June 3, 2021 3:44 am
SOFTBALL–CLICK for WPIAL Brackets— Bethel Park’s Sandra Soltes homered twice, including a first-inning grand slam, and drove in eight runs leading the Blackhawks to their first-ever WPIAL softball championship, downing Canon-McMillan, 9-2, in Thursday’s title game. Canon-McMillan hadn’t been to the finals since losing the 2014 title tilt. Bethel Park had lost its three previous championship game appearances (1981, 1987, 1994). Both teams had already qualified for the state playoffs which begin Monday.
West Greene (1A) pounded Union, 17-2, in four innings, winning their fifth straight WPIAL title. The Pioneers join Sto-Rox (2000-2004) and Hempfield (2015-2019) as the only teams to win five consecutive WPIAL softball championships.
BASEBALL–CLICK for WPIAL Brackets— Brock Wallace scored twice, Jake Orr and Austin Beattie combined on a five-hitter as McGuffey downed Avonworth, 2-1, taking third place in WPIAL Class 3A. With the win, the Highlanders secured their first-ever PIAA playoff berth. McGuffey will travel into District 10 to play Hickory, the D10 champion.
Jack Lutte scored one run and drove in the other as Peters Township edged West Allegheny, 2-1, taking third place in Class 5A. Sam Miller got the win, holding WA to one run and three hits in five innings. Tucker Ferris threw two shutout innings to pick up the save. Both have already clinched PIAA berths. Carmichaels lost to Serra, 7-2, Tuesday evening but the Mikes already had their state berth in hand. Jeff-Morgan lost to Eden Christian, 9-2, ending the Mikes’ season.
WPIAL Championships at California University’s Lilley Field
Thursday, June 3
Bethel Park, 9, Canon-McMillan 2
PIAA First Round
Monday, June 7 (broadcasts, sites & times to be announced)
5A Peters Township vs. D6 champion Central Mountain, likely at Bald Eagle High School
3A McGuffey vs. D10 champion Hickory, likely at Slippery Rock University
2A Carmichaels vs. D9 champion Johnsonburg
6A Canon-McMillan vs. D6 champion Mifflin County, likely at Penn State University
1A West Greene vs. District 5 runner-up (Meyersdale/Shade loser)
June 4, 2021 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jacob Stallings hit a three-run double in the eighth inning, lifting the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-3 victory over the Miami Marlins. Trailing 3-2, the Pirates loaded the bases with two outs on a single by NL hits leader Adam Frazier and walks to Bryan Reynolds and Gregory Polanco. Stallings then doubled to left against Dylan Floro, sending the Marlins to their season-high sixth consecutive loss. Reynolds also homered for the Pirates, who stopped a three-game slide. Rookie Ke’Bryan Hayes, fresh off the injured list, had two hits.
June 4, 2021 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Boston Bruins have taken a two-games-to-one lead in the Stanley Cup second-round series, while the Carolina Hurricanes have climbed within 2-1 in their series. Brad Marchand scored 3:36 into overtime to give the Bruins a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders. The Bruins went ahead, 1-0 on Craig Smith’s goal 5:52 into the contest. Boston maintained the lead until Mat Barzal notched his first goal of the postseason, beating Tuukka Rask with 5:26 left in regulation. Rask stopped Barzal on a point-blank shot early in OT and finished with 28 saves.
Semyon Varlamov handled 39 shots for the Islanders, who will host Game 4 on Saturday.
In Tampa, Carolina blew a 2-0 lead before Jordan Staal netted a power-play goal 5:57 into the extra session to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 victory. It was Staal’s fifth goal of the playoffs and left the home team 0-3 in the series. Brett Pesce and Sebastian Aho scored 2:25 apart early in the second period, but Brayden Point tallied 77 seconds later before setting up Alex Killorn’s goal late in the second. Petr Mrazek stopped 35 shots in his first appearance of the postseason. Game 4 is Saturday.
June 3, 2021 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ron Hextall doesn’t sound like someone who’s ready to hit the reset button. The Pittsburgh Penguins general manager says he believes in the team’s core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang and is in no hurry to move on to the franchise’s next chapter. The same goes for goaltender Tristan Jarry despite Jarry’s struggles during Pittsburgh’s first-round playoff loss to the New York Islanders.
June 3, 2021 3:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – Unlike Game 1 of their Stanley Cup second-round series, the Colorado Avalanche had to sweat out a win over the Vegas Golden Knights. The Avs own a 2-0 series lead after Mikko Rantanen scored 2:07 into overtime to conclude a 3-2 win over the Knights. Philipp Grubauer had 39 saves in becoming the first Colorado/Quebec goaltender to pick up six straight postseason victories. He outdueled fellow Vezina Trophy finalist Marc-Andre Fleury, who turned back 22 shots. Rantanen took a cross-ice pass from Nathan MacKinnon and sent a liner over the glove of Fleury. The goal came with Reilly Smith in the penalty box for slashing Rantanen. Brandon Saad and Tyson Jost (johst) also scored to help the Avalanche begin a postseason with six straight wins for the first time since the 1980s. Alec Martinez and Smith had goals for the Golden Knights, who will host Game 3 on Friday.
The Canadiens have opened their Stanley Cup second-round series with a 5-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. The Habs have won their last four games and were back in action two days after ousting top seed Toronto in the opening round. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Eric Staal scored 1:40 apart to give the Montreal Canadiens a 2-0 lead just 5:10 into the contest. Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki also tallied to support Carey Price, who turned back 27 shots.
June 3, 2021 5:59 am
Mike Krzyzewski will step down at the end of next season. His successor will be former Duke player and associate head coach Jon Scheyer. Krzyzewski issued a statement Wednesday saying he and his family view the announcement as a celebration. The 74-year-old Krzyzewski has led Duke to five national championships, most recently in 2015. His 1,170 victories are the most in men’s Division I basketball history. Scheyer coached the Blue Devils last season while Krzyzewski was in quarantine.
June 2, 2021 3:53 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Andrew Benintendi hit a grand slam and drove in five runs, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 10-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Salvador Perez had two homers and three RBIs to help the Royals sweep the two-game series. Brady Singer allowed five runs – four earned – and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings to get the win. Wil Crowe took the loss. He gave up eight runs and eight hits in four-plus innings.
June 2, 2021 3:57 am
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The Tampa Bay Lightning put just 15 shots on goal on Tuesday yet maintained control of their Stanley Cup second-round series. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 31 shots and the Lightning took a two-games-to-none lead by downing the Hurricanes, 2-1. Vasilevskiy’s performance came hours after he was named one of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender. He blanked Carolina until Andrei Svechnikov scored with 90 seconds left. Neither team scored until Alex Killorn 7:09 into the second period. Anthony Cirelli provided what became the game-winner just over eight minutes into the third. Alex Nedeljkovic turned back 13 shots for the Hurricanes, who will try to get back in the series on Thursday in Tampa.
June 1, 2021 3:49 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Adalberto Mondesi hit a two-run homer before injuring his hamstring, Mike Minor pitched six solid innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3. The Royals have won 10 of 16 to get back to .500 for the first time since an 11-game losing streak dropped them four games below. Minor allowed two runs and five hits. He struck out seven and walked one. Chad Kuhl took the loss in his return from the injured list. He gave up three runs and six hits in four innings.
June 1, 2021 3:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – Atlanta Braves star Marcell Ozuna has been granted a $20,000 bond on charges of aggravated assault by strangulation and battery against his wife. Ozuna has been jailed since Saturday, when police officers in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs said they witnessed him attacking his wife, Genesis, while responding to a 911 call. During his initial appearance in Fulton County Magistrate Court, Ozuna was ordered to have no contact with his wife. Attorneys said the couple is in the process of getting divorced.
