Category Archives: Local Sports

In a clash of undefeated softball squads, the Riverside Panthers pressed forward, upending Chartiers-Houston 4-0 Wednesday afternoon in WPIAL semifinal action at Fairview Park in Kennedy Township.

Both teams entered the game with perfect, 18-0 records on the season.

Riverside standout Kirsten Wilson was a two-way player in the contest — collecting 13 strikeouts on the mound and striking a solo home run over the concession stand in left field in the first inning.

In the 2nd inning Morgan McElwain led off with a double to right center field and was brought around to score courtesy of a Cassie Barker single up the middle.

Riverside added insurance in the 7th inning, stretching its lead to 4-0.  Brooke Barker reached first on an infield error and, after a walk to Wilson, came home on Natalie Pritts third single of the day. Wilson’s courtesy runner, Ashley Boehm, later scored on a misplayed ball in the infield hit by McElwain.

The 2-hit shutout for Wilson was her 16th shutout of the year, and her 11th in a row since April 18th. Wilson also has a total of 213 strikeouts on the year.

The WPIAL AA Championship will be played at California University on May 30th against defending Class-AA champion Deer Lakes. Deer Lakes defeated Beaver on Wednesday 11-7 in the other semifinal game.

As spring approached this year, two Ellwood City freshman stepbrothers were faced with a tough choice. DJ Barrett and Nicholas Ioanilli were given the opportunity to join either the baseball or track team at Lincoln High School. The dynamic duo are already members of both the football and basketball teams. They agreed that they wanted a sport that allowed them to gain speed as well as stay in good shape for their other sports.

For the first time in the boys’ athletic careers, track prevailed over baseball. The pair went into the season not really sure of what to expect. After months of training, Barrett and Ioanilli filled two of the spots on the 400 meter relay team. The newbies competed alongside their fellow teammates senior, Kevin Court, and junior, Keaton Docchio in the WPIAL Track Championship yesterday at Baldwin High School.

“It’s different from the other sports we play; anything can happen on the track especially on the relay teams. You have to have a good team and know each other for handoffs or in a split second you’re out. We have done well as a foursome all year and I knew if we ran hard we had a chance.” Barrett commented.

Barrett was right. The relay team finished 3rd overall with a time of 44.21 and left Baldwin wearing some heavy hardware around their necks. The boys claimed their spot in States and of course, their WPIAL bronze medals. Docchio will be competing in the 110 hurdles in addition to the relay after finishing 2nd with a time of 15.27 yesterday afternoon. Court also followed suit with hurdles. He placed fourth in the 300 hurdles at 41.19.

“It’s a great feeling. We have our senior teammate Kevin and junior teammate Keaton to look up to. Neither I nor DJ wanted to let them down. We went to Baldwin and gave everything we had,” Ioanilli said.

The Ellwood City Boys will travel to Shippensburg University on Friday, May 24 for the 2013 PIAA Track & Field Championships.

The still undefeated Lady Panthers brought home their first WPIAL playoff win yesterday afternoon. Riverside defeated Bentworth in 5 innings at Fairhaven Park in Kennedy Township with a final score of 10-0.

Kirsten Wilson, senior, has not shown anything but strength and confidence on the mound throughout this season. She pitched a perfect game, chalking up 11 Bentworth strikeouts.

On offense, the girls teamed together to get out of the unusually cold May air quickly. In the 2nd inning, Nicole Kranz sent in Riverside’s first run of the game on an infield single. The points seemed to tally up fast as the Lady Panthers went into the 3rd inning. Morgan McElwain, Logan Snyder, and Wilson all had singles and Brooke Barker ripped a double. Bentworth’s two defensive errors added four runs for the Panthers.

The Lady Panthers finished off the Bearcats in the 5th inning. On a joint effort, McElwain and Kranz both batted singles to steal home yet again. Barker followed with another crucial hit, scoring both Snyder (walked) and Kranz. With pinch runner in for Wilson, Ashley Boehm, and Natalie Pritts both on base, Nicole Mansfield stepped up to the plate and smacked a double.

Boehm’s score stopped the game dead in it’s tracks as the 10-run mercy rule was invoked. The WPIAL quarter-final game is schedule against Steel Valley May 20 or 21. An official time, date, and location will be released as soon as possible.

Lawrence County Pony League:

Game 1: ESB 3 – Shenango 2

Max Keally hit a walk-off single, scoring Tyler Alberts in the bottom of the 7th inning to give the ESB Bank a win in the season’s first Pony League game at Sanders Field.  With one out, Tyler Alberts drew a walk and was sacrificed to second base with a beautiful bunt by Trey Houk.  Steve Ketterer drew a five-pitch walk.  Keally batted next, lacing a 1-0 pitch into left, scoring Alberts.

Shenango took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the 6th inning.  With one out, Keally drew a walk and stole second.  Blaze Chambers hit a single to left, which set the stage for Mitch Fraser.  Fraser hit the first pitch to left center driving home both base runners and tying the score at 2-2.

ESB got outstanding pitching from Chambers and Keally.  Chambers pitched the first three innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits.  Keally pitched innings four through 6 and yielded just one hit and no runs.  Alberts got the win by pitching a scoreless 7th inning.

Game 2: ESB 6 – Shenango 3

Game 2 of the opening day double header started like game 1 ended-with ESB plated enough runs to win the game.  ESB’s first four batters reached base and scored five runs with just two hits in the opening stanza.  ESB never looked back as Blaze Chambers and Max Keally pitched a gem for the home team.  They combined to scatter 8 hits, striking out 8 and allowing just 3 runs.

Mitch Fraser lead the hit parade, going 2-4 with a RBI.  Runs were scored by Keally, Chambers, Fraser (2), Cole Guy, and Dominic Spadafore.  Other hits were recorded by: Chambers, Steve Ketterer, Anthony Agostinelli, Trey Houk, and Austin Strickler.

ESB starts the season 2-0 in Lawrence County Pony League.

Ellwood City Minor League:

Nalco 7 – Bellissimo’s 4

Nalco improved to 2-0 after rolling over Bellissimo’s last week. Great team pitching was a key factor in Nalco’s success, notching 16 strikeouts. Dan D’Itri lead the way on the mound, pitching 3 innings with 9 strikeouts. Milo Sesti and Doug Balin teamed up with a total number of 7 strikeouts to finish strong for the defense. On the other side of the field, Bellissimo’s Skyler Bartolomeo headed the pitchers, backed by Carter Lutz and Frank Bellissimo.

Leading batters for Nalco were Nick Bortnovsky and Sesti  both adding doubles and Balin mixing in a triple. Joey Hudson and D’Itri were also noted for hits. For Bellissimo’s, Bartolomeo complimented his performance on the mound with a double. Ethan Hughes, Landon Aller, and Lutz all chipped in hits for the offense. Nalco finished on top with a final score of 7-4.

Chalk another win onto the Lady Panthers perfect record, 15-0. Riverside defeated Butler in an exhibition game Wednesday afternoon with a final score of 8-0.

The game had an uneventful start, leaving both teams scoreless until the 5th inning. Sophomore, Logan Snyder, got the girls fired up with a double, eventually scoring off of a single to left field hit by Nicole Kranz.

Senior pitcher, Kirsten Wilson, was strong not only on the mound but at the plate. Wilson defended for the Panthers with 9 strikeouts, no walks, and only allowed 2 hits. In the 6th inning, she sent a ball flying to left center which resulted in a homerun. Wilson upped the score to 2-0 and also chipped in a double later in the game.

To seal the deal, six runs were batted in in the 7th inning to leave Riverside victorious. Brooke Barker whacked a double to bring in both, Andrea Lippman and Kranz. Following suit, Natalie Pritts hit a single to send Cassie Barker home. Senior, Nicole Mansfield, finished strong with a three run homerun for the Panthers.

The WPIAL Softball Playoff pairings will be announced later today. Information for the next date, time, and opponent for the Lady Panthers will be available soon.

And the Lady Panthers do it again! The girls defeated Neshannock on the road Monday afternoon. In an exhibition game, Riverside took home the victory with the final score of 1-0.

Senior pitcher, Kirsten Wilson, held the Lady Lancers to just 1 hit accompanied by 11 strikeouts and 2 walks. This marked Wilson’s 12th shutout in just 14 games and added 161 strikeouts to her season’s stats. Neshannock’s Madison Shaffer held her own against Wilson allowing 2 hits as well as 12 strikeouts and 2 walks.

On offense, Morgan McElwain was able to take 2nd on a wild pitch after being walked. Andrea Lippman did not leave her teammate hanging. She laced a double to right center, sending McElwain home to score the only run of the game. Nicole Mansfield also chipped in for the Panthers with a single.

Riverside remains undefeated, moving the record to 14-0. The girls will play at Butler at 4:00pm for another exhibition game.