Local Sports

DANVILLE — Rocio Fernandez didn’t have much time to prepare for the girls tennis season.

SELINSGROVE — Mark Smith returned from his NASCAR debut to win his first sprint car race of the season.

LEWISBURG — Lewisburg coach Marc Persing entered Saturday scrimmage with Montoursville knowing what to expect out of standout tailback Max Moyers, so the junior didn’t get many carries at the Pawling Complex on Saturday morning.

WILLIAMSPORT — Bryce Woodruff might have felt a little nervous as he walked out onto the infield at Lamade Stadium as thousands of fans filed in for the mid-afternoon Little League World Series game between the West and Southwest.

SELINSGROVE — Twin sisters Miranda and Cassandra Minium have followed one another in lockstep for much of their lives.

BERWICK — Milton took early leads in both games of the North Branch League championship series against Berwick on Saturday.

HERSHEY — Following a couple of games without a hit, Reed Wagner was looking to bust out in the state championship game.

MILTON — Northumberland hit a pair of first-inning singles off Milton pitcher Noah Inch on Monday.

Whether on the field or in the classroom, Garrett Taylor’s actions ring louder than his words.

SELINSGROVE — Ryan Kissinger and Bryan Bernheisel both used the top groove at Selinsgrove Speedway on Saturday night to earn race victories.

UNIVERSITY PARK — It took three minutes into his media day press conference for sixth-year Penn State coach James Franklin to share the mantra for this year’s team: “championship habits.”

LEWISBURG — Bucknell held its first official practice of preseason camp Friday night at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

Bucknell’s basketball season won’t begin for another four months, but new assistant coach Kelly Mazzante is already entrenched in the program.

CAMP HILL — Unable to find a way to shut down a potent Newtown-Edgmont team Wednesday night — especially in the middle innings — Warrior Run side watched its bid for a Pennsylvania Little League Major Division baseball championship end with a 10-4 loss.

HUGHESVILLE — Michael Warren had thoughts of running through a dugout fence in pursuit of a foul pop to help his no-hit bid late Tuesday.

HUGHESVILLE — With an excessive heat warning in effect, Mifflinburg manager Shawn Cooper took a different approach to Saturday’s Susquehanna Valley American Legion League Division 2 playoff game.

WELLSBORO — Mifflinburg’s Taylor Stewart threw six innings of no-hit ball Friday in the second round of the Little League 8-10 Division softball state tournament.

MANDATA — Colton Schwartz’s first crack at playing the hero Friday resulted in a baseball fouled away and his bat flung like a whirlybird toward the visitors’ dugout.

SELINSGROVE — With his team locked in a late tie, Tyler Ulrich dug in at the plate hoping to get something — anything — going.

LOCK HAVEN — Selinsgrove finally got out of the top of the fourth inning after Keystone scored five runs to take a 9-4 lead when dark clouds rolled in and forced a suspension.

SELINSGROVE — With not much information on his opponent, Griffen Harrington struggled a bit on the mound early.

LOCK HAVEN — Taylor Stewart gave up two hits and a run in the most difficult inning of the Section 3 Division 8-10 softball tournament so far for the Mifflinburg pitcher.

STATE COLLEGE — For Penn State long snapper and Uplifting Athletes chapter vice president Chris Stoll, Life for Lift is personal.

NEW BERLIN — Steven Miller’s three-run home run in the opening inning — along with five hits in five trips and four runs batted in from Josh Domaracki — propelled Selinsgrove to a decisive 11-1 victory over Mifflinburg in the championship game of the District 13 Junior Division baseball tour…

DANVILLE — No one suggested Selinsgrove conjured its state championship magic Tuesday.

NEW BERLIN — Some teams might be thrown off by a slow start and an early deficit.

COAL TOWNSHIP — On a sweltering Thursday morning, his pitches either sailing high or one-hopping his catcher, Danville pitcher Tyler Albertson didn’t expect to go deep into the game.

DANVILLE — Berwick jumped on Lewisburg early, scoring all eight of its runs in the first two innings to claim an 8-0 win over Lewisburg in the District 13 Little League 8-10 Division baseball tournament.

SELINSGROVE — Mother nature once again wreaked a little havoc on the District 13 Little League Major Division Tournament at East Snyder Park on Wednesday, and the Danville team is again involved.

SELINSGROVE — Danville was in the middle of another rally to take a lead Saturday in a District 13 Major Division game when the second base umpire spotted lightning and delayed the game for a second time.

SELINSGROVE — After giving up 15 runs in its first two games of the District 13 Little League Major Division baseball tournament, Central Columbia coach Justin Sarisky said strategy was going to be critical.

LAURELTON – Danville manager Rob Santore felt confident in his 9-10-11 all-star team coming off a loss.

SELINSGROVE — Sometimes 12-year-olds can’t help but to be 12-year-olds.

A couple months ago, Southern Columbia junior Gaige Garcia and some of his friends were discussing where they would play college sports if the choice was completely up to them.

SELINSGROVE — Jacob Beddall didn’t want to wait.

SELINSGROVE — Ryan Smith won the Kramer Cup on Saturday night, taking the Pink Panther Trophy and nearly $4,000 at Selinsgrove Speedway.

SELINSGROVE — Like the kid who becomes a fan of a sports team because he likes the uniform, it was the attraction to a bright-colored car that pushed Lori Croop to join her husband, Randy, as a race driver.

In the coming weeks the PIAA Class A runner-up trophy will find its way to the trophy case at Greenwood High School.

ELYSBURG — If you ask Neil Mertz if he thinks this will be his final year of attending the state trap shoot, the retired Point Township gun shop owner will probably say, “This will be my last.”

UNIVERSITY PARK — Blaise Zeiders walked onto the field at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park and couldn't help but take it all in before the beginning of Friday's PIAA Class 4A championship game against Beaver.

UNIVERSITY PARK — Greenwood coach Mark Sherman has said a hundred times during the playoffs that baseball is a funny game.

UNIVERSITY PARK — Bryce Dalpiaz sat alone at the end of Greenwood’s dugout bench, staring at the state baseball trophy in his lap as though the silver adornments might somehow turn gold.

NEWPORT — Aaron Bollinger watched as the final out was made at first base and threw his hands in the air as he was hugged by catcher Bryce Dalpiaz.

ALMEDIA — Blaise Zeiders does a variety of things for the Selinsgrove baseball team.

ALMEDIA — Josh Nylund was face down in the infield dirt twice in a matter of minutes Tuesday — once as a result of desire, once by design — to help propel Selinsgrove to the Class 4A state final.

Selinsgrove’s two-week run to today’s state semifinal baseball game has been dotted with more adversity than one might guess.

One look at Greenwood’s run through the postseason and it would be easy to think the Wildcats’ success has been due to their pitching.