May 25, 2021 3:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Josh Bailey scored 51 seconds into the second overtime to lift the New York Islanders to a 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh in Game 5 of their first-round series. Bailey took advantage of a giveaway by Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry to fire the puck into the empty net as New York grabbed a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Anthony Beauvillier and Jordan Eberle also scored for New York. Rookie goaltender Ilya Sorokin stopped 48 shots for the Islanders. Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust scored for Pittsburgh but the Penguins are in danger of a third straight early playoff exit.
May 24, 2021 12:12 am
SOFTBALL–CLICK for WPIAL Brackets–Frazier is the defending PIAA champion. The Commodores downed Chartiers-Houston Monday, eliminating the Bucs. Laurel has won the last two WPIAL titles. The Spartans got a two-hit shutout from Autumn Boyd to oust Burgettstown. The freshman right-hander struck out 19 Blue Devils. West Greene and Canon-McMillan are the last two softball teams from the two-county area. The Pioneers are in the Class 1A semifinals on Tuesday, the Big Macs in the 6A semis Wednesday against Norwin, a game we’ll have on WJPA-AM (1450) and online.
BASEBALL–CLICK for WPIAL Brackets— McGuffey and Peters Township are the last two Washington County teams standing. The Highlanders haven’t allowed a run but will face #1 Hopewell Tuesday afternoon at West Mifflin and on WJPA-FM (95.3). Meanwhile, the #13 Indians continue toward a WPIAL title but will now face the 5A top seed in Franklin Regional. Those two play at Latrobe and on WJPA-AM (1450). West Greene lost a run-rule game against #1 Eden Christian and was eliminated. Jeff-Morgan topped #3 Rochester to reach the semifinals. A number of games were re-scheduled to Tuesday including Carmichaels 2A semifinal vs. Shenango.
Tuesday, May 25 — Semifinals
1A #1 West Greene vs. #4 South Side Beaver, 3:00 pm at Montour
5A #13 Peters Township vs. #1 Franklin Regional , 3:50 pm at Norwin – WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here!
3A #4 McGuffey vs. #1 Hopewell, 4:50 pm at West Mifflin – WJPA-FM (95.3) or Listen Here!
2A #3 Carmichaels vs. #2 Shenango, time TBD at Norwin
1A #6 Jeff-Morgan vs. #7 Riverview, 4:30 pm at Plum
Wednesday, May 26 — Semifinals
6A #6 Canon-McMillan vs. #2 Norwin, 1:50 pm at West Mifflin – WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here!
May 24, 2021 3:52 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Austin Riley drove in five runs while hitting two of Atlanta three homers and the Braves capped their impressive power display in the series by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1. Dansby Swanson added a two-run homer. The Braves hit 15 homers, adding to their major league lead, while winning three of four games against the Pirates. Max Fried allowed one run and four hits and three walks in seven innings. It marked his fourth consecutive start allowing only one run. After losing the opening game of the four-game series 6-4 on Thursday night, the Braves outscored the Pirates 33-3 in three consecutive wins.
May 24, 2021 3:56 am
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) – Phil Mickelson has become the oldest major champion by surviving a somewhat chaotic final round at the PGA Championship. The 50-year-old Mickelson squandered most of a five-stroke lead on the back nine before finishing two strokes ahead of Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen at Kiawah Island. Mickelson closed with a 1-over 73 to finish 6 under for his sixth career major championship. Julius Boros was 48 when he won the 1968 PGA Championship in San Antonio. Boros held the distinction of oldest major champ for 53 years before Mickelson added to his legacy. Lefty also became the first player to win tournaments 30 years apart, and the 10th to win in three different decades. Koepka was 4 over on the par 5s when the game was still on and closed with a 74. Oosthuizen hit into the water as he was trying to make a final run and shot 73.
May 22, 2021 1:54 am
BASEBALL–CLICK for WPIAL Brackets— McGuffey had never won a baseball playoff game prior to this season. Now, the Highlanders have won two in a row, both by shutout. Winning pitcher Austin Beattie scattered six hits over seven innings and walked just one batter to lead McGuffey to the 2-0 win over Derry in the 3A quarterfinals. Beattie also tripled home one run and scored the other on Jake Orr’s ringing double in the fifth inning. The Highlanders advance to the WPIAL semifinals Tuesday against top-seeded Hopewell.
Peters Township scored in the first and never trailed Latrobe, advancing to the semifinals. That semifinal match-up was originally scheduled for Monday but will likely be bumped back one day due to the suspension of the Franklin Regional/Mars Area game. A field light failure at North Allegheny led to that delay. Seton-La Salle needed just three innings to eliminate California. Carmichaels took advantage of eight walks and four errors, ousting Chartiers-Houston. Peters Township, Seton-La Salle & Carmichales also clinched state playoff spots. In a Class 6A first-round game, Upper St. Clair scored three times in the bottom of the seventh to walk off with a win over Canon-McMillan.
SOFTBALL–CLICK for WPIAL Brackets–Remaining teams are all off for the weekend. Quarterfinals are set for Monday, semifinals Tuesday & Wednesday.
Monday, May 24 — Quarterfinals
2A #6 Chartiers-Houston vs. #3 Frazier, 12:50 pm at Peterswood Park – WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here!
2A #7 Burgettstown vs. #2 Laurel, 2:50 pm at North Allegheny – WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here!
1A #8 West Greene vs. #1 Eden Christian, 2:00 pm at Peterswood Park
1A #6 Jeff-Morgan vs. #3 Rochester, 4:30 pm at Peterswood Park
— Semifinals
2A #3 Carmichaels vs. #2 Shenango, 2:00 pm at Shaler
Tuesday, May 25 — Semifinals
1A #1 West Greene vs. #4 South Side Beaver, 3:00 pm at Montour
3A #4 McGuffey vs. #1 Hopewell, 4:20 pm at West Mifflin – WJPA-FM (95.3) or Listen Here!
5A #13 Peters Township vs. #1 Franklin Regional , 4:20 pm at Norwin – WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here!
Wednesday, May 26 — Semifinals
6A #6 Canon-McMillan vs. #2 Norwin, 2:00 pm at West Mifflin – WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here!
May 23, 2021 7:35 am
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — After two tough losses, the New York Islanders turned back to Ilya Sorokin in a game they needed to win, and the rookie goalie came through. Sorokin stopped 29 shots, Oliver Wahlstrom and Ryan Pulock each had a goal and an assist and the Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 in Game 4 on Saturday to even the first-round series. Sorokin, who had 39 saves in the Islanders’ 4-3 win in Game 1, was back in goal after Semyon Varlamov started Games 2 and 3 — both losses. Josh Bailey and Jordan Eberle also scored and Mathew Barzal had two assists for New York. Tristan Jarry had 23 saves for Pittsburgh, and drew mocking chants of “Jar-ry! Jar-ry!” from Islanders fans. Game 5 is Monday night in Pittsburgh, and Game 6 back at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday.
May 23, 2021 7:33 am
ATLANTA — Ozzie Albies is feeling much better about Atlanta’s lineup lately. Of course, helping the Braves hit a combined 10 homers in back-to-back lopsided wins certainly helps. Albies hit home runs from both sides of the plate and Ronald Acuña Jr. led off with his major league-best 15th homer as the Braves again showed off their power game and beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 on Saturday. The Braves’ three homers on Saturday followed a seven-homer attack, including blasts by Albies and Acuña, in a 20-1 rout of the Pirates on Friday night. After Acuña hit one of Atlanta’s two grand slams on Friday night, he didn’t wait to keep the offense rolling. With fans in the sellout crowd of 40,068 still arriving, Acuña pulled Mitch Keller’s first-pitch fastball over the left-field wall. Acuña hustled out of the box as there was no certainty the line drive was going to clear the fence. He slowed down for the rest of his home-run trot. It was his 22nd career leadoff shot, extending his franchise record, including three this season. The Braves lead the major leagues with 75 homers. At times, the all-or-nothing approach hasn’t worked, but Atlanta’s batters have connected in consecutive win over the Pirates.
May 22, 2021 3:38 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a grand slam in the second inning off Tyler Anderson, pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza added another slam in the eighth against position player Wilmer Difo and the Atlanta Braves homered seven times in a 20-1 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Austin Riley homered twice for his first multihomer game, and Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna and Dansby Swanson also went deep for the Braves, who became the first team in major league history to have seven or more homers in a game that included two slams, according to STATS.
May 22, 2021 3:42 am
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) – Phil Mickelson is in position to become the oldest winner of a major championship. The 50-year-old Mickelson birdied five of his last nine holes for a 3-under 69 that leaves him tied with Louis Oosthuizen at minus-5. Lefty has fallen out of the top-100 ranking and hasn’t won on the PGA Tour in three years. His last major title was at the 2013 PGA Championship.
Mickelson is the oldest player to have a share of the lead at the midway point of a major since a 52-year-old Fred Couples in the 2012 Masters. Oosthuizen’s only bogey of the day came on his final hole. He shot a 68 to grab a share of the lead, one shot ahead of Brooks Koepka. Branden Grace was in great shape before going double-bogey-bogey on his last two holes, dropping him into a fourth-place tie with Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Hideki Matsuyama at 3 under. Those missing the cut include Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and Matt Kuchar.
May 22, 2021 3:44 am
STORRS, Conn. (AP) – UConn has extended women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma’s contract through 2025 in a deal worth $15 million. The 67-year-old coach has led UConn to a record 11 women’s national championships and guided the Huskies to their 13th consecutive Final Four this past season, when they lost to Arizona in the semifinal.
