BVA withstands late rally in win over Warriors

The Leopards got home runs from Taylor Beech, Kaylee Sypolt and Bella Williams.

The Belle Vernon softball team held off a late flurry from Elizabeth Forward to hand the Warriors their first Section 2-4A loss in a 6-4 result Saturday.

The Leopards (5-5, 3-1) led 6-1 over the Warriors (42, 3-1) heading into the top of the seventh before Julia Resnik hit a three-run homer to put some pressure on Lily Crawford on the mound, but she responded by getting three straight outs after a single.

Crawford earned the win, pitching the full seven innings and allowing eight hits, four earned runs and two walks while striking out three batters.

Belle Vernon registered three longballs as Taylor Beech, Kaylee Sypolt and Bella Williams all cleared the fence. Sypolt finished with three RBIs, Beech had two RBIs and Williams had one as Beech and Sypolt also managed three hits. Crawford and Williams added two hits as Crawford had a single and a double while Mailey Hayes also singled.

For EF, Resnik led the way with two hits and three RBIs. Addy Nigut hit a home run and Sophie Pasinsky singled and doubled.

EF returns to play today against West Mifflin, and the Leopards will face Uniontown Tuesday.

Deer Lakes 7, Yough 5

Yough stormed back Saturday with all five of its runs over the last two innings, but it wasn’t quite enough to overcome Deer Lakes.

Shiann Kaefer, Kylee Odelli and Leah Boris led the way for the Cougars (24, 0-2), collecting seven of their eight hits. Kaefer finished 3 for 4 with two RBIs, Boris was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and Odelli went 2 for 4. Jaidyn Vay was the other Cougar to register a hit, also adding an RBI to her line.

Vay got the loss after pitching 3 2/3 frames and giving up seven hits and eight runs with four walks and five strikeouts.

Yough will be back in action at Mount Pleasant today in a Section 1-3A contest.

Tri-State Track Coaches Association at West Mifflin

Several area track athletes had success at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association meet over the weekend with Elizabeth Forward’s Connor Stokes winning the 200m by a hundredth of a second.

Stokes claimed first-place with a 22.36, while Seneca Valley’s Gavin Skarbek finished at 22.37. Stokes also lost by a hundredth of a second in the 100m, placing second with a time of 11.05 as New Castle’s Kaevon Gardner ran an 11.04.

Third-place finishers for the boys included West Mifflin’s Josiah Vidzro with a 50.75 in the 400m and Jose Perez with a 6-3 in the high jump, along with Elizabeth Forward’s Chris Climes, who had a 51-7 mark in the shot put.

Belle Vernon’s Ryan Kent earned fourth place in the discus at 140-11.

For the girls, Thomas Jefferson’s Sylvia Kashak finished second in the 800m with a time of 2:15.83, exactly one second behind the winner. Ringgold’s Abigail Nicolas placed third in the high jump with a 5-1, and EF’s Meadow Whatton had a 111-1 mark in the javelin for fifth.

Chartiers-Houston Invitational

California, Bentworth and Frazier had success at the Chartiers-Houston Invitational over the weekend.

Starting with the boys, reported first-place finishers included California’s Carter Kent (2:07.83) in the 800m, Lee Qualk (22-5) in the long jump, Andrew Typovsky (134-1) in the javelin and the Trojans’ 4×400 relay team.

Other second-place finishers included Cal’s Niamh McClaflin with a time of 4:42.35 in the 1600m and 10:41.15 in the 3200m, and the team’s 4×100 relay squad which finished with a time of 45.37.

For the girls, California’s Ella Fike and Ella Neil were among the reported gold medalists. Fike won the 100m hurdles with a 17.71 while Neil won the high jump with a 5-1.

Neil was also second in the triple jump with a 337.5. Third-place finishers included Fike in the 300m hurdles with a 53.38, Frazier’s Elisabeth Keaton with a 16-7 in the long jump, and Bentworth’s 4×800 relay team that earned a time of 11:42.56.