June 14, 2021 3:53 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The New York Islanders have opened their semifinal series by knocking off the defending Stanley Cup champs. Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves and the Isles got goals from Mathew Barzal and Ryan Pulock to beat the Lightning, 2-1 in Tampa. Varlamov blanked Tampa Bay until Brayden Point netted a power-play goal in the final minute. Varlamov won his fourth straight playoff start, joining teammate Ilya Sorokin as only the third pair of netminding teammates to have personal winning streaks of at least four games in a single postseason. Barzal scored for the fourth time in five games, making it 1-0 on a breakaway in the second period following a bad pass by Lightning captain Steven Stamkos. Pulock doubled New York’s lead with a shot from the point that eluded Andre Vasilevskiy, who was otherwise brilliant in net. The Islanders will carry a four-game winning streak into Game 2 on Tuesday in Tampa.
June 12, 2021 2:40 am
Canon-McMillan and West Greene softball teams both needed extra innings to stay alive in the state playoffs Thursday. Abby Allen (CM) and Kiley Meek (WG) each stroked two-run homers in the 10th inning to put their teams into the semifinals. Canon-Mac will play North Penn. West Greene faces DuBois Central Catholic.
Softball Brackets WPIAL PIAA Baseball Brackets WPIAL PIAA
PIAA Semifinals
Monday, June 14
Canon-McMillan vs. D1 North Penn, 1:50 pm at Mechanicsburg High School – WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here!
West Greene vs. District 9 champion DuBois Central Catholic, 12 noon at Slippery Rock University
SOFTBALL Quarterfinals — Three times, Neshaminy took a one-run lead on Canon-McMillan in Thursday’s 6A quarterfinal game. Twice, the Big Macs scored a single run shortly thereafter to tie the game. Trailing 3-2 in the 10th inning, Canon-McMillan had had enough. Not only did the Big Macs tie the game, two batters later, they walked off with the win and a berth in the state semifinals. Abby Allen battled to a full count, including a couple two-strike fouls, then crushed a drive over the left-field fence, her second two-run home run of the playoffs as the Big Macs’ bench erupted and met Allen at home plate. Brooke Perri got the win in relief, allowing just one unearned run over six innings of work. The lefty gave up three hits and did not walk a batter.
Canon-Mac looked for a clutch hit most of the day, finding just enough timely hitting to stay close. Elika Mowery singled in Grace Higgins to tie the game in the third. Taylor Eckles lofted a bloop into center, again plating Higgins, evening the score after five. And that’s where it stayed until the tenth when the international tie-breaker rule took effect, putting the previous inning’s last batter on second base to start the frame. Neshaminy tried twice to sacrifice that runner to third and failed before Kylie Siwek doubled in the run with two out in the inning. In the bottom of the tenth, Perri’s courtesy runner Sami Merkle started at second base. Eckles bunted her over and when the throw to first got away, Merkle raced home to tie the game at 3-3. With Eckles at first, Allen twice failed on bunt attempts, falling behind 0-2 in the count. Three balls and a couple fouled off pitches later, Allen drilled a long foul down the left-field line. Neshaminy players took a collective deep breath. On the very next pitch, Allen caught a fastball out over the plate and hit a drive over the fence in left for the win. The hit for Allen was her first in the state playoffs and just her second since her two-run bomb against Norwin in the WPIAL semifinals.
In a back and forth quarterfinal matchup at Slippery Rock, West Greene got a two-run home run in the top of the 10th from winning pitcher Kiley Meek, then held off another rally attempt by Cambridge Springs to win, 6-5. Both teams had leads and late chances to win the game but couldn’t get the final out needed until the Pioneers slammed the door in the tenth.
June 13, 2021 7:46 am
MILWAUKEE — Brewers ace Corbin Burnes has made things easy for his teammates this season, shutting down opponents and working deep into games. When he failed to do either of those things Saturday, Milwaukee paid him back with a dominant bullpen effort and a five-run outburst in the fourth inning to key a 7-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Burnes allowed three runs in the first inning, got himself under control but then loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth. Trevor Richards (1-0) relieved and struck out three straight to end the threat and preserve a three-run lead. Christian Yelich delivered the biggest hit of the day, doubling to left-center with the bases loaded and one out in the pivotal fifth. It was one of two hits for Yelich, who recorded his first multi-hit game since May 24 and sixth of the season. Pittsburgh right-hander Chad Kuhl (0-4) gave up six runs, five earned, with five hits and four walks over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two while losing to Milwaukee for the first time in 10 career appearances (nine starts). The Pirates had 10 hits, including three from second baseman Adam Fraizer, but went 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10.
June 12, 2021 3:39 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) -Christian Yelich hit a bases-loaded double and Pittsburgh relievers issued three consecutive bases-loaded walks in a five-run seventh inning that helped the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pirates 7-4. The Brewers tied a franchise record by drawing six walks in the seventh-inning rally that put them ahead for good. Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a two-run homer and Ben Gamel and Gregory Polanco added solo shots for Pittsburgh. The Pirates have lost five straight. The Brewers have won 12 of 14 and are tied with the Chicago Cubs for the NL Central lead.
June 12, 2021 3:38 am
PARIS (AP) – Novak Djokovic has advanced to the French Open final and will play fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday. Djokovic stopped Rafael Nadal’s bid for a 14th French Open title and handed the King of Clay just his third loss in 108 matches at the tournament. Djokovic dropped the first set of the semifinal match before rallying for a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2 victory. He won the last six games as he takes aim at his second French Open championship and 19th Grand Slam title. Nadal had been 7-1 versus Djokovic at Roland Garros, losing to him in 2015. Nadal beat Djokovic in last year’s final. Fans were allowed to stick around for the end of the four-hour match. French officials lifted the 11pm curfew that would have otherwise forced the crowd of 5,000 to leave the stadium.
Tsitsipas edged sixth-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 to reach his first Grand Slam final. Tsitsipas was in meltdown mode at the start of the fifth seed, trailing love-40 after a double-fault before winning five straight points. He broke serve to go up 3-1 and cruised the reset of the way. Tsitsipas had been 0-3 in Grand Slam semifinals. Djokovic will try to join Roy Emerson and Rod Laver as the only men’s players to win each Grand Slam singles title at least twice.
June 12, 2021 3:34 am
RIDGELAND, S.C. (AP) – Chesson Hadley shot a 5-under 66 for a two-stroke lead over Dustin Johnson in the Palmetto Championship at Congaree. Hadley was at 11-under 131 at Congaree Golf Club, his lowest total through 36 holes since the The RSM Classic in 2016. Johnson opened his afternoon round five shots behind Hadley but was tied for the lead through 17 before a double-bogey concluded his 3-under 69. American Tain Lee is third at 7 under after a 68 as he plays his third career PGA event.
June 11, 2021 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Mookie Betts hit the 25th leadoff home run of his career and the Los Angeles Dodgers continued their dominance of the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6-3 win. Betts took the third pitch he saw from Mitch Keller (3-7) and sent it into the bullpen beyond the centerfield fence. Cody Bellinger added two hits and Zack McKinstry drove in two runs as Los Angeles won its 13th straight over the Pirates. Phil Bickford picked up his first save when the game was called with one out in the top of the eighth inning after a rain delay of an hour and 15 minutes.
June 11, 2021 3:55 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Giselle Juarez threw her second consecutive complete game and Oklahoma won its fifth national championship, beating Florida State 5-1 in the Women’s College World Series. The Sooners had lacked a dominant pitcher heading into the series but Juarez answered the call, allowing one run on two hits in the decisive Game 3. Oklahoma won Game 2 6-2 behind Juarez, who went 5-0 at the World Series and was named Most Outstanding Player. She allowed four runs in 31 1/3 innings. The top-seeded Sooners dropped a stunner to James Madison in the series’ opening game, but recovered to beat the Dukes and then got past Florida State after dropping Game 1.
June 11, 2021 3:53 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) – The Vegas Golden Knights have advanced to the Stanley Cup semifinals with four straight wins over the Colorado Avalanche following back-to-back losses. Alex Pietrangelo scored his first goal of the postseason to put the Knights ahead to stay in a 6-3 downing of the Avalanche. Pietrangelo’s 46th shot of the playoffs found the back of the net with 18 seconds left in the second, breaking a 3-3 deadlock. Marc-Andre Fleury made the lead stand up by making 11 of his 30 saves in the final period. Fleury’s 89th career playoff win leaves him all alone in fourth on the NHL’s all-time list. Nick Holden, William Karlsson, Keegan Kolesar and William Carrier also scored for the Knights before Max Pacioretty added an empty-netter. The Golden Knights next face the Canadiens, who come off a four-game sweep of Winnipeg and have won seven in a row. Game 1 is Monday in Las Vegas.
June 10, 2021 2:43 am
PONY Baseball and Softball has announced that it will have the 2021 DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series from August 13-18 at Lew Hays PONY Field in Washington. After canceling all World Series play in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, PONY Baseball and Softball President and CEO, Abraham Key, was delighted to announce the annual August classic will return to Washington County this summer. “PONY is proud to announce the dates for the 2021 DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series,” said Key. “As you can imagine, the last fifteen months have been challenging, and we are not yet back to 100% operational. However, there is significant domestic and international interest in resuming a normal tournament season, including the DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series.” World Series Tournaments, Inc., PONY’s host organization for the event, echoed Key’s sentiments. “World Series Tournaments, Inc. is once again excited to be hosting the DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series on behalf of PONY Baseball in Washington County,” said Nathan Voytek, President of Tournaments, Inc. “The tournament is a staple of summer for our community and region, and we look forward to again seeing the top thirteen- and fourteen-year-old youth baseball players from around the world compete on historic Lew Hays PONY Field.” Although it is certain that there will be a 2021 tournament, it is not certain which of PONY’s international zones will be represented. Thus far, PONY has announced that, due to international travel restrictions, its Mexican and European zones will not be represented, causing the field to be reduced from ten to eight teams. PONY is still working on securing a representative from its Caribbean and Asia-Pacific Zones. However, PONY will have all four of its domestic zones represented, along with the Host-Area zone and the host team, Washington County.
