VALLEY SPORTS HISTORY
2014
2014
• Belle Vernon American Legion team picked up its second win in as many days, knocking off visiting Waynesburg 5-2 at Cedar Creek Park. It wasn’t a pretty victory, but Belle Vernon coach Bill Frankel will take it. “We left a lot of runners on base and committed a lot of errors,” he said. “We keep winning games, but we are winning them ugly.” Belle Vernon pitcher Dylan Stark got a lot of praise for his performance in the game. Frankel said, “He’s definitely one of our better pitchers. He’s in the top three. He just got a little tired out there after the fifth inning, but he pitched a great game.” Stark tossed six innings, scattering six hits and allowing only two runs, both unearned.
• Spring 2014 has been a good season for Bryan Shipp, a 28-year-old race driver from Smithton. Shipp said, “I pray to do my best and compete. The open wheel modified division is so toughly competitive, every week it’s a different car and driver that presents my biggest challenge.” Shipp has seven career victories. In 2011, he won the points championship at Motordrome Speedway. Shipp was 11 when his father got him and his brother into go-kart racing. Shipp said, “I knew I wasn’t going to stop there.” Shipp had to take a break from racing due to a work accident, but his competitive nature drew him back to the track.
2004
• Defense was expected to be the name of the game at the eighth annual Tri-County Classic at Bill Powers Stadium. That’s the word from the coaches, Beth-Center’s Ed Woods and Geibel’s Angelo Dippolito.
At the annual Tri-County Banquet, Woods said, “It will be a heckuva defensive game and probably a low-scoring game.” Dippolito concurred, saying, “Defense is our strong point. It should be interesting, I am hoping for a defensive battle.” The South’s defense will be led by Trinity’s tackle Jon Testa, Albert Gallatin’s Ty Gacek, Ringgold’s Mike McCurry and California Area’s Chris Guerra. The North’s defense will feature Brandon Zubasic of California Area, and
Jim Cefaro of Upper St. Clair.
• Charleroi’s Kevin Carson gave up just seven hits and three runs to Colonial 3 in an American Legion game. However, Carson could only go seven innings and the Magicians got little relief in a 9-5 loss. With Charleroi owning a 5-3 lead in the eighth, reliever Ricky Bartman surrendered six runs on four hits, two walks and one hit batsman. Bartman, the hero of the Magicians’ win Thursday, got two outs before getting into trouble. Kevin Garbutt’s bases-clearing triple broke the game open for the visitors.
1994
• Sunday—no paper
