May 3, 2023 3:50 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Harold Ramírez homered and drove in two runs to lead the Tampa Bay Rays over the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 in a matchup of teams with the top records in the major leagues. Ramírez drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single in the fourth and boosted the lead to 4-1 with a solo homer in the sixth. The Rays, who drew just 10,325 to Tropicana Field, lead the big leagues with 62 home runs and have outscored opponents 199-93. Pittsburgh (20-10) lost back-to-back games for the first time since the last two games of opening series at Cincinnati.
May 2, 2023 3:52 am
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Akira Schmid rebounded from his only bad game and made 31 saves in Game 7 to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 4-0 victory over the New York Rangers Monday night in an entertaining first-round playoff series. Michael McLeod and Tomas Tatar scored second-period goals in the series decider and Erik Haula and Jesper Bratt added insurance goals in game between the long-time Hudson River rivals. Coming off a franchise best 52-win season, the Devils will open the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday against the Metropolitan Division-winning Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina.
May 2, 2023 3:53 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Todd Pletcher-trained colt Forte and Brad Cox’s filly Wet Paint are the morning line favorites respectively for the 149th Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Forte, the 2-year-old champion whose 190 points led the Derby qualifying trail, drew the No. 15 post at 3-1 odds on Monday for the $3 million premier race for 3-year-olds. Stablemate Tapit Trice is the 5-1 second choice after drawing the No. 5 post, with Cox’s Angel of Empire the 8-1 third choice after drawing the No. 14 post. Wet Paint drew the No. 7 post for the Oaks at 5-2 odds.
April 30, 2023 8:42 am
Two weeks remain in the high school baseball/softball regular season. All 19 Washington/Greene County baseball teams are still alive for playoff spots. Softball still has 13 of the 19 teams in the hunt. Weather permitting, we’re planning to broadcast the most meaningful games each day on-air and online. WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here!
Baseball: Canon-McMillan has a playoff berth in hand and needs one win against Central Catholic to clinch at least a share of the 6A Section 2 title. Peters Township and Trinity are both alive for 5A playoff spots and at least one of them will qualify. Both play their final section games this week. Peters clinches with one win. Trinity is in with a sweep of Bethel Park or help from South Fayette and Peters Township. Ringgold is in a four-way battle for three spots in 4A Section 2. The Rams play last-place Albert Gallatin twice this week. McGuffey and Waynesburg are in 3A playoff position at the moment but just a game up on Mt. Pleasant. The Highlanders have a pair of games with unbeaten Yough while the Raiders play Mt. Pleasant twice. Then, the two locals meet next week. Burgettstown, Charleroi and Chartiers-Houston has clinched 2A spots with Bentworth, Beth-Center and Wash High in a jumble for the final berth, along with Frazier. The four are in a virtual tie for the last spot. Bentworth wraps up section play this week against B-C. The Bulldogs then play Washington next week. The Little Prexies first have to deal with Burgettstown. Avella has clinched a playoff spot for the third straight year, along with California and Carmichaels. Ft. Cherry is in control of the fourth spot, rallying from a 2-4 start. Jeff-Morgan, West Greene and Mapletown are all alive but in serious peril. Jeff-Morgan has to sweep Ft. Cherry next week to qualify. West Greene finishes the season against Carmichaels and California, the top two teams. Mapletown is eliminated with any loss or Ft. Cherry win.
Softball: In 6A, Canon-McMillan, in a three-way battle (Mt. Lebanon, Pine-Richland) for the last two spots, has the most favorable schedule on paper. The Big Macs have games with the cellar-dwellers (Butler, Baldwin), one against Pine and one against section leader Seneca Valley. Pine-Richland faces two of the top teams plus both CM & Mt. Lebanon. The Blue Devils have three against the already-qualified teams, one against Pine-Richland and Baldwin. Trinity has already wrapped up a share of the 5A Section 4 title. The Hillers play Bethel Park and Thomas Jefferson this week. Waynesburg is unbeaten atop 3A Section 4, three games up on South Park with four to play. McGuffey is in a three-way tie for third with Seton-La Salle and Brownsville. The Highlanders visit winless Keystone Oaks, then host Waynesburg to wrap the regular season. Charleroi (7-3), Burgettstown (6-3), Ft. Cherry (6-4) and Bentworth (5-4) are all alive for playoff spots in 2A Section 3. At least three of them will qualify. All but Bentworth have games remaining with OLSH, the section leader, and all have games against each other over the final 10 days. In 1A, Chartiers-Houston, Carmichaels and West Greene have clinched with the Mighty Mikes likely to win the Section 2 title. Jeff-Morgan and Mapletown play May 8, possibly with the final berth on the line though the Maples still have games with Chartiers and Carmichaels on the schedule.
Softball eliminated: Avella, Beth-Center, California, Peters Township, Ringgold, Wash High
May 1, 2023 3:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Josiah Gray pitched six strong innings, Joey Meneses had four hits and the Washington Nationals finally cooled off the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2 in a game delayed nearly 2 1/2 hours by rain. Jeimer Candelario and Victor Robles each had an early two-run double for Washington, which had lost three straight. Luis García delivered a two-run single in the second, and every Nationals starter got at least one hit. The surprising Pirates had won four straight and 11 of 12. Pittsburgh finished April with a 20-9 record. Gray allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out six. He retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced.
May 1, 2023 3:59 am
BOSTON (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe scored the game-winner at 8:35 of overtime to lead the Florida Panthers to a 4-3 Game 7 victory and eliminate the record-setting Boston Bruins from the playoffs. Brandon Montour tied it with 1 minute left in regulation to force the overtime. Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves as the Panthers won three in a row after falling behind 3-1 in the series. They advance in the postseason for just the second time since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 1996. They will open the second round against the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Tuesday night. Boston rallied from a two-goal deficit to take a 3-2 lead. The Bruins set NHL records with 65 wins and 135 points in the regular season but become the second Presidents’ Trophy winner in five years to lose in the first round.
May 1, 2023 4:00 am
DENVER (AP) — Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, Philipp Grubauer was stellar in stopping 33 shots and the Seattle Kraken eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche with a 2-1 win in Game 7. The Kraken became the first expansion team to beat the reigning champs in their inaugural playoff series, according to NHL Stats. Bjorkstrand scored one goal off a fortuitous deflection — the puck hit off a stick and glove — and another with a liner past goaltender Alexandar Georgiev that clanged off the post. Seattle grabbed the lead in every game in the series. Next up for the second-year Kraken is a second-round series against Dallas. Colorado has now lost its last six Game 7s.
April 30, 2023 1:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Drew Maggi got his first two major league hits, three days after making his big league debut with the Pittsburgh following 13 years in the minor leagues, and the Pirates routed the Washington Nationals 16-1 to complete a day-night doubleheader sweep. The 34-year-old had an RBI single as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and doubled in the ninth. Miguel Andujar homered in his season debut as the Pirates won the opener 6-3, then hit a three-run homer in the second game. Jack Suwinski hit his first career grand slam.
April 30, 2023 7:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Omar Khan’s first NFL draft as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ general manager was steeped in physicality and family. Khan bolstered Pittsburgh’s offensive and defensive lines while also selecting players with deep ties to the city and the franchise. Pittsburgh drafted Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones and added Jones’ teammate Darnell Washington in the third. The Steelers brought cornerback Joey Porter Jr. back to his hometown. Porter’s father Joey Porter Sr. worked for the Steelers as both a player and a coach. Khan says he wasn’t thinking about being aggressive during his first draft in charge. He says he’s just trying to win a Super Bowl.
April 28, 2023 4:07 am
Mother Nature is likely going to be the winner today, though there are some places hoping to beat the weather and get softball games in despite the rain. There are six softball games involving Washington County teams on the schedule today. However, several of them, including one which we were going to broadcast, have been postponed: Burgettstown at Bentworth.
In softball action Thursday, Canon-McMillan’s loss at Mt. Lebanon dropped the Big Macs into 7th place with five games left. The top six Class 6A teams qualify. Canon-Mac is battling Mt. Lebanon and Pine-Richland for the last two spots. The Big Macs have, on paper, the more favorable schedule. Charleroi run-ruled Wash High to stay within a game of first-place OLSH. Those two meet on Monday, the Cougars needing a win to keep title hopes alive. Chartiers-Houston bashed four home runs to beat West Greene, all but locking up second place in 1A Section 2. Both teams had already clinched playoff spots.
Friday’s schedule:
5A Trinity at Thomas Jefferson PPD to 5/5
4A Laurel Highlands at Ringgold
2A Burgettstown at Bentworth PPD to 5/2
2A Ft. Cherry at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart PPD to 5/5
1A Carmichaels at Avella PPD to 5/5
1A California at Mapletown
In Thursday baseball action, Canon-McMillan clinched a playoff berth and moved two games up on second-place Hempfield. C-M won at Baldwin while Hempfield lost for the third straight time to Mt. Lebanon. The Big Macs host Central Catholic Monday afternoon looking to clinch at least a share of the section title with a win. We’ll have that game for you on WJPA-AM.
Thursday’s scores:
Softball Mt. Lebanon 13, Canon-McMillan 9
Softball Charleroi 14, Wash High 0
Softball Chartiers-Houston 6, West Greene 5
Baseball Canon-McMillan 10, Baldwin 6
