February 4, 2020 2:58 am
Six Washington County girls basketball teams, along with one from Greene County, will be in the playoff brackets released by the WPIAL next Tuesday night. The fate of the other 12 teams from the two-county area was finalized last night. Beth-Center’s loss to South Park eliminated the Bulldogs from the 3A Section 2 race. Fort Cherry’s loss to unbeaten Bishop Canevin ended the Rangers hopes out of 2A Section 3.
Avella, Burgettstown, California, Charleroi, Chartiers-Houston and Trinity have clinched post-season berths along with West Greene. We’ll have the WPIAL Playoff Pairings Show with the TribLive High School Sports Network next Tuesday night on WJPA-AM (1450).
February 3, 2020 3:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Matt Murray made 29 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the 50th regular-season game between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. The Penguins crept within four points of the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals with an extra game left to play. They’re 2-0 out of their bye week and have won five of seven since Crosby came back. Sam Lafferty, Patric Hornqvist, Dominik Simon and Brandon Tanev scored for Pittsburgh. Rookie goaltender Ilya Samsonov allowed four goals to lose his first career start against the Penguins. Ovechkin was held off the score sheet and remains at 695 career goals.
February 2, 2020 4:07 am
With an impressive road win at Thomas Jefferson, the Trinity boys basketball team pulled to within a game of second place and maintained control of its own playoff destiny. Six Washington County boys teams have playoff berths locked up. Trinity and Chartiers-Houston are still alive for post-season spots with one week left in the regular season. West Greene will be the only boys team from Greene County to qualify. The WPIAL will announce the playoff brackets on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
Class 6A-Peters Township has clinched while Canon-McMillan has been eliminated.
Class 5A-Trinity (7-5) is currently tied for third with South Fayette, a game back of Thomas Jefferson (8-4). The Hillers have games remaining with West Allegheny (6-6) and at South Fayette (7-5), both of whom beat Trinity the first time through section play. Trinity can finish anywhere from second to out of the playoffs.
Class 4A-Ringgold has clinched a berth. Waynesburg is out.
Class 3A-Charleroi (10-1), Washington (8-1) and McGuffey (7-3) have all clinched. Fort Cherry (Section 2) and Beth-Center (Section 3) have been eliminated.
Class 2A-California (5-5) has clinched. Chartiers-Houston (3-7) is still alive but must beat Bentworth (0-10) and Carmichaels (2-9) while California loses to Jeannette (9-1) and Bentworth. Burgettstown is eliminated in Section 3.
Class 1A-West Greene has clinched a playoff berth. Jeff-Morgan, Avella and Mapletown have been eliminated.
February 2, 2020 3:54 am
Every year, 18 years and counting, Burrell wrestling has reached the WPIAL Team Tournament Finals. Saturday afternoon, the Bucs continued their dominance of the sport in winning a 14th consecutive championship. Neither Quaker Valley in the semifinals, nor Burgettstown in the championship match, provided much challenge as Burrell picked up it’s 16th overall wrestling championship. Burgettstown reached the WPIAL Finals for the first time in 40 years but the Blue Devils fell short in their quest for a third WPIAL wrestling championship. Burgettstown clinched a first-ever berth in the PIAA Team Tournament with a semifinal win over McGuffey. Quaker Valley rebounded from the semifinal loss to top McGuffey, earning a trip to the PIAA Team Tournament. The Highlanders dual meet season comes to an end with the two losses. Follow the Team and Individual Wrestling Tournament Series on WJPA’s Wrestling Page
WPIAL AA Team Tournament
Semifinals
Burrell 57, Quaker Valley 15
Burgettstown 45, McGuffey 27
Third Place (PIAA qualifier)
Quaker Valley 52, McGuffey 27
WPIAL AA Championship
Burrell 63, Burgettstown 9
February 1, 2020 4:07 am
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the signing of free agent infielder JT Riddle. General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcement on Friday. The 28 year old Riddle was a 13th round pick by the Miami Marlins and has spent his entire career in the Miami organization. Riddle appeared in 51 games with the Marlins in 2019 making 26 starts in center field and 7 starts at shortstop. Riddle was placed on the injured list on July 18 with a right forearm strain and missed the remainder of the season. In 223 big league games Riddle has a .229 batting average with 18 home runs and 79 RBI. Riddle has been added to the 40 man roster.
January 31, 2020 4:10 am
The top four seeds have reached the semifinals in the WPIAL Team Wrestling Championship Tournaments. Burrell, Burgettstown, McGuffey and Quaker Valley will meet at Chartiers-Houston Saturday afternoon for the Double-A title as well as three berths in the PIAA tournament. Waynesburg, Seneca Valley, Canon-McMillan and Hempfield will square off at Norwin with the Triple-A championship on the line. The top three will also qualify for the PIAA playoffs.
We’ll have all the action for you live on WJPA-AM and online Listen Here!
WPIAL 2A Championships at Chartiers-Houston
Semifinals
12 noon #1 Burrell vs. #4 Quaker Valley
12 noon #2 Burgettstown vs. #3 McGuffey
Third-Place
2 pm Semifinal losers
Championship
2 pm Semifinals winners
WPIAL 3A Championships at Norwin
Semifinals
4 pm #1 Waynesburg vs. #4 Hempfield Area
4 pm #2 Seneca Valley vs. #3 Canon-McMillan
Third-Place
6 pm Semifinal losers
Championship
6 pm Semifinals winners
January 31, 2020 2:45 am
The WPIAL AA & AAA Team Wrestling Tournaments are down to four teams in each bracket with the top seeds advancing. Waynesburg, Seneca Valley, Canon-McMillan and Hempfield head to the AAA Semifinals Saturday at Norwin. Burrell, Burgettstown, McGuffey and Quaker Valley will square off Saturday at Chartiers-Houston for the AA Semifinals. We’ll have live coverage from both sites on WJPA-AM (1450).
Follow the 2020 Wrestling Tournament season on WJPA Wrestling.
Triple-A First Round
Canon-McMillan 55, Norwin 17
Waynesburg 56, Pine-Richland 18
Triple-A Quarterfinals
Canon-McMillan 39, North Allegheny 21
Waynesburg 49, Latrobe 15
Double-A First Round
Beth-Center 34, Southmoreland 31
Quaker Valley 45, Fort Cherry 31
McGuffey 63, Ellwood City 17
Burgettstown 54, Mt. Pleasant 18
Double-A Quarterfinals
Burrell 58, Beth-Center 15
McGuffey 44, Elizabeth-Forward 33
Burgettstown 58, Freedom 17
January 30, 2020 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Obi Toppin had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 7 Dayton hold off Duquesne 73-69. Dayton led by as many as 19 points in the second half, but Duquesne used a 15-2 run to close the gap. The Dukes cut the lead all the way to two points, but their upset bid ran out of steam when point guard Sincere Carry turned the ball over with 7.9 seconds remaining. Michael Hughes II led Duquesne with 19 points.
January 29, 2020 3:44 am
HOUSTON (AP) – Dusty Baker is working to finalize an agreement to become manager of the Houston Astros. That’s according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations. The 70-year-old Baker would become the oldest manager in the big leagues. He would take over from AJ Hinch, who was fired Jan. 13 just an hour after he was suspended for the season by Major League Baseball for his role in Houston’s sign-stealing scandal. The hiring of Baker is a sign the Astros want to bring an old-school mentality and stern presence to a franchise reeling from the dismissal of Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow.
January 28, 2020 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks acquired talented outfielders on Monday. A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that free agent Nicholas Castellanos has agreed to a four-year, $64 million with the Reds. Castellanos comes to Cincinnati after hitting .289 with 27 homers and 73 RBIs for the Cubs and Tigers last season.
The 27-year-old Castellanos is the latest high-profile free agent to join the Reds, following infielder Mike Moustakas, pitcher Wade Miley and Japanese All-Star outfielder Shogo Akiyama.
