BASEBALL
Marion Center put up a ten-run second inning and routed River Valley, 15-0, in a four-inning game that clinched the Heritage West for the Stingers and set them up for a championship game Monday night against Conemaugh Township. Troy Slovinsky had three hits and drove in three runs, and Blake Gatskie, Cole Adamson, and Cam Rising all had two hits in a 12-hit attack, while the Stingers also took advantage of six River Valley errors. Slovinsky threw four shutout innings, giving up two hits. Marion Center was scheduled to play a second game, against Penns Manor, but that game was canceled.
Homer-Center broke a 3-3 tie with two runs in the top of the sixth to down Purchase Line, 5-3. Five different players had the five Homer-Center hits and Drew Fisher drove in three runs, with Nash Budner and Eli Turk plating the other two. Brayden Rado struck out five over six innings for the win. For the Red Dragons, Ryan Matko was 4-for-4 with an RBI.
United took a 4-0 lead in the first inning but gave up four in the fourth before breaking through with three in the fifth and two in the sixth in a 9-5 win over Portage. Braden Butler and Ryan Felix both had three hits and both homered for the Lions, with Butler driving in three runs and Felix two. For Portage, Conner Sciko had two hits and drove in three runs.
Gabriel Valentine’s run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth inning gave Conemaugh Township a 3-2 win over Cambria Heights, preserving the undefeated season for the Indians. Scoreless through five, both teams scored two runs in the sixth. Valentine had two hits and drove in two runs and Colin Dinyar had the other Township RBI. For the Highlanders, Anthony Swander had two hits and an RBI.
Reese Wagner threw six innings and Levi Czar finished up in the seventh as Northern Cambria shut out Conemaugh Valley, 4-0. Brady Hoover had two hits and two RBIs for the Colts, while Wagner limited the Blue Jays to just three hits, all singles, while walking four in his outing.
SOFTBALL
Alorra Phillips had two hits and drove in two runs and Leah Nelson added two hits as Purchase Line dropped Homer-Center, 3-1. Rylee Mahaffey tossed a one-hitter, giving up a single to Taicha Bartlebaugh, and walking only one while striking out six for the Red Dragons.
A seven-run second inning set up Marion Center for a 9-3 win over River Valley. Brookelynn Hill, Macie Miller, and Clare Lydic all had two hits for the Stingers and Miller drove in two runs. For the Panthers, Izabella Speal hit two solo home runs.
Portage erased a 2-0 deficit and beat United, 4-2, with Reese Pinizzotto striking out sixteen Lions batters and Adasyn Trusik’s two-run single in the fifth giving the Mustangs the lead. Seven different Portage batters had a hit apiece, with Avery Smith and Kendall Stancovich each doubling. Four Lions had hits, with Rebecca McGinnis getting a triple, and Ella Worthington, Kenedi Fiochetta, and Preslee Campbell all knocking out doubles.
Conemaugh Valley knocked off Northern Cambria, 12-1.
