John Carroll junior Wade Boyle, a Greensburg Central Catholic alum, was medalist at the North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championship at Avalon Lakes Golf Club in Warren, Ohio.
Boyle shot 3-over-par 219 (72, 75, 72) and won the Bob Nye Award as the low scorer.
Boyle had been building to the big performance at the conference finals. He recently took second at the Cashera DiCillo Classic at Sand Ridge Golf Club in Chardon, Ohio, at 1-over 145 (72, 73), and tied for third at the Fred B. Kravetz Invitational at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. (75-67-142).
In between college events, Boyle won a West Penn Amateur qualifier at the Latrobe Elks Golf Club with a 2-under 70.
He will next compete with JCU at the NCAA Divison III Men’s National Championship at Mission Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Paying the Piper
Ligonier Valley grad Cheyenne Piper did it again.
The ace softball pitcher at Westminster earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the second year in a row as the Titans won their third straight PAC championship with a 4-0 win over Geneva.
Piper, a sophomore, struck out 11 and allowed four hits as she improved to 18-3.
Freshman Kylie Anthony (Penn-Trafford) joined Piper on the all-tournament team.
Westminster moves on to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Run of upsets
Don’t judge a team by its seeding.
The Penn State Fayette softball team was the No. 7 seed in the PSUAC playoffs. But Fayette upset four straight teams to win the conference title, including No. 2 Penn State Schuykill, No. 3 Penn State Mont Alto and No. 1 Penn State New Kensington.
Makenzee Kenney, a Greensburg Central Catholic alum, pitched all 27 innings in the tournament run.
The Lions (8-16-1) beat Mont Alto, 14-8, in the championship game as Taylor Doppelheuer (Southmoreland) went 2 for 4 with a home run, two runs and five RBIs, and Kaylee Doppelheuer (Southmoreland) doubled and scored twice.
Other local members of the team include freshman Sidney Bergman of Yough and Kylie Stevenson of Hempfield.
Fayette isn’t done yet. It earned a spot in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Softball Small College World Series, which starts May 11 in DuBois.
Griffins in nationals
The Seton Hill men’s lacrosse team will play in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second straight year and seventh time overall.
The Griffins (16-2) are the No. 5 seed in the North Region and will take on Pace (12-5) on Sunday in Pleasantville, N.Y.
The Griffins earned an automatic bid after winning the Great Midwest Athletic Conference while Pace picked up an at-large spot after finishing second in the Northeast 10 final.
The winner will play the winner between Adelphi and Wilmingson on May 13, with the highest remaining seed serving as host.
The semifinals are May 17 at the highest seed’s field.
The championship is 4 p.m. May 24 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
Santos drafted
Former Pitt-Greensburg baseball standout Diego Santos was selected in the third round of the Empire Baseball League draft by the Saranac Lake Surge.
Santos, who is from Aibonito, Puerto Rico, played at UPG from 2022-25. He hit .242 with five home runs and 39 RBIs in 72 career games.
The EPBL started in 2016 and is an independent development league for amateur and former minor league players who aspire to play higher-level baseball.
Queen of Ks
Pitt-Johnstown senior pitcher Mia Smith (Penn-Trafford) broke the program’s single-season record for strikeouts as UPJ finished its PSAC West schedule with a doubleheader split with Cal (Pa.).
Smith needed four Ks to tie Melissa Wagner’s 10-year-old mark of 122, but fanned five over the two games to take the mark at 123.
Smith closed her college career as UPJ’s all-time leader in appearances (88), wins (32), innings pitched (504) and Ks (450).
She pitched a complete-game win in the first game, an 8-3 victory. She lost, 11-3, in the second game to finish the season with a 9-12 record.
Digits
6 — Consecutive games without a walk for Westminster ace pitcher Cheyenne Piper (Ligonier Valley).
15 — Number of seasons Seton Hill baseball has won 31 or more games since 2008.
26 — PSAC wins for Seton Hill baseball, tying a program record.
46 — Combined runs for Seton Hill baseball in two games against Clarion.
82 — RBIs this season for Robert Morris softball player Courtney Poulich (Mt. Pleasant), a Horizon League record.