Leopards continue to roll through section play

By the Mon Valley Independent

Belle Vernon showed both depth and consistency Tuesday at Pleasant Valley Golf Course, pulling away from Connellsville for a 198-234 Section 2-3A victory. The Leopards placed all five scorers within six strokes of one another, highlighting the balance that has carried them to a strong start this season.

Jordan Mocello set the pace with a medalist round of 37, while Jack Edwards and Landon Vaccaro each followed with steady 39s. Evan Mesco carded a 40, and Preston Rathway capped the scoring with a 43. Zac Wade’s 48 was the no-count score for the Leopards.

For Connellsville, Hunter Konieczny led the way with a 44. Michael Roscart and Carson Colborn each posted 46s, while Nicky Farrell and Santo Crucio both shot 49 to complete the team total. Toby Soltis’ 53 did not figure into the scoring.

With the win, Belle Vernon improves to 5-1 overall and stays unbeaten in section play at 4-0. Connellsville remains winless, falling to 0-5 overall and 0-4 in the section.

Carmichaels 212, Bentworth 244

Carmichaels stayed unbeaten in Section 3-2A play with a 212-244 win over Bentworth. The Mighty Mikes were led by Eli Hastings, who posted a 39, and Connor Lapana, who followed closely with a 40. Jayden Kerley added a 44, Anthony Post shot 45, and Cooper Richards rounded out the scoring with a 48.

Bentworth was paced by Trent Wolpink’s 44, while Craig McDonald carded a 47. Wyatt Snyder contributed a 49, and both Sam Wade and Jeremy Bland finished at

Cougars will honor Chacko, Crawley

The families of Jim “Mouse” Chacko and Carl Crawley will be in attendance for the “Battle of the Bridge” Friday at Charleroi’s Myron Pottios Stadium.

Prior to the game between the Cougars and Greyhounds, both Valley legends will be honored after their deaths in the past year.

Kickoff for the game will be at 7 p.m., with memorial honors being held at approximately 6:15.

Dodgers’ Betts staying at shortstop

DENVER (AP) — Mookie Betts has played strong defense in his first full season as a shortstop, but the recent outfield play for the Los Angeles Dodgers has manager Dave Roberts fielding questions about whether the 2018 AL MVP would be more valuable to the team in right field.

Outfield defense has been a problem for Los Angeles, and Roberts called out Teoscar Hernández’s play in right after Monday night’s 4-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Hernández failed to catch Ezequiel Tovar’s high popup that landed for a double in the ninth inning, and Tovar scored the winning run two pitches later.

But Roberts isn’t ready to move Betts from shortstop, where he has played all but one inning this season. Betts entered Tuesday night with a .984 fielding percentage and has committed just six errors in 376 chances.

“There’s got to be an alternative, right?” Roberts said before Tuesday night’s game against Colorado. “And I think right now, the way Mookie’s playing at short, not bouncing him around, I think we feel very good about it.”

Betts met with Roberts after Monday 52.

The win moves Carmichaels to 3-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 in section play, while Bentworth falls to 0-4.

Elizabeth Forward 195, Frazier 236

Elizabeth Forward put together another strong team showing, topping Frazier 195236 in Section 8-2A action at Linden Hall. The Warriors had a pair of leaders in Aaron Didjunas and Blake Hvozdik, who both fired 38s to pace the victory. Luke Boyer and Gavin Madden each added 39s, while Dom Donato posted a 41. Julien Hredocik’s 47 was the no-count round.

Frazier was led by Eli Cernuska’s 42, with John Sinchar shooting 45. Mason Ritz chipped in a 46, Nash Fouch followed with a 50, and Logan Solomon finished at 53. Gavin Seich’s 56 did not count toward the team score.

Elizabeth Forward continues to show its depth at the top of the lineup, while Frazier looks to regroup heading into its next match.

Bishop Canevin 210, Serra Catholic 232

The Eagles fell to the visiting Crusaders in a Section 7-2A match on the Lakeside Course at Butler’s Tuesday.

Ian Yunk led the way for the Eagles, shooting a low score of 43. Tyler Sapida added a 43 and Nate Simko finished with a 46.

Scorers for the Crusaders were not reported.

Portions of this story were written with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

night’s loss but the manager said it was just to check in.

“Mookie pops in my office all the time and we were just talking about his swing,” Roberts said. “I wanted him to check in with me about where he’s at, certain checkpoints as we go through the season, and that was a check-in.”

Fever hit again as Sophie Cunningham lost for season

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The injury-riddled Indiana Fever suffered another blow Tuesday when they announced guard Sophie Cunningham would miss the rest of this season with a knee injury.

She was hurt during Sunday’s victory at Connecticut.

Team officials did not provide details about the injury, the third season-ending one Indiana has experienced in August.

Guard Sydney Colson tore the ACL in her left knee on Aug. 7 in a game at Phoenix. Guard Aari McDonald broke a bone in her right foot in the same game.

And two-time All-Star guard Caitlin Clark still has not played since injuring her right groin in mid-July. Coach Stephanie White has not provided a timetable for Clark’s return other than to say the Fever hope that Clark returns before the regular-season finale Sept. 9 against Minnesota.

With so many key players out, the outspoken Cunningham played a key role in helping Indiana stay in the playoff mix. She was averaging 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steals.

Indiana also announced it has signed Shey Peddy to a seven-day hardship contract. The six-year veteran was averaging 5.0 points and 2.7 assists in six games with the Los Angeles Sparks. She also has played with Phoenix and Washington during her career. The Fever also released guard Kyra Lambert.

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