Penn-Trafford is honoring two baseball luminaries with mementos in the dugout and alongside its home field: “Mac” and “JJ.”
The Warriors already have placed plaques at each end of their dugout to memorialize late player Maclean “Mac” Maund and former junior varsity coach Joseph “Jay” Juliane.
A memorial bench on the hillside behind the left-field fence recently was unveiled to honor Juliane.
Maund died in January 2020 from injuries he sustained in an auto accident on Route 130 between Harrison City and Jeannette.
Juliane died suddenly from a heart attack last November, only hours after spending time with Warriors coach Lou Cortazzo.
“We miss him,” said Cortazzo, who played high school baseball with Juliane. They were both members of the Penn-Trafford class of 1981. “He was always a glass-half-full kind of guy. Always positive. The kids loved him. His saying was, give it your best.”
Penn-Trafford players and coaches have “JJ” stitched into their hats this season for Juliane. The plan is to dedicate the bench on the team’s senior day April 20.
“We picked a nice spot for the bench,” Cortazzo said. “As ironic as it is, that is the same spot, under that tree, where his wife, Peggy (and her family) would sit for games.”
Maund already has an engraved bench — not far from Juliane’s — on the hill closer to third base. It was propped up in the summer of 2020.
Stein fans 20
Jeannette softball pitching ace Grace Stein struck out a career-high 20 batters Thursday in a 9-1 victory over Leechburg.
The senior Pitt-Greensburg commit now has a 40-14 record and is up to 628 career K’s.
Moore hired
Greensburg Central Catholic is bringing back one of its top volleyball players to coach the girls volleyball team.
Rachel Moore, a 2015 alum, will lead her alma mater after winning a PIAA title and earning all-state honors at the school as a senior.
Moore went on to become a standout player at Westminster.
She served as an assistant coach at Yough and coached at the Greensburg YMCA before becoming the head coach for four years at Union City, where she won a region title and did not miss the playoffs.
“Volleyball is more than just a sport,” Moore said in a news release. “It teaches young girls communication, hard work, perseverance and teamwork. It is important for young athletes to learn skills that they can transfer into life outside of volleyball.”
Inside the numbers
112: The new record for career hits in the Hempfield softball program, set by Hempfield senior Lauren Howard, a Virginia commit. Laura Fox, who played from 2016-19, had the previous record at 111.
387: Miles the Latrobe boys lacrosse team traveled for back-to-back games to Chartiers Valley and Seton LaSalle.
The Wildcats won both games, 7-6 and 18-4, stretching their winning streak to six.
Josiah Archer had five goals, and Nate Meeder added four in the latter win.
37: The temperature at faceoff for the Latrobe-Seton LaSalle game.
9: RBIs for Derry softball player Haylee Myers in an 18-0 win over Valley. She hit a grand slam in the second inning, added a two-run double in the third, and hit a three-run homer in the fourth. She also was the winning pitcher with eight strikeouts.
117: Days until the start of fall sports practice.
Recruiting
• Former Southmoreland quarterback Anthony Smith, who transferred to Seton La Salle and then Fairmont Senior (W.Va.) picked up a scholarship offer from North Carolina.
• Leah Moore of Southmoreland will continue her basketball career at Westmoreland County Community College.