Category: Sports

Flaherty dazzles again, Cardinals drop Pirates 2-0

Flaherty dazzles again, Cardinals drop Pirates 2-0
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jack Flaherty always had the tools. Figuring out how to put them together has been the challenge for the 23-year-old pitcher since the former first-round pick arrived in St. Louis two years ago.
While Flaherty is sketchy on specifics about what what exactly he changed heading into the All-Star break, one thing is for certain: the roadblocks — mental, physical and otherwise — are all gone. Flaherty is rolling, and so are the Cardinals.
Flaherty overwhelmed the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 2-0 victory on Sunday, striking out 10 against five hits and a walk over eight electric innings to keep up a dazzling run that has turned him into the de facto ace for the NL Central leaders. Flaherty (10-7) won for the sixth time in eight starts while dropping his post All-Star break ERA to 0.76 as St. Louis pushed its lead in the division to 4 1/2 games over second-place Chicago with three weeks to go in the regular season.
“He’s in control of the conviction of what he’s doing,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “Just a lot of big league pitches consistently. Fastball where he wants it to with good life on it, and a really good slider as well. That’s what pitching looks like. Phenomenal job.”
Flaherty’s surge began with seven innings of two-hit ball against San Francisco on July 7. The Cardinals lost 1-0 that day, but the switch flipped. Flaherty has been lights out while fueling St. Louis’ sprint to first and has allowed just three earned runs 56 innings across eight starts since Aug. 1.
“(I’ve made) small adjustments, not really to my mechanics, but mentally to how I was going about things,” Flaherty said. “So little things here and there. Just tried to kind of carry it from one start to the next.”
Carlos Martinez worked a perfect ninth for his 19th save to finish off a season series dominated by the Cardinals. St. Louis won 14 of its 19 meetings with Pittsburgh, including 10 of 12 in the second half, one of the main reasons the Cardinals are heading to October while the Pirates are planning for next season.
“Guys are healthy,” Flaherty said. “We’re playing together. Playing as a team. Not letting any moment get too big.”
Paul Goldschmidt had an RBI double , and Harrison Bader added a run-scoring single off Pittsburgh rookie James Marvel (0-1). Matt Carpenter went 2 for 3 while starting at third base and is hitting .400 (6 for 15) in September as the veteran tries to shake out of a season-long slump.
“Like everybody else, he understands it’s about the team,” Shildt said of Carpenter. “He’s got his head in the right spot to help us win baseball games.”
Flaherty’s effectiveness ended Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle and second baseman Adam Frazier’s respective days a little bit early. Both were ejected by home-plate umpire Roberto Ortiz in the seventh for arguing balls and strikes after Ortiz ruled a pair of borderline pitches in favor of Flaherty.
“He’s taken it to another level,” Hurdle said of Flaherty. ” He was as advertised from what we watched coming in here. It’s been going on for two months.”
MARVEL-OUS DEBUT
Marvel, the 1,087th player chosen in the 2015 draft, was solid in his first major-league start after piling up 16 victories across Double-A and Triple-A this season. With more than 40 people in the stands who roared every time he stepped out of the dugout onto the field at PNC Park, Marvel gave up two runs and four hits in five-plus innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
“I can’t really hear things when I’m pitching,” Marvel said. “I tend to zone out and focus on what I’m doing and the glove. But I’d be lying if I said that today there weren’t a few instances where I heard them.”
There was plenty to cheer about. Marvel, who won 16 games combined during stops at Double-A and Triple-A this summer, didn’t allow a hit until Marcell Ozuna’s two-out single in the fourth. Bader’s flare to center in the fifth scored Carpenter to put the Cardinals in front and Goldschmidt hit an opposite-field double following a lead-off walk to Kolten Wong in the sixth. Otherwise, Marvel was efficient and rarely rattled.
“A very good first impression,” Hurdle said.
Marvel will get a chance at a second, third and fourth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: C Matt Wieters was unavailable on Sunday. Manager Mike Shildt declined to provide specifics. Wieters is expected to be available on Tuesday in Colorado.
Pirates: CF Starling Marte sprained his left wrist while making a catch in the ninth inning. The team pinch-hit for Marte in the ninth. … OF Jason Martin was moved to the 60-day injured list with a dislocated left shoulder. … RHP Yefry Ramirez (right calf strain) was activated off the 10-day IL.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: Start a three-game set in Colorado on Tuesday with Michael Wacha (6-6, 4.98 ERA) on the hill.
Pirates: Begin a seven-game road trip on Monday in San Francisco. Trevor Williams (7-6, 5.16 ERA) starts against Madison Bumgarner (9-8, 3.81).
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Pickett throws for 321 yards, Pitt clamps down on Ohio 20-10

Pickett throws for 321 yards, Pitt clamps down on Ohio 20-10
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett deleted most of his social media accounts before the season as a way to help him stay focused amid all the noise. So he didn’t know and didn’t particularly care about the reaction to his uneven performance in an opening loss to Virginia.
Instead, Pickett kept doing what he’s done since the moment he arrived on campus more than 2½ years ago: he kept grinding, confident the protection issues in front of him and the accuracy issues that plagued him against the Cavaliers would work themselves out. For the most part in an orderly 20-10 win over Ohio on Saturday, they did.
Working behind a line that appeared to improve by the snap, Pickett passed for a career-high 321 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown to Maurice Ffrench that gave Pitt (1-1) an early 10-point lead it never came close to squandering. A week after hitting on barely half of his 41 attempts while getting sacked four times, Pickett hit on 26 of 37 passes and was taken down just once.
“I just think we executed better all around, not just me,” Pickett said. “The offensive line blocked great. Receivers got open. Everything was just clicking.”
Ffrench finished with 10 receptions for 138 yards, both career bests. A.J. Davis ran for 89 yards for Pitt and Vincent Davis added 50 on the ground, including his first career touchdown that put the Panthers up 17-0 midway through the second quarter. That was more than enough cushion for a defense that kept the Bobcats (1-1) in check. Defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman finished with three of Pitt’s six sacks as the Panthers never let Ohio quarterback Nathan Rourke get going.
Dealing with the after effects of a fever that left him at less than 100%, Rourke hit on 15 of 27 passes for 177 yards and couldn’t make anything happen with his legs. Rourke, who ran for 75 yards in Ohio’s season opener against Rhode Island, finished with minus-43 yards on the ground. The Bobcats punted 10 times, finished with just 12 first downs and produced 212 total yards.
“It was a very, very frustrating game for all of us,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “When something like this happens to you, all you can do is go back to work.”
Ohio’s only real push came late in the third quarter when De’Montre Tuggle’s 7-yard touchdown run drew the Bobcats within 10. Ohio would get no closer. The Bobcats managed just one first down over their final three drives and Pitt’s size advantage up front wore Ohio down. The Panthers took over at the Pitt 7 with 7:05 remaining and never let the Bobcats get the ball back, bleeding the clock behind an offensive line that pushed Ohio around until the clock hit zero.
THE TAKEAWAY
Ohio: The Bobcats might be the preseason favorites in the MAC but the secondary could be an issue. Ohio let FCS-level Rhode Island pile up 291 yards through the air in Week 1 and again looked shaky.
Pitt: Even without starting linemen Rashad Weaver and Keyshon Camp — both of whom are out for the season with knee injuries — the defense could still be dangerous. Ohio struggled to generate any rhythm with Rourke under duress most of the day. Twyman’s three sacks were the most by a Panther defensive tackle since current Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald did it against Utah in 2011.
PROTECTING PICKETT
While Pickett tuned out the criticism after Week 1, Pitt center Jimmy Morrissey did not. The senior felt his teammate shouldered entirely too much of the blame.
“We gave up 14 pressures as an offensive line,” Morrissey said. “When you get hit 14 times, I don’t blame him for wanting to scramble. He’s getting hit that many times, what quarterback in the country has to be confident in their o-line after that performance? It was more on us. We should have got more heat than he did.”
READY TO RUN
The Panthers ran for 160 yards on 37 attempts. Three players — A.J. Davis, Vincent Davis and V’Lique Carter — all had at least six carries. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi will continue to spread it around for the time being.
“We’re going to play the hot guy,” Narduzzi said. “It’ll be that way until we find out who ‘The Dude’ is.”
UP NEXT
Ohio: The Bobcats travel to Marshall next Saturday, the return of the “Battle for the Bell.” Ohio leads the all-time series 33-20, including a victory in 2015 in the last game between the two schools.
Pitt: Visits 15th-ranked Penn State next Saturday in the final game of a four-game renewal of the in-state rivalry. The Nittany Lions have won the last two meetings by a combined 84-20.
“I don’t like them one bit,” Morrissey said of the Nittany Lions. “That’s pretty obvious. I play for Pitt.”
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Kentucky State grinds out 13-7 victory over Robert Morris

Kentucky State grinds out 13-7 victory over Robert Morris
MOON, Pa. (AP) — Israel Fields scored on his first career carry, Jaylen Myers threw for another score and Kentucky State defeated Robert Morris 13-7 on Saturday.
Fields’ 3-yard touchdown run with 4:47 remaining in the third quarter gave the Thorobreds (1-0) their first lead and Kentucky State’s defense took it from there, holding Robert Morris (0-2) to 20 yards in the fourth quarter.
Myers, a redshirt sophomore, hit Brett Sylve on a 4-yard TD pass with 11 seconds left in the second quarter. After the extra point was no good Robert Morris held a 7-6 halftime lead on the strength of Teren Stephens’ 1-yard TD run in the first quarter.
Neither defense allowed 300 yards. Kentucky State relied on its running game, rushing 51 times for 214 yards. Myers was 4-of-10 passing for 70 yards. Sylve was the game’s leading rusher with 20 carries for 87 yards.
Stephens led the Colonials with 69 yards rushing and George Martin completed 7 of 16 passes for 70 yards.

Hines, Parr lead Duquesne in 44-3 rout of D-II Walsh

Hines, Parr lead Duquesne in 44-3 rout of D-II Walsh
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A.J. Hines and Daniel Parr each accounted for a pair of touchdowns and Duquesne beat Division II member Walsh 44-3 on Saturday in the season opener for both teams.
Duquesne, which won its fifth Northeast Conference title and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs for the first time in program history last season, forced three Walsh turnovers and held the Cavaliers to just 73 yards of offense.
Hines had 102 yards rushing on 12 carries that included scoring runs of six and 57 yards. Parr was 13-of-21 passing for 173 yards. He tossed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Thieman and a 62-yarder to Davie Henderson.
Chad Mirolo kicked a 27-yard field goal for Walsh late in the third quarter.
Duquesne won its 12th-straight home opener in the first meeting between the schools.

Ozuna leads Wainwright, Cardinals over Pirates 10-1

Ozuna leads Wainwright, Cardinals over Pirates 10-1
By WES CROSBY Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Marcell Ozuna knew he found something in the first inning. He battled for eight pitches before getting ahold of a fastball, only to see it fly right to Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds.
The next time up, Ozuna put it all together. He hit a three-run homer to break out of his slump, and Adam Wainwright pitched seven strong innings, to help the St. Louis Cardinals extend their lead atop the NL Central with a 10-1 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
“I was ready to swing,” Ozuna said. “I was ready to battle. (We had runners on) first and second. (Paul Goldschmidt) had flied out. Let me go after one. A couple games, I don’t drive in any runs. That one swing in the first at-bat, I said, ‘I think I got it.'”
The Cardinals are 3 ½ games ahead of the Cubs for first in the Central with Chicago’s 3-2 loss to Milwaukee.
After Dexter Fowler opened the scoring with an RBI single earlier in the third inning, Ozuna connected against Steven Brault (4-4) for his 26th home run of the season and a 4-0 lead. The cleanup hitter also walked twice after having two hits in his previous 35 at-bats.
Wainwright (11-9) helped himself, and the Cardinals wearing their baby blue uniforms, with a double and single while lasting seven innings for the second straight start. He gave up one run and six hits.
“Today was about bucking the trend and personal challenges,” Wainwright said. “They say the Cardinals don’t win in the baby blues. They say Waino doesn’t pitch well in Pittsburgh. So perfect. Those were the two thoughts I went into the game with trying to prove that wrong.”
Starling Marte drove in the Pirates’ run with a single in the third. He had three RBIs and four hits, including a first-inning triple Saturday, in seven at-bats in two games since missing the previous two with a leg injury.
Tommy Edman and Harrison Bader chased Brault with a pair of RBI singles that extended the lead to 6-1 in the sixth. Brault allowed six runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings with two walks, a balk, a wild pitch and a hit batter.
“Below average command today was his biggest problem,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “He had eight three-ball counts on the day. … Not a lot of swing and miss. He’s had more in the past with two walks and two strikeouts. He went out there fighting. He just wasn’t sharp.”
Brault hadn’t given up more than four runs in 15 appearances — 13 starts — since May 12, when St. Louis also tagged him for six in 3 2/3 innings before losing 10-6.
“The way I was taught is that if you have 30 starts a year, you’re going to have four starts where you feel incredible, four starts where you feel terrible, and then 22 starts where you’ll be somewhere in the middle,” Brault said. “Tonight was somewhere in the middle, but near the bad side. Three-run home runs are day-killers, so keep the ball out of the stands and it’ll be a different ballgame.”
Paul DeJong tacked on two more runs with a double off Clay Holmes, making it 8-1 in the seventh. Bader hit an RBI double in the ninth before Andrew Knizner scored on a groundball to cap it.
“We show up ready to go every night,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “Get better as the series goes. … Guys just had tough at-bats, and just added on.”
KEEP IT GOING
Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a single to center in the ninth inning. His career best string is 16 games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Mitch Keller is expected to rejoin the starting rotation Tuesday after sustaining a right wrist contusion Sept. 3. He was originally in line to start Sunday.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Jack Flaherty (9-7, 3.14) is coming off his best outing of the season. He allowed one hit with eight strikeouts in eight innings of a 1-0 win against San Francisco on Sept. 3.
Pirates: RHP James Marvel (0-0) will make his major league debut Sunday. He was 7-0 with a 2.67 ERA in 11 starts for Triple-A Indianapolis this season.
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Clifford’s 4 TDs lead No. 15 Penn State over Buffalo 45-13

Clifford’s 4 TDs lead No. 15 Penn State over Buffalo 45-13
By TRAVIS JOHNSON Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Sean Clifford turned in an all-around performance in another lopsided win for Penn State.
Clifford threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns and ran 11 times for 51 to lead the No. 15 Nittany Lions back from a halftime deficit to beat Buffalo 45-13 on Saturday night.
“Sean’s able to make plays with his mind, he’s able to make plays with his arm and tonight he made plays with his feet as well,” coach James Franklin said.
Clifford, the Lions’ first-year starter, opened the scoring with a 28-yard pass to Jahan Dotson on Penn State’s second drive. He tossed a pair of TDs to tight end Pat Freiermuth in the third quarter after cornerback John Reid’s 37-yard interception return put Penn State up for good.
Noah Cain added a 2-yard TD run to give Penn State’s a 35-13 lead heading into the fourth.
“We weren’t executing in the first half,” Clifford said. “I take the blame for that. We pulled together and talked through some things and got it going in the second.”
The Nittany Lions (2-0) trailed 10-7 at half after the Bulls (1-1) had dominated time of possession to that point.
Quarterback Matt Myers hooked up with tight end Julien Bourassa for a 5-yard score late in the second quarter. Alex McNulty kicked a pair of field goals for the Bulls.
“They played really hard, competed really well for the first 30 minutes,” Buffalo coach Lance Leipold said. “Came out in the second half and, obviously, a big switch in momentum.”
Jaret Patterson led Buffalo (1-1) with 75 yards on 23 carries while Myers finished 16 for 31 for 236 yards.
BIG PICK-SIX
Franklin called Reid’s interception the turning point in the game. Players along Penn State’s sideline erupted when the fifth-year senior stepped in front of Antonio Nunn’s route, snagged Myers’ underthrown pass and sprinted untouched down the sideline.
It was the second straight game with an interception for Reid who’s just over two years removed from a serious knee injury that cost him all of 2017.
“It was huge,” Clifford said. “For us, on offense, we feed off that energy. The crowd gets back into it.”
RETURN TO FORM
Freiermuth, arguably Penn State’s most dangerous red zone target, finished with eight catches for 99 yards a week after he was knocked out of the game against Idaho with an apparent head injury.
Freiermuth, who led the team with eight touchdown catches last year, missed some practice time this week to heal up.
TOUGH INJURY
Buffalo punter Evan Finegan was carted off after suffering what appeared to be a serious right leg injury following a partially blocked punt in the third quarter. Reserve quarterback Kyle Vantrease handled punting duties the rest of the way.
THE TAKEAWAY
Buffalo: The daunting environment didn’t seem to bother the young Bulls. They controlled the pace in the first half, running 46 plays for 27 yards to Penn State’s 20 plays and 82 yards.
Penn State: The Nittany Lions’ strength is their defensive line and Buffalo’s offensive front did a good job neutralizing Yetur Gross-Matos and his teammates for most of the first half. In the meantime, Clifford and his receivers were able to create some chemistry.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Penn State cleaned up its mistakes at halftime, won going away and shouldn’t be penalized for its slow start.
UP NEXT
Buffalo plays at Liberty Saturday.
Penn State hosts Pittsburgh Saturday.
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Thru the eyes of Sly Washington-Aliquippa vs Quaker Valley

(Leetsdale,Pa) It was a beautiful night for week 2 of high school football. The Aliuippa Quips traveled to Chuck Knox staduim to take on the Quaker Valley Quakers. Jason Colangelo and Bruce Frey had the call of the game on WMBA. It it because of games like tonight’s that the mercy rule exists. Aliquippa started off with a bang in the first quarter scoring two touchdowns along with both extra points. They increased momentum into the second taking the score to 43-0 at the end of the half. Without question the mercy rule went into effect in the second half as Aliquippa continued to score on Quaker Valley, ending the game in the third quarter, in favor of the Quips 55-0. The Final score was 55-0 as the Quips improved to 2-0 in conference play 3-0 over all. The Quakers are starting the year off with some difficulty and are now 0-2 in conference play and 0-2 overall.

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Check out all of the photos of the action “Thru the Eyes of Sly” Beaver County Radio photographer Sly Washington below……

Aliquippa shuts out Quaker Valley 55-0

It it because of games like tonight’s that the mercy rule exists. Aliquippa started off with a bang in the first quarter scoring two touchdowns along with both extra points. They increased momentum into the second taking the score to 43-0 at the end of the half. Without question the mercy rule went into effect in the second half as Aliquippa continued to score on Quaker Valley, ending the game in the third quarter, in favor of the Quips 55-0.

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CCBC Players of the Game, Friday September 6, 2019

Friday, September 6, 2019:

WBVP and 99.3 FM

Central Valley- Jaylen Guy
Beaver Falls– Josh Hough
WMBA

Aliquippa – Vaughn Morris
Quaker Valley- Jamir Steffey

Central Valley Beats Beaver Falls 21-6 In Heated Game

Defense and penalties led the way Central Valley’s 21-6 win over Beaver Falls. After Central Valley intercepted a pass on Beaver Fall’s first possession, Jaylen Guy scored a touchdown on a 24 yard run. Beaver Falls had a 79 yard touchdown catch called back on a holding penalty, and eventually ended the drive with a fake 25 yard field goal, which they did not convert. Central Valley led at the half 21-6. In the 3rd quarter, Beaver Falls scored on a 12 yard pass to Josh Hough, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the extra point back 15 yards resulting in a miss. More importantly, the penalty led to the ejection of Beaver Falls QB with 4 minutes left in the 3rd. Central Valley’s Ameer Dudley scored on a 1 yard rush up the middle, making the score 14-6. Central Valley capped off the win with a touchdown catch by Miles Walker, giving us a final of 21-6.

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Check out pictures from all of the action “Thru the Eyes of Sly Washington” Below….