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Hopewell HS Baseball

Best Performance of Season Leads Hopewell JV to 9-4 Win Over Ambridge

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 3 minutes read

Hopewell Township – In their last game against Beaver, despite not getting the win, the Hopewell JV team played a solid game both offensively and defensively.

Today, the Vikings repeated that performance and took their game to another level as they turned in their best performance of the season in a 9-4 win over Ambridge.

The story of the day was the performance of the Hopewell hitters as they collected a season-high 10 hits, 3 walks and only struck out 3 times. That hit total of 10 could’ve been higher if not for a couple nice defensive plays by Ambridge.

The beneficiary of the offense was freshman left-hander Andrew Arzberger who was in command all game. Arzberger went 6 innings, allowing only 3 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), while striking out 4 batters.

“Andrew came out strong and gave me 6 great innings,” said Hopewell HC Nick Hoth. “Camden then came in and did what I needed him to do and just close the game out. Proud of both of them. Fielding was cleaner today with a few great plays from our infielders and our outfielders keeping the ball in front and limiting free bases for them.”

HOPEWELL/AMBRIDGE JV GAME RECAP:
Top 1st: Arzberger got two groundball outs, and then after allowing an unearned run, Ambridge loaded the bases with 2 outs, but Hopewell escaped it as RF Gunner Reese made a nice running catch.    Ambridge 1-0

Bottom 1st: With 1 on and 1 out, Brody McCullough with a nice piece of hitting as he singled to LF, which was followed by a single to left field by Arzberger. In the last 2 games, Arzberger has done a really nice job going opposite field for hits.

Then with the bases loaded and 1 out, freshman catcher Luke Vukovcan singled to center field to drive in Jaxsen Covalt and McCullough. With a runner at 3rd and 1 out, Cam Hoth put the ball in play with a hard ground ball to second, which brought in Arzberger. Hopewell led 3-1

Top 2nd: Arzberger had a dominating second frame as he struck out the side and needed just 13 pitches.

Bottom 2nd: Hopewell took advantage of a couple Ambridge errors to add to their lead. With runners at the corners and 1 out, Ethan Adams grounded out to second, but it drove in Owen Ackerman.

Next up, Covalt recorded an infield single, which brought in Reese. Hopewell now led 5-1 and they weren’t done.

McCullough with another good at-bat as he went opposite field for a single, Covalt scored on an Ambridge error. Arzberger followed that up with another hit to left field, which brought in McCullough. Hopewell led 7-1

Top 3rd: Nice Hopewell defense in the third as Ambridge had a runner on first with 1 out but the inning ended with a 5-4-3 double play (Hoth to Adams to Reed Budavich at first). Hopewell 7-1

Bottom 3rd: Hoth led off the inning with a double to right field. Ryan Gaguzis then laid down a sacrifice bunt, which moved Hoth to third base. That paid off as Ackerman delivered an RBI single to CF. Hopewell now led 8-1.

Top 4th: Nice defense in the 4th as Hoth fielded two hard grounders to third and fired them both over to Budavich. Arzberger ended the inning with a strike out.

Top 6th: More nice defense from Hoth as he made another play at third for the first out. Then with 2 outs, Budavich ranged far to his right, fielded the ball and beat the runner to the base

Bottom 6th: Hopewell scored their last run of the game in the sixth. Gaguzis led off the inning with an infield single, followed by a double by Budavich, which put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Then with 2 outs, Hopewell took advantage of a 2-out error to score run No. 9. Hopewell 9-2.

Top 7th: Hoth came on to relieve Arzberger and struck out the first two batters he faced.

Then after Ambridge scored 2 runs and with 2 outs, Hoth ended the game as he got a pop up to Covalt.

FINAL: HOPEWELL 9 AMBRIDGE 4

“I think it was a great bounce back win from the double header loss last week,” said HC Hoth. “I knew last week’s losses did not show what this team could do. Today we limited errors and put the bat on the ball more. I think our base running was a lot better tonight and we used small ball to get around the bases.”

“Tomorrow, we play them again and hope to replicate today’s events.”

Game 2 of this series is tomorrow as the Vikings travel to Ambridge. First pitch is scheduled for 4 PM.

 

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Beaver County 376 Pony League All-Stars

Schedule, Bracket for the Local 376 Pony League All-Star Qualifying Tournament

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

One week from today, a 14-year old baseball team from Beaver County, including two players from Hopewell, will start the process of trying to qualify for the 2025 Pony League World Series.

The 376 All-Star team will begin play in a qualifying tournament starting next Thursday at Mt. Lebanon. The winner of this tournament will receive a bid to the World Series.

Two players from Hopewell earned a spot on this team and will go through this neat experience- Andrew Arzberger and Luke Vukovcan.

Here are the coaches and players that will comprise this 2025 376 Beaver County team.

Coaching Staff: Brian Haney, Chris Hamilton, Matt Harvey and Sean Kearney

Roster: Brandon Woefel, Brody Lindsey, Caleb Haney, Colby Cutshall, Cole Harvey, Dylan Hamilton, Gavin Latchaw, JJ Kearney, Noah Kraus, O.C. Burkhead, Arzberger and Vukovcan.

Last night, the complete list of teams in this tournament and the brackets were announced.

Here are the 13 teams that will be competing: 376 Pony League, Mt. Lebanon, Founders League All-Stars, South Hills Pony League, NCAA, Butler, Youngstown, Plum, Pittsburgh Pirates Nike, Peters Township, Johnstown, Mon Valley and Western PA Pony League.

The 376 Team will play their first game, next Thursday (June 24) against Butler at 1 PM.

If they win, they would take on the winner of the game between Mt. Lebanon/Founders League All-Stars on Friday at 10:30 AM. If they lose, they’d play the loser of the game between either Youngstown/South Hills Pony or NCAA on Friday at 1 PM.

This is a double-elimination tournament so each team is guaranteed at least two games. If you win your first game, you’re then guaranteed at least three games.

This qualifying tournament will be played at two different locations: Clint Seymore Field in Mt. Lebanon and Jefferson Field in Pittsburgh.

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Hopewell Pony League Baseball

2 Hopewell Players Will Compete to Play in Pony League World Series

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

Vikings Sports Now would like to congratulate two Hopewell baseball players for earning a nice accomplishment.

Hopewell’s Andrew Arzberger and Luke Vukovcan were just named to the 376 Beaver County Pony League All-Star team that will compete to qualify for the national 2025 Pony League World Series.

Following the completion of the Pony League season, selected players from Beaver County’s 16 Pony League teams were invited to a tryout to qualify for this team. Afterwards, Arzberger and Vukovcan were two of the 12 players selected to the team.

Hopewell’s Luke Vukovcan

For those not familiar, this 376 Beaver County team will compete in a qualifier tournament from July 24-27. The winner of that tournament will qualify for the Pony League World Series. Teams from Ohio, West Virginia and around Pennsylvania will be competing in this qualifier tournament.

This obviously will not be easy, but this is no doubt a neat and memorable opportunity.

Here are the coaches and players that will comprise this 2025 376 Beaver County team.

Coaching Staff: Brian Haney, Chris Hamilton, Matt Harvey and Sean Kearney

Roster: Brandon Woefel, Brody Lindsey, Caleb Haney, Colby Cutshall, Cole Harvey, Dylan Hamilton, Gavin Latchaw, JJ Kearney, Noah Kraus, O.C. Burkhead, Arzberger and Vukovcan

Luke and Andrew have played on numerous All-Star teams together since they were 7-years old, but this will be their biggest opportunity to date.

Best of luck to them and the rest of the 376 Beaver County team!

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Hopewell Pony League Baseball

Hopewell vs. Hopewell Last Night in Pony League Action

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 2 minutes read

RACOON TWP– The Western Pa. Pony League Organization has 16 teams this season ranging from Beaver, Beaver Falls, Blackhawk, Ambridge, Central Valley, New Brighton and Riverside. Many of these team enter multiple teams, which is the case with Hopewell.

Last night, the two Hopewell teams squared with Coach Hoffman’s squad taking on Coach Reed’s group at Racoon Municipal Park.

These two teams are evenly in terms of talent, although Team Hoffman’s team was missing a key contributor. That aside, it was a close game until late when Team Reed pulled away with big 5th and 6th innings to away with a 15-9 win.

Here’s a look at some of the standout performers from tonight.

TEAM REED:
-Jaxsen Covalt: 2 for 4 at the plate with 3 runs scored, 1 walk and 1 RBI. Covalt also entered the game in the 3rd inning and pitched 2 scoreless innings, striking out 3.

-Andrew Arzberger: 4 for 5 at the plate with 4 RBI. Andrew also pitched the last 2 innings, striking out 6 batters.

-Liam Rankin: Liam had a 2-run single as part of his teams 6 run 5th inning. Rankin also made a couple nice plays defensively at 3rd base.

-Some of the other Hopewell kids with RBIs last night for Team Reed were Nico Yannessa, Ethan Adams and Connor Reed.

TEAM HOFFMAN:
-Ryan Gaguzis: 2 for 2 at the plate, along with 2 walks. Gags also scored 3 runs and made an above average play in center field.

-Tyler Hoffman: 1 for 3 at the plate, along with a walk. Tyler scored 2 runs and also drove in 2 runs with a triple. Hoffman also played a solid game behind the plate.

-Luke Vukovcan: 2 for 4 at the plate. Luke drove in 3 runs and also scored 2 runs. Luke started for Team Hoffman and went 4.1 innings allowing 5 earned runs and struck out 6 batters.
-Noah Honess: Noah drove in 2 runs tonight for Hopewell.

*The biggest difference in tonight’s outcome was team defense. Team Hoffman’s squad committed an uncharacteristic 7 errors, compared to just 1 for Team Reed. It’s almost impossible to win making that many errors, especially when you’re going up against a quality opponent.

Next up for both teams- Team Reed will take on undefeated Beaver tonight. Best of luck guys. Team Hoffman has a day off before they’ll host Riverside on Thursday.

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Hopewell Pony League Baseball

Strong Pitching Leads Hopewell Pony (Team Reed) to Win Over Ambridge

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

Raccoon Township-  Hopewell Pony Leagues (Team Reed) was in action tonight as they hosted the Ambridge Bridgers at the Raccoon Township Fields.

Thanks to strong pitching and just enough timely hitting, the Vikings came away with a 6-4 win. With the win, Hopewell improved their record to 3-1-1.

The top 4 hitters in Hopewell’s lineup collected all 6 RBIs- Connor Reed (1), Richard Kurtz (1), Andrew Arzberger (2) and Logan Sweesy (2).

Taking a look at Hopewell’s pitching- Kurtz started and went 3 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 earned runs and struck out 5 batters. Jaxsen Covalt pitched innings 4 thru 6 and was extremely effective allowing just 2 hits, 1 run (0 earned runs) and struck out 5. Arzberger pitched the final inning and struck out the side.

A few of the big plays in the game:
*Bottom of 1st: 2 outs, Arzberger 2-run triple to center scores Reed and Kurtz.  Hopewell led 2-1.

*Bottom of 2nd: More 2 out hitting, Reed doubles in Dom Yannessa, Hopewell leads 4-2.

*Top of 4th: Covalt strikes out the side, Hopewell still leads 4-2.

*Top of 5th: Ambridge has 2 runners on and just 1 out but Covalt gets a pop up and ground out to Ethan Adams at 2nd base.

*Bottom 5th: Covalt helps himself out as he leads off the inning with a single and would eventually score on a single by Kurtz, Hopewell now leads 5-2.

*Top of 6th: Score now is 6-3 and Ambridge has 2 runners on with 1 out. Covalt gets out of inning by recording a strikeout and getting another pop up to Adams. Ambridge leads 6-3.

Final Score: Hopewell 6 Ambridge 4

Hopewell (Team Reed) returns to action on Thursday against Beaver.

 

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Hopewell Pony League Baseball

Hopewell Pony League (Team Reed) Defeats Beaver Falls, 11-1

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

The Hopewell Pony League team (Team Reed) rebounded from a 4-1 loss last night to get a commanding 11-1 win over Beaver Falls.

Hopewell jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning and then added 4 more runs in the 3rd inning to increase the lead to 6-0. The Vikings then put the game away in the bottom of the 5th by plating 5 more runs.

The duo of Jaxsen Covalt and Andrew Arzberger limited the Tigers to just 6 hits and 1 run. Covalt pitched the first five innings, allowing just 1 earned run and striking out 4. Arzberger then pitched the 5th inning and struck out the side. Because of a 10-run lead, this game ended after 5 innings.

Hopewell was able to take advantage of 8 Beaver Falls errors in the field.

Offensively for Hopewell, Arzberger went 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Liam Rankin and Ethan Adams collected Hopewell’s other RBIs.

With the win, Hopewell improved their record to 2-1-1 and will return to action on Monday as they’ll host Ambridge.

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Hopewell HS Baseball

Hopewell Freshman Team Falls to Montour, 11-1

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 2 minutes read

After playing a good week of baseball last week against West Mifflin and Moon, the Hopewell Freshman Baseball team looked to keep it going yesterday against Montour.

As is the case in all athletics, it was one of those games where the Vikings weren’t as sharp as they were the previous week, which makes it difficult when you play a program like Montour.

To make things more challenging, Hopewell went up against a talented pitcher in Gavin Kenavey. The left-hander went six innings, allowing only 2 hits, 0 earned runs and striking out 11.

Left-hander Andrew Arzberger got the start for Hopewell and was effective early and ran out of gas late and was hurt by a few errors in the field.

A few bright spots aside from yesterday:

*CF Josh Gill continues to hit very well at the top of the lineup. Gill went 1-for-3 yesterday, and previous to that, had collected 2 hits apiece in the previous 3 games. Even when he’s making outs, Gill is making solid contact with the ball.

*Catcher Luke Vukovcan had another solid day behind the plate for Hopewell. Vukovcan threw out a runner attempting to steal 3rd base and looked to gun down another at second base but the Montour coach (no umpires in this game) called the runner safe. Also, a wild pitch got past him, Vukovcan was able to find the ball behind the plate and quickly dive for home plate to tag out the runner trying to score from third. At the plate, Luke had a solid single to center and was robbed of a double by a sliding catch by the Montour right fielder.

Hopewell’s Luke Vukovcan

*Arzberger went 5 innings, allowing 7 hits, 5 runs (4 earned runs), 2 walks, while striking out 8 batters. In total, Arzberger threw 89 pitches, 54 of which were strikes.

GAME RECAP:
   -Top of 1st inning: Runners at 2nd and 3rd, 1 out, Arzberger fielded a sharply hit ground ball back at the mound, looked the runner back at 3rd and threw to first. He then struck out the next batter to get out of the inning without giving up a run.

-Top of 2nd inning: A much easier inning for Andrew as he struck out two more batters and fielded another grounder back to the mound.

Hopewell’s Andrew Arzberger

-Top of 3rd inning: After 2 runners scored, Montour had the bases loaded with 2 outs, but Hopewell got out without giving up anymore as 1st baseman Reed Budavich fielded a grounder at first base and ran to the bag.

-Top of 4th Inning: Another scoreless inning for Hopewell. After the leadoff batter reached on a single, the next 3 batters were retired in order. First out came on a grounder to Ethan Adams at second base. Second out came via a strike out and the final one as Jackson Yurcina fielded a grounder at second and threw over to Budavich at 1st base.

When looking at the final score, keep in the mind that this game was 2-0 Montour going to the 5th inning.

–Top of the 5th Inning: Montour scored 3 runs in this inning, one of them unearned but Hopewell limited the damage by recording a fielder’s choice, Owen Ackerman to Yurcina and then an inning ending strikeout.

Next Wednesday, Hopewell will return to action to take on Seneca Valley at home.

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Hopewell Pony League Baseball

Great Start to Season for Hopewell/Coach Reed Pony League Team

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 2 minutes read

RACOON TOWNSHIP- While we’re still in the middle of High School, Freshman League and Middle School baseball, another baseball league opened up tonight for our Hopewell players.

Tonight was the season opener for Hopewell in the 376 Western Pennsylvania Pony League. This season because of the number of participants, Hopewell will be fielding two teams- one coached by Jared Reed and the other by Chip Hoffman.

Hopewell will be looking to defend the Pony League Championship, which last season, coached by Jamie Yurcina, they won against Freedom.

Tonight, Coach Reed’s team was in action as they hosted a team from Blackhawk (Team Haberman).

Good pitching always gives you a chance to win and that’s what Hopewell got tonight from Jaxsen Covalt, Richard Kurtz and Andrew Arzberger, which allowed them to come away with a 7-6 victory.

Covalt got the start and went the first 3 innings, allowing only 2 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk and struck out 5 batters. Kurtz relived him and pitched the 4th and 5th innings, allowing 4 hits, 5 runs (only 3 earned runs), 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. The Vikings staff called up Arzberger to close things out and that’s exactly what he did. Andrew pitched 2 innings, allowing 0 hits, 1 run (0 earned runs), 1 walk and struck out 4 batters.

GAME RECAP:

*In the top of the 1st, Blackhawk got runners to 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs, but Covalt stood strong by getting the 3rd out on a ground ball to Ethan Adams at 2nd base.

*In the top of the 2nd, Blackhawk once again got a runner to 3rd with 2 outs but once again Covalt escaped by not allowing a run as he struck out the Blackhawk batter.

*Hopewell scored on a passed ball and went to the top of the 3rd with a 1-0 lead. Covalt made quick work of the Cougars as he set them down 1-2-3.

*Hopewell were able to get plenty of breathing room in the bottom of the 3rd as they scored 3 runs. The big hits were a 2-run double by Kurtz, followed by an RBI double by Arzberger. Hopewell now led 4-0.

*Blackhawk didn’t flinch and went on to score the next 5 runs of the game and took a 5-4 lead going to the bottom of the 5th.

*Hopewell immediately responded in the bottom of the inning as they were able to bring in 3 runs all with 2 out. With runners at 2nd and 3rd, Arzberger singled to left field to score Adams, and the game was now tied at 5. Hopewell then took the lead as Covalt scored on a wild pitch, followed by an RBI single by Logan Sweesy which scored Arzberger. Hopewell led 7-5.

*Arzberger came on in the bottom of the 6th inning and set Blackhawk down in order 1-2-3. Then in the final frame, things got interesting as a couple Hopewell errors allowed Blackhawk to score a run to make it 7-6. Blackhawk was in position to tie the game or take the lead as they had runners at 1st and 2nd with just 1 out, but Arzberger ended their hopes but ending the game with consecutive strikeouts.

FINAL SCORE: HOPEWELL 7 BLACKHAWK 7

WINNING IS FUN!!!

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Hopewell HS Baseball

Arzberger and Ackerman Lead Hopewell Freshman Team to Doubleheader Sweep of West Mifflin

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 5 minutes read

WEST MIFFLIN– It hasn’t been an easy start to the 2025 season for the Hopewell Vikings Freshman baseball team.

Taking on programs such as Seneca Valley and North Allegheny with a young roster isn’t ideal but this team kept the proper mindset, didn’t complain or lose interest, instead they just kept working knowing that their time would come.

That day was today as they made the long bus ride to West Mifflin to play a double-header. At the end of the long day, Hopewell came away with a double-header sweep, winning by the scores of 7-0 and 10-9.

The story line for both victories was outstanding pitching by Andrew Arzberger in Game One and Owen Ackerman in Game Two.

GAME ONE RECAP:
*After pitching well against North Allegheny in his last outing, Arzberger followed that up with a dominating performance this afternoon. The left-hander pitched a 1-hit shutout, allowing just 2 walks and striking out 8 batters.

The key today for Andrew was his ability to work ahead in the count and seemingly having the West Mifflin hitters in 1-2 or 0-2 counts all game long. In fact, Arzberger struck out 7 of the first 9 hitters that he faced.

Hopewell’s Andrew Arzberger

In the top of the first inning, Hopewell looked as though they’d take an early lead, but West Mifflin escaped without giving up a run. With 1 out, Josh Gill and Arzberger had back-to-back singles. Next up, Luke Vukovcan smoked a line drive that looked like it would go for a double but the West Mifflin 3rd baseman was in perfect position and snagged the ball before it went up the left field line. Cam Hoth followed that with a single, but Hopewell stranded the bases loaded.

Hopewell got on the scoreboard in the top of the 3rd with their biggest inning of the season. Gunner Reese led off the inning with a hard single to center field. Then with 2 on and 1 out, Gill collected his second hit of the game to load the bases for Arzberger, who promptly delivered an RBI single to left field, which scored Reese. Hopewell led 1-0.

Next up, Vukovcan drew a bases loaded walk to bring in Ryan Gaguzis, Hopewell led 2-0. With the score 3-0 and runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out, Ethan Adams grounded out to second base, which scored Arzberger, Hopewell led 4-0.  The final run of the inning came in as Vukovcan, timed things up perfectly and stole home.

Hopewell’s Luke Vukovcan

After getting staked to a 5-0 lead, Arzberger came out in the bottom of the third inning and set West Mifflin down 1-2-3, two courtesy of strikeouts and the final out on a grounder to Hoth at 3rd base.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Arzberger struck out the 1st batter. Then after issuing a walk, Andrew got the next two batters on a fly ball to Gaguzis in left field and the final out on grounder back to the mound.

The Hopewell offense added two more runs in the top of the fifth innings. After 2 outs, Gaguzis and Gill drew back-to-back walks and after a double-steal, they scored on a 2-run single to center field by Arzberger. Hopewell led 7-0.

Hopewell’s Ryan Gaguzis

West Mifflin couldn’t do anything in their final at-bats as the first batter grounded out to Covalt at shortstop, the second out was a ground ball back to Arzberger at the pitcher’s mound and the game ended on a line drive to Reed Budavich at first base.

FINAL SCORE: HOPEWELL 7 WEST MIFFLIN 0

After the game, Vikings Sports Now spoke to Hopewell coach Kaden Vandevert about the Vikings first win of the season.

GAME TWO RECAP:
*The second game was much different than the first one as Hopewell had to battle the entire game to hold onto a 10-9 decision. Credit West Mifflin for responding after Hopewell took a 4-0 lead in the first inning by scoring 7 runs in the next two innings to take a 7-5.

However, Hopewell didn’t blink as they would go on to score 5 runs in their next three innings to regain the lead, which in the end was enough for the win.

Kudos to Owen Ackerman who entered the game in the second inning and finished things out for Hopewell. Keep in mind, this was Ackerman’s first outing of the season. Owen ended up going 4 innings, allowing 2 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks and striking out 4 batters.

Ackerman entered the game with the bases loaded and ended up only giving up 2 runs, which was huge. West Mifflin was threatening for more with a runner at third base and 2 outs, but Ackerman induced a ground ball to Jackson Yurcina at second base to end the frame. West Mifflin led 7-5.

Hopewell’s Jackson Yurcina

Hopewell promptly tied the game up in the top of the 3rd inning. Josh Gill led off with a single to right field. Then with 1 out, Luke Vukovcan drew another walk to put two runners on. After a double steal, Gill would come home on a passed ball to cut West Mifflin’s lead down to 7-6. Then for the second time today, Vukovcan stole home. With Cam Hoth at 1st base and Vukovcan at 3rd, Hopewell sent both runners and the West Mifflin catcher threw down to second base, allowing Vukovcan to score easily. The score was now tied at 7-7.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Ackerman got the first out via a strikeout, the second on a fly out to Vukovcan at short and then the final batter popped up to Ackerman at the mound.

Hopewell regained the lead in the top of the 4th inning as Jackson Yurcina reached second base on an error by the West Mifflin center field and would eventually score on a passed ball. Hopewell led 8-7.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, after the leadoff West Mifflin hitter reached, Ackerman retired the next 3 hitters in order via a strikeout, a pop-up to Yurcina at second base and a foul up to Arzberger at first base.

In their final at-bats, Hopewell tacked up two important insurance runs that proved to be valuable.

With 1 out, Gill went the other way with a single to left and then Arzberger was hit by a pitch. Following a double-steal, Vukovcan drove in Gill with a sacrifice fly to left field, Hopewell led 9-7. The final scored courtesy an error by the West Mifflin 2nd baseman off a ground ball by Hoth. Hopewell led 10-7.

Hopewell’s Josh Gill

West Mifflin would score 2 runs, but Ackerman closed things out by striking out the final batter of the game.

Once again, Hopewell wins!!

No break for the Vikings as they’ll be back in action tomorrow afternoon when they host the Moon Tigers. Gametime from Hopewell High School is at 4 PM.

 

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Hopewell Middle School Baseball

Despite Score, Hopewell Freshman Shows Big Improvement

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 3 minutes read

Hopewell Township- You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘the final score wasn’t indicative of how a team played’.

That was certainly the case of todays Middle School baseball game between Hopewell and North Allegheny.

Coming off of a 10- 0 (5 innings) loss last Monday to Seneca Valley, Hopewell was faced with the challenge of taking on North Allegheny, one of the biggest and most talent rich school districts in the WPIAL.

This was going to be a challenge for this young team but for 6 innings, the Vikings stood toe to toe with North Allegheny before things fell apart in the final inning.

My biggest take from this game was that Hopewell trailed just 6-4 going to the Top of the 6th inning and not that the final score was 18-4 (NA scored 10 runs in the final inning).

Five Positives From Today:

1. Andrew Arzberger’s Peformance: Arzberger got the start and all things considered, he pitched well. The left-hander went 3 innings, allowing 5 runs (4 earned runs), walked only 1 and struck out 4.


The key for Arzberger was keeping the ball down in the zone because when he did that, he was very effective. This start was definitely one to build on and be encouraged by.

At the plate, Arzberger was 3-for-3 , including an RBI double in the first inning that scored Luke Vukovcan and gave Hopewell a 1-0 lead.

2. Cam Hoth: For the second straight game, Hoth accounted well for himself on the mound. Hoth took over for Arzberger in the 4th inning and over the 4th, 5th and 6th innings allowed just 3 runs against a very good hitting team.

Hopewell’s Cam Hoth

Hoth came back out for the 7th inning and just ran out of gas. I’m going to remember his performance in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings and not the final frame. Nice job Cam.

3. Vikings At-The Plate: Hopewell was noticeably better at the plate today compared to the Seneca Valley game. In the season opener, they struck out 10 times in 5 innings. In 7 innings today, Hopewell cut that number down to 9.

Even in at least 4 of the at-bats that resulted in strike outs, the Hopewell batter battled and worked the pitcher to a full count.

Players like Ethan Adams, Ryan Gaguzis, Owen Ackerman and Reed Budavich had productive at-bats where they put the ball in play that resulted in a runner scoring or put down a sacrifice bunt when called upon to do it.

4. Ethan Adams in the Field: While the Vikings still need to clean up their defense, a definite bright spot was the defensive play of Adams at 3rd base. Adams made two putouts and caught two pop ups. Great effort in the field Ethan. Also want to mention that Reed Budavich made 3 catches in center field.

5. Luke Vukovcan at Catcher: I do my best not to mention my son in stories but Luke did a solid job behind the plate. He did a good job keeping things in front of him and his throws down to second were impressive. In fact, Luke threw out a North Allegheny runner trying to steal second in the 3rd inning and came close to throwing out a second one.

As I’ve written a few different times, this season will not be about wins and losses and instead will be all about individual development of the players. This team showed nice growth from game one to game two.

Should also point out that North Allegheny’s 9th game of the season compared to just two for Hopewell.

This Freshman team has a few days off before returning to action next Tuesday at Pine-Richland.

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