May 23, 2022 3:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Albert Pujols hit two home runs, then caught the warmup tosses when star catcher Yadier Molina made his first pitching appearance to close out the St. Louis Cardinals’ 18-4 romp over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Molina gave up a pair of homers and four runs while working the ninth inning, eventually completing the Cardinals’ three-game sweep. But it was not all fun and games for St. Louis. Starter Steven Matz lasted only four pitches before being pulled with stiffness in his left shoulder. Pujols boosted his career home run count to 683. Pujols had a pinch-hit homer in the fifth inning and a three-run drive in the ninth off Pirates infielder Josh VanMeter in the ninth.
May 23, 2022 3:54 am
TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Justin Thomas has captured the PGA Championship for the second time in five years. Thomas stormed back from seven shots back to win the second Major of the season in a three-hole playoff with Will Zalatoris (zal-ah-TOHR’-ihs). Thomas birdied the first two playoff holes and closed with a par. Thomas began the tournament with back-to-back 67s, despite getting the poor side of the draw. He shot 74 on Saturday to go backward, but he made a back-nine charge on Sunday and birdied the 17th. He closed with a 67 and finished at 5-under 275 over 72 holes.
Zalatoris began the day three back of Mito Pereira. Zalatoris finished a rollercoaster round of 71 to match Thomas. Pereira squandered a one-shot lead on the 18th when he drove into the creek off the tee and made double bogey.
May 21, 2022 10:14 pm
Facing elimination, W&J plated four runs in the first, five more in the second and cruised by Mitchell College, 13-6 Saturday night. Roman Samson opened the scoring, hitting into a fielders choice to plate Nate Rush. Trevor Dean, Jacob LaDuca and Joe Lehner followed with consecutive two-out RBI singles. Int he second Peter Kalinski blasted a three-run home run. Three batters later, Trevor Dean hit his fourth home run of the post-season, putting the Red & Black up 9-0. Shane Fox (4-0) pitched the first six innings and picked up the win, allowing three runs on six hits, three walks and three strikeouts. LaDuca added two more run-scoring singles and Tyler Horvat drove in a pair of runs with a two-out single in the sixth. Horvat now has 15 post-season base hits including seven in this regional.
With the win, W&J moves to the Regional Championship Round to face top-seeded Rowan. W&J must win twice to advance. Rowan needs only one victory to claim the region championship. In the semifinal win, Rowan scored seven runs in the final two innings, all with two outs, to blow open a one-run game. W&J had 13 hits in the loss but scored multiple runs only once, plating three in the second, taking a lead that would build to 4-2 an inning later. The Profs went in front to stay with a five-run fifth inning. W&J pulled to within a run in the seventh. Evan Sante’s sac fly with the bases loaded made it 7-6, just missing a grand slam. But Rowan reliever Mike Shannon coaxed a couple easy fly balls to end the threat. The Profs scored four times after two out in the eighth, then added three more runs in the ninth to put it away.
Game time for Sunday has been moved up to 10 am due to expected rough weather later in the day. We’ll have every W&J game in the regional on WJPA-AM (1450) or LISTEN HERE!
Friday
#1 Rowan 7, #4 Mitchell 1
#2 Wash & Jeff 5, #3 Lebanon Valley 1
Saturday
Mitchell 10, Lebanon Valley 8
Rowan 14, Wash & Jeff 7
Wash & Jeff 13, Mitchell College 6
Sunday
10 am Championship Round, W&J vs. Rowan WJPA-AM (1450) or LISTEN HERE!
+45 minutes If Necessary game WJPA-AM (1450) or LISTEN HERE!
May 22, 2022 7:42 am
PITTSBURGH — Paul Goldschmidt went 4 for 5 with two doubles and two RBI to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 on Saturday night. Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 14 games and his on-base streak to 28. His two-run double capped a four-run second inning. Bryan Reynolds hit an inside-the-park home run for the Pirates, and Yoshi Tsutsugo had a two-run double. Both finished with two hits — Reynolds also doubled. Highly touted St. Louis prospect Matthew Liberatore came within one out of winning his major league debut. The left-hander allowed four runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings while striking out three and walking two. Liberatore was recalled from Triple-A Memphis before the game. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Liberatore’s command will improve as he continues to pitch. Drew VerHagen (1-0) tossed 2 1/3 scoreless inning in relief of Liberatore for his first major league win since 2019 with Detroit. VerHagen spent the past two seasons playing in Japan. Ryan Helsley worked a perfect ninth for his second save. Tommy Edman added two hits as the Cardinals had a total of 10. Jose Quintana (1-2) was tagged for five runs — two earned — and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one.
May 22, 2022 7:50 am
PITTSBURGH — Forward Bryan Rust and the Penguins have agreed to a six-year contract extension, according to a release from the team. Rust’s contract extension is worth $30.75 million and begins at the start of the 2022-23 season. The contract runs through the 2027-28 season. Rust will make $5.125 million annually. Rust is 30 years old and a two-time Stanley Cup Champion. In the 2021-22 season, Rust recorded a career-best 58 points in 60 games.
May 20, 2022 11:44 pm
Rowan scored seven runs in the final two innings, all with two out, to beat Washington & Jefferson, 14-7. With the loss, the Presidents drop into an elimination game against #4 Mitchell College. That game is due to start approximately 5:15 pm. Rowan moves to Sunday’s championship round, needing one win to claim the title and advance to next weekend’s Super Regional.
Tyler Horvat singled twice, scored two runs and held the hosts to one run over six innings of relief as #2 Washington & Jefferson moved to the Regional semifinal with a 5-1 win over Lebanon Valley. Having already scored in the first, Horvat scampered home on a wild pitch shortly after a lengthy rain delay in the bottom of the third. He then took over on the mound for starter Henry Litman. The Dutchmen got four hits and a run in the first eight hitters after the delay but Horvat did not allow another hit over the final four innings. Roman Samson scored on a balk in the seventh then singled home two more runs in the eighth. W&J (36-8) will face top-seeded Rowan (31-8) Saturday with a spot in the championship round going to the winner. We’ll have every W&J game in the regional on WJPA-AM (1450) or LISTEN HERE!
Friday
#1 Rowan 7, #4 Mitchell 1
#2 Wash & Jeff 5, #3 Lebanon Valley 1
Saturday
Mitchell 10, Lebanon Valley 8
Rowan 14, Wash & Jeff 7
3:30 pm Wash & Jeff vs. Mitchell College WJPA-AM (1450) or LISTEN HERE!
Sunday
11 am Championship, If Necessary games.
May 21, 2022 4:08 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Adam Wainwright pitched seven innings of one-run ball to extend his domination of Pittsburgh, and battery-mate Yadier Molina keyed a four-run sixth inning with a two-run single as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pirates 5-3. Wainwright has won 10 straight decisions against the Pirates and gone 19 starts since last losing to Pittsburgh in 2016, on opening day. He scattered four hits, walked three and struck out three while improving his lifetime record to 23-7 versus Pittsburgh. Michael Chavis hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to end Wainwright’s 38 1/3-inning scoreless streak against the Pirates.
May 21, 2022 4:09 am
UNDATED (AP) – Antti Raanta is making things difficult for his former team these days. Raanta stopped 21 shots and the Hurricanes took a two-games-to-none lead in their second-round series by blanking the Rangers, 2-0. It was the first career playoff shutout for Raanta, who has allowed just one goal in the series. Igor Shesterkin was perfect until Brendan Smith scored a short-handed goal 15:54 into the second period. It was Smith’s first postseason goal in nine years. Sebastian Aho provided the primary assist on the game-winning goal before sending a shot into an empty net. Shesterkin made 20 saves for the Rangers, who host Game 3 on Sunday.
May 21, 2022 4:11 am
TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Will Zalatoris is the leader through two rounds of the PGA Championship Southern Hills in Tulsa. Zalatoris took the outright lead with a birdie on 17 and is 9 under following Friday’s bogey-free, 5-under 65. That puts him one stroke ahead of Mito Pereira and three in front of Justin Thomas. In the seven previous majors at Southern Hills, the leader after the second round went on to win.
May 20, 2022 2:59 am
In two regular season softball match-ups, Trinity handled Chartiers Valley, 11-4 & 14-5. Thursday, the Hillers committed five infield errors on the way to a season-ending loss to the Colts. Madison Argo and Alyssa Rager homered for Trinity. Deer Lakes eliminated Waynesburg. The Jeff-Morgan / Union game was postponed to Friday at Montour.
On the baseball diamonds, 2A #6 Burgettstown knocked off #3 Shenango to reach the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in 40 years. 5A top seed Peters Township got a walk-off single from winning pitcher Wes Parker to advance to Monday’s semifinals. Carmichaels (2A) and West Greene (1A) were both eliminated.
Links for brackets & broadcasts plus the daily schedule for teams from the two-county area follow.
Baseball WPIAL Brackets — Click Here — Softball WPIAL Brackets — Click Here
Thursday–Softball Quarterfinals
5A Chartiers Valley 6, Trinity 5
3A Deer Lakes 3, Waynesburg 2
1A West Greene 7, Mapletown 0
Thursday–Baseball Quarterfinals
5A Peters Township 6, Penn-Trafford 5
2A Burgettstown 6, Shenango 1
2A Riverside 3, Carmichaels 2
1A OL/Sacred Heart 6, West Greene 0
Friday–Softball Quarterfinals
1A Union 11, Jeff-Morgan 0
Monday–Softball Quarterfinals
2A #4 Chartiers-Houston vs. #5 Laurel, 4 pm at Sewickley Academy
2A #14 Bentworth vs. #6 OL/Sacred Heart, 5 pm at West Mifflin
2A #8 Charleroi vs. #1 Neshannock, 5 pm at Mars Area
Monday–Baseball Semifinals
2A #6 Burgettstown vs. #7 Neshannock, 2 pm at Shaler
5A #1 Peters Township vs. #12 Thomas Jefferson, 4:30 pm at W&J Ross Memorial Park
Broadcast plans to be determined on WJPA-AM (1450) or LISTEN HERE!
