Story by Ryan Gerazounis, Beaver County Radio

(Hershey, PA): 

The plot was simple for the Lincoln Park boys basketball team on Thursday night. Win and they will be back to back PIAA 4A State Champions. In their way representing the eastern side of the state, the Archbishop Carroll Patriots.

From the onset the Archbishop Carroll basketball team which starts all freshmen and sophomores looked to be overwhelmed by Lincoln Park. In the first quarter Brandin Cummings and Meleek Thomas got things started by scoring a combined twenty of the Leopards 25 points. Lincoln Park Park held a comfortable 25-10 lead after one. The second quarter mirrored the first with more dominating play by the Leopards. This time Mikey Crawford contributed eight points to help Lincoln Park take a twenty-nine point 51-22 lead into the half.

The second half proved to be more competitive on the Patriots behalf. Holding Cummings and company to only thirteen points while managing to score 12. Trailed 64-34 after the third quarter. However a statement making performance by Brandin Cummings in the fourth quarter left no doubt which team was going to walk away victorious. Cummings hit four of his seven tree pointers in the quarter along with another bucket to score fourteen of Lincoln Park’s final sixteen. The Lincoln Park Leopards would shut the door on the Archbishop Carroll Patriots and successfully defend their PIAA State Gold by a final score of 80-50.

The Leopards finish their 2023-24 campaign by going 28-3 overall. Defending their PIAA 4A title by going back to back.

Brandin Cummings lead all scorers with 37 points. Followed by teammates Meleek Thomas with 16 and Mikey Crawford with 15. Leading the way for Archbishop Carroll was Ian Williams with 12 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(File Photo of Acrisure Stadium when it was Heinz Field)

(Brighton Twp., Pa.) Beaver County Radio 99.3 ,1230 WBVP, and beavercountyradio.com  will broadcast live all four WPIAL Championship Games from Acrisure Stadium on Friday. The action will get underway at 11:00 with the Class A game. Robert Mangino and Bruce Frey will have coverage starting at 10:30 AM. Mangino and Frey will also have coverage of the Class AA game as Beaver Falls takes on Steel Valley. The second half of the day will feature Mangino and Mike Azadian with the AAA final featuring  Avonworth and Belle Vernon. The final game of the day will feature Aliquippa and McKeesport.
If you can’t tune into the game you can click the link below to listen on-line via beavercountyradio.com:

 

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CHICAGO (AP) — Miguel Andújar had thee hits and drove in three runs, Joshua Palacios hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates held off a late rally by the slumping Chicago Cubs to win 8-6 on Thursday night.

The loss was the 10th in the last 13 games for the Cubs, who fell into a tie with Miami for the final NL wild-card spot.

“We didn’t play our style of baseball,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “When we hit, we didn’t pitch. Some calls didn’t go our way. We’re not going to win when we don’t play clean baseball. Guys that don’t make mistakes, made mistakes. That’s just where we’re at right now.

“We got nine games left to play our style of baseball. We got to play better.”

Pittsburgh’s Johan Oviedo (9-14) threw six scoreless innings, giving up four hits. The right-hander walked five but escaped trouble on multiple occasions and held the Cubs hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Connor Joe and Ji Hwan Bae each drove in a run for the Pirates, whose bullpen surrendered six runs in the last three innings.

The Pirates took a 2-0 lead in the third when an error by shortstop Dansby Swanson on a potential double play set the stage for Andújar to drive in Joe and Bryan Reynolds with a two-out double into the right-center field gap.

Andújar knocked in another run in the fifth. His hits and RBIs all came against Kyle Hendricks (6-8), who went six innings and gave up seven hits and three runs (one earned).

“Obviously a little frustration, but no panic at all,” Hendricks said. “We still know what we’re capable of. We’re right where we want to be. It’s all in our control. We just got to play fundamental baseball and get back to playing the brand of baseball that we’re used to.”

The Pirates made it 5-1 in the eighth inning when Bae drove in Jared Triolo with a two-out RBI triple. Joe scored Bae with an RBI single before he was thrown out at second.

Mike Tauchman had an RBI double in the eighth and scored later on an RBI groundout from Nico Hoerner to get the Cubs within 5-4.

“This is a playoff-type atmosphere,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “The crowd was in the game. They got back in the game because the Cubs kept punching back. I think you saw from our young players that they continue to go, continue to play, continue to execute and it was fun to watch.”

Palacios homered in the ninth to make it 8-4.

Swanson hit a two-run homer in the ninth off All-Star David Bednar before the closer retired the next three batters.

Southside 55

Northgate 6

 

Seton La Salle 49

Quaker Valley 0

 

Avonworth 45

Hopewell 6

 

Central Valley 34

Chartiers Valley 6

 

Moon 14

Penn Hills 13

 

Beaver 49

South Park 23

 

Ambridge 22

Blackhawk 16

 

Aliquippa 42

Montour 18

 

Rochester 42

Summit Academy 6

 

Mohawk 45

Riverside 0

 

Ellwood City 34

Freedom 14

 

Beaver Falls 63

New Brighton 20

 

Neshannock 27

Western Beaver 26

 

West Allegheny 46

New Castle 0