Bill Beckner

Greensburg

Sportswriter, TribLive -- Covering the local beat in Westmoreland County (PA) ▪️ TribLiveHSSN - Norwin Star - Murrysville Star ▪️ [email protected]

Articles

P-T baseball uses extra-base hits to sink Hempfield in nonsection matchup

1 week ago | tribhssn.triblive.com | Bill Beckner

By: Thursday, April 17, 2025 | 8:49 PM Oftentimes, Penn-Trafford’s approach is to move baserunners over, create opportunities and scrape runs together. The small-ball formula can look clinical when this baseball team does it. It worked out well last spring when the Warriors won a WPIAL championship. The Warriors, though, were in the mood for something different Thursday in a nonsection game against Hempfield: gap shots.
Mt. Pleasant champion swimmer David Mutter finds new college home

1 week ago | tribhssn.triblive.com | Bill Beckner

By: Thursday, April 17, 2025 | 11:01 AM Mt. Pleasant All-American swimmer David Mutter rebooted his recruitment when Alabama pulled his scholarship at the beginning of the year due to SEC- and NCAA-imposed roster cuts. But the standout has a new college target. Mutter, a specialist in the butterfly, committed to St. Bonaventure (N.Y.) and will soon sign with the Bonnies of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Mt. Pleasant champion swimmer David Mutter finds new college home

1 week ago | triblive.com | Bill Beckner

Mt. Pleasant All-American swimmer David Mutter rebooted his recruitment when Alabama pulled his scholarship at the beginning of the year due to SEC- and NCAA-imposed roster cuts. But the standout has a new college target. Mutter, a specialist in the butterfly, committed to St. Bonaventure (N.Y.) and will soon sign with the Bonnies of the Atlantic 10 Conference. He had signed with Alabama in November before sweeping changes washed away his plans and cramped his future.
P-T baseball uses extra-base hits to sink Hempfield in nonsection matchup

1 week ago | triblive.com | Bill Beckner

Oftentimes, Penn-Trafford’s approach is to move baserunners over, create opportunities and scrape runs together, one at a time. The small-ball formula can look clinical when this baseball team does it. It worked out well last spring when the Warriors won a WPIAL championship. The Warriors, though, were in the mood for something different Thursday in a nonsection game against Hempfield: gap shots. Hard-hit, bending gap shots off the barrel that either hit the fence or rolled to it.
Westmoreland County softball notebook: Penn-Trafford battle-tested by top-flight competition

1 week ago | tribhssn.triblive.com | Bill Beckner

By: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 | 3:00 PM Penn-Trafford went from unranked to No. 1 in the TribLive HSSN Class 5A top-5 rankings after an impressive string of wins. Coach Denny Little doesn’t put much stock in rankings but acknowledges teams will be coming for the Warriors.
Former Latrobe catcher brings same passion to coaching ranks at Albert Gallatin

1 week ago | tribhssn.triblive.com | Bill Beckner

By: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 | 2:54 PM Former Latrobe softball standout Makayla Munchinski has only been out of college at Cal (Pa.) for a short time, but she already has a coaching job. Munchinski is a first-year head coach at Albert Gallatin. The former catcher who played an extra in the streaming series “A League of Their Own” in 2022 seemed destined for coaching.
Jeannette to name basketball court at playground after Lamont 'Showboat' Robinson

1 week ago | triblive.com | Bill Beckner

Showboat’s got next. Jeannette is honoring a proud alum by naming the longtime basketball court at the West Jeannette playground after him. Lamont “Showboat” Robinson Court will be dedicated in August to honor a former Jayhawks player who made a name for himself on the comedy hoops circuit with the Harlem Globetrotters and Harlem Clowns and as an ambassador to several self-originated halls of fame. Robinson knows about honoring the greats.
Westmoreland County softball notebook: Penn-Trafford battle-tested by top-flight competition

1 week ago | triblive.com | Bill Beckner

Penn-Trafford went from unranked to No. 1 in the TribLive HSSN Class 5A top-5 rankings after an impressive string of wins. Coach Denny Little doesn’t put much stock in rankings but acknowledges teams will be coming for the Warriors. Penn-Trafford has beaten defending PIAA champion Thomas Jefferson, North Hills, Shaler, defending WPIAL champion Armstrong, returning WPIAL semifinalist Latrobe and big-hitting Franklin Regional all in a row to prove itself as a viable No. 1.
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Postseason series format gains steam

1 week ago | tribhssn.triblive.com | Bill Beckner

By: Tuesday, April 15, 2025 | 3:52 PM Imagine a best-of-three baseball series to determine who advances in the WPIAL playoffs, or a two-out-of-three set to decide a championship. Coaches have been clamoring for the concept since 2021 when the WPIAL went to three-game series in Class 6A and two-game series in the other classes for regular-season section play.
Penn-Trafford softball cools off Franklin Regional in 1st-place showdown

1 week ago | tribhssn.triblive.com | Bill Beckner

By: Monday, April 14, 2025 | 8:51 PM Pitcher Allyson Paulone wasn’t overpowering, but she didn’t have to be. She didn’t get too excited or nervous because, well, that just isn’t her style. The even-keeled Penn-Trafford sophomore trusted her defense to make plays and the offense to keep hitting Monday in a first-place softball matchup in Murrysville. It all worked out in the top-ranked Warriors’ favor.