June 7, 2022 3:46 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – Artturi Lehkonen scored 1:19 into overtime, and Colorado rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 Monday night, completing a four-game sweep in the Western Conference final and sending the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001. Colorado will take on the winner of the Eastern Conference final between the New York Rangers and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Cale Makar, Devon Toews Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Colorado. Pavel Francouz stopped 30 of 35 shots. Zach Hyman scored twice for the Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Zack Kassian also scored for Edmonton. Leon Draisaitl had four assists and goalie Mike Smith finished with 36 saves.
June 7, 2022 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – A 24th woman has filed a civil lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is also awaiting possible discipline from the NFL.
The latest lawsuit was filed in Houston by attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing all 24 women. Buzbee says in a statement that the women “continue to stand firm for what is right.” Watson’s lead attorney Rusty Hardin did not immediately reply to a request seeking comment. Hardin has repeatedly said Watson has done nothing wrong. Watson has been accused by massage therapists of harassing, assaulting or touching them during appointments and the latest lawsuit makes similar allegations. Watson could be suspended if the league determines he violated its personal conduct policy.
June 6, 2022 11:56 pm
Peters Township baseball gave up a 7-run third, clawed back to within two but got a runner thrown out at home, snuffing out the late rally in a season ending loss. West Allegheny steadily built the lead on the way to a shutout over Thomas Jefferson to advance to the quarterfinals against Bethel Park. Burgettstown baseball, West Greene softball scored one-run victories to advance. The PIAA Baseball & Softball brackets have been updated with winners. Sites/times for Thursday’s quarterfinals are due out Tuesday. Bracket links are below along with a listing of first-round scores and quarterfinal pairings in our neighborhood. We’ll definitely have the Burgettstown game for you on WJPA-AM (1450).
Baseball PIAA Brackets — Click Here — Softball PIAA Brackets — Click Here
First Round, Monday, June 6
Baseball
6A Cumberland Valley 7, Mt. Lebanon 0
6A Upper St. Clair 2, Altoona 0
5A West Allegheny 7, Thomas Jefferson 0
5A Ephrata 9, Peters Township 7
5A Bethel Park 4, Central Mountain 3
2A Burgettstown 6, Johnsonburg 5
Softball
1A West Greene 9, Conemaugh Valley 8
5A Armstrong 13, Chartiers Valley 6
Quarterfinals, Thursday, June 9
Baseball
6A Upper St. Clair vs. Warwick, 12 noon at Mt. Aloysius College
5A West Allegheny vs. Bethel Park, 2 pm at W&J’s Ross Memorial Park
2A Burgettstown vs. Redbank Valley, 2:20 pm at Slippery Rock University — WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here!
Softball
1A West Greene vs. DuBois Central Catholic, 3 pm at Slippery Rock University
June 6, 2022 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jack Suwinski followed his game-winning homer a day earlier with three hits to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0. The rookie has at least one hit in his past five games, and was 7 for 12 this series. Pittsburgh took two of three from Arizona after a three-game sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Pirates starter Zach Thompson allowed four hits and two walks with four strikeouts. David Bednar had two strikeouts in a perfect ninth for his 10th save. Arizona’s Zac Gallen gave up two runs on five hits, and had three walks and four strikeouts in his first loss since Sept. 13, 2021.
June 6, 2022 3:58 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The Tampa Bay Lightning were able to shake off two straight losses at Madison Square Garden. The Lightning are down 2-1 in the Eastern Conference finals after rallying in the third period of a 3-2 win over the Rangers. The game appeared to be heading for overtime until Ondrej Palat scored with just 42 seconds left in the third period. The game-winner came on a pass from Nikita Kucherov, who had a goal and two assists. The Rangers took a 2-0 lead on power-play goals by Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider 2:07 apart in the second period. Kucherov sparked the Lightning comeback with a power-play goal 66 seconds after Kreider’s tally. Steven Stamkos tied the game by scoring with the man advantage 1:22 into the final period. Igor Shesterkin stopped 48 shots for the Blueshirts. Game 4 is Tuesday in Tampa.
June 6, 2022 3:54 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The Golden State Warriors had another outstanding third quarter on Sunday against the Boston Celtics. This time, the Warriors didn’t waste it. Golden State broke it open by outscoring the Celtics 35-14 in the third period en route to a 107-88 win against Boston, tying the NBA Finals at a game apiece. The Warriors carried a two-point edge into intermission before taking over, ending the third period on a 19-2 run. They held Boston under 38% shooting for the game. Steph Curry was the center of the Warriors’ offense once again, hitting five 3-pointers and providing 29 points with four assists. Jordan Poole was 5-for-9 from 3-point range in scoring 17 points. Celtics forward Al Horford took just four shots and scored two points, three nights after providing a team-high 26 points in Game 1. Jayson Tatum had 28 points and Jaylen Brown added 17 on 5 of 17 from the field. Game 3 is Wednesday in Boston.
June 6, 2022 3:59 am
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) – Billy Horschel made an eagle putt on the 15th hole that all but secured his win in the Memorial at Muirfield Village. Horschel shot a 72 and won by four shots over Aaron Wise. Horschel’s eagle putt from just inside 55 feet had the perfect line and perfect speed, bending left and dropping in the left side of the cup as he stretched out both arms in a quiet, disbelieving celebration. Horschel finished at 13-under 275 and won $2.16 million, the largest paycheck of his career.
June 5, 2022 9:19 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jocelyn Alo homered and knocked in three runs to help No. 1 seed Oklahoma beat Big 12 rival Texas 7-2 on Saturday at the Women’s College World Series. Alo set the tone with her two-run blast as the second batter of the game. The two-time reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year increased her Division I career-record home run total to 118. Tiare Jennings also hit a homer for the Sooners, who advanced to the semifinals Monday and moved one step closer to defending their national title. Hope Trautwein went the distance for the Sooners to claim the win. Janae Jefferson hit a solo homer in the seventh for Texas. The Longhorns will play Arizona in an elimination game Sunday.
— Kelly Maxwell threw a three-hitter with nine strikeouts and No. 7 seed Oklahoma State defeated No. 14 Florida 2-0 to advance to the Women’s College World Series semifinals. Chyenne Factor had two hits and knocked in a run for the Cowgirls. It was quite a day for the Big 12. No. 1 seed Oklahoma defeated fellow Big 12 member Texas in the early game to advance to the semifinals. Florida will plays No. 5 UCLA in an elimination game on Sunday.
June 5, 2022 7:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Jack Suwinski hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied past the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 on Saturday. Bryan Reynolds led off the ninth with a single against Mark Melancon (1-6), who blew his second save in 13 opportunities. Suwinski then lofted a flyball into the right-field stands on the ninth pitch of the at-bat for his first career game-ending hit and sixth home run of the season. Suwinski leads NL rookies in home runs. It has been an impressive showing for the 23-year-old right fielder, who was called up from Double-A Altoona in April in an emergency situation when Reynolds had a one-day stint on the COVID-19 injury list. The homer spoiled an outstanding effort by Arizona starter Zach Davies, who pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, struck out six and walked two. Chris Stratton (3-2) pitched a scoreless ninth in his 200th career appearance. Davies retired 18 batters in a row starting in the second inning until walking Tucapita Marcano with two outs in the eighth. The Pirates loaded the bases before Ian Kennedy relieved Davies and struck out Ke’Bryan Hayes to end the threat and preserve the 1-0 lead. Arizona’s Ketel Marte hit a pair of doubles and scored his team’s lone run in the sixth on a wild pitch while extending his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games.
June 5, 2022 7:45 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Pavel Francouz took J.T. Compher off the hook for a penalty with a key save on Connor McDavid. A few seconds later, Compher took the life out of Rogers Place — and put the Colorado Avalanche on the cusp of the Stanley Cup Finals. Compher came out of the penalty box to give Colorado the lead with 7:18 left and the Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Called for tripping Leon Draisaitl just three minutes after Ryan McLeod tied it for Edmonton, Compher raced out of the box, beat defenseman Evan Bouchard for control along the boards and scored between goalie Mike Smith’s legs. Valeri Nichushkin scored twice for Colorado, Mikko Rantanen had an empty-netter with 30 seconds left, and Francouz made 27 saves. Francouz stepped in midway through the Colorado’s 8-6 victory in Game 1 when Darcy Kuemper sustained an upper-body injury, then made 24 saves Thursday night in a 4-0 win for his second career playoff shutout. In Game 3, he made the big stop on McDavid to keep it tied before Compher scored. McLeod tied it at 2 at 7:34 of the third, going the length of the ice and beating Francouz with a snap shot from the high slot. McDavid opened the scoring 38 seconds in for Edmonton. Smith made 39 saves.
