Kulkarni punched their tickets from Section 1. Both Panthers were bounced in the semifinals, which subsequently pitted them head-to-head in the consolation. Allen prevailed 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 to take third. The singles championships will be held on April 10-11 at Bethel Park High School, with North Allegheny High School serving as the venue through the semifinals.

SVC softball extends winning streak

The Saint Vincent College softball team continued its surge over the weekend, as the Bearcats pushed their winning streak to seven games. After prevailing in the second game of a doubleheader against Chatham, the Bearcats secured home doubleheader sweeps against Franciscan University, La Roche University, and Bethany College last week. SVC claimed victories of 8-2 and 12-0 against the Barons, 7-6 and 6-0 against the Redhawks, and 2-1 and 8-2 against the Bison. In the first game on Sunday against Bethany, Haley Bicko earned the win with a complete game, allowing just four hits and one run. In the nightcap, Alex Dillner went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, Olivia Persin registered a 3-for-3 effort with four runs scored, and Jessica LaPorte compiled two hits, two RBIs, and three runs scored for the Bearcats. Saint Vincent is 14-6 overall, including 5-1 in the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC).