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Hopewell Freshman Basketball Dominates Riverside, 58-21

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

The Hopewell Freshman basketball team put together an impressive all-around performance, rolling past Riverside with a commanding 58–21 victory.

Riverside came out aggressive, opening the game with a quick 5–0 run, but that early surge would be the visitors’ only lead of the night.

Hopewell quickly settled in when Kaleb Gonzalez knocked down a three-pointer to get the Vikings on the board. Ryder Kostrick followed with the next five points, giving Hopewell its first lead—a lead that Hopewell would not let go of.

Xavier Vallecorsa added to the momentum with a three-pointer to push the score to 11–5. Vallecorsa was locked in from beyond the arc all night, finishing as the game’s leading scorer with 15 points, all coming from three-point range.

Hopewell showcased balanced team offense and strong defensive effort, closing the first quarter with a 14–9 advantage.

In the second quarter, the Vikings began to pull away. Gonzalez and Kostrick continued to score, while Nico Yanessa added to the offensive pressure. Nico Amadio and Vin Smetana helped move the ball efficiently, tallying several assists. Christian Fischer and Enzo Leopardi anchored the defense underneath the net. By halftime, Hopewell had built a 25–13 lead.


Hopewell came out hot again in the third quarter, with Fischer scoring inside and Vallecorsa drilling more shots from deep. Smetana closed out the quarter with a basket, sending Hopewell into the final period firmly in control at 42–19.

In the fourth quarter, Roman Crisci stepped up to lead the offense and finish off a dominant team performance. Hopewell closed the game strong, securing the decisive 58–21 win.

It was a complete effort from the Vikings, highlighted by unselfish offense, tough defense, and contributions from up and down the roster.

Xavier Vallecorsa-15 points

Ryder Kostrick-14 points

Kaleb Gonzalez-9 points

Roman Crisci-7 points

Christian Fischer-7 points

Vin Smetana-2 points

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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 HS Baseball

Freshman Team Competes but Loses to Moon

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 2 minutes read

Hopewell Township –  After sweeping West Mifflin in a double-header yesterday, the Hopewell freshman baseball team was back in action this afternoon against the Moon Tigers.

Right-handler Luke Vukovcan got the start, which was his first start this season. The rust showed early on but as the game progressed, he looked more comfortable on the mound.

Vukovcan’s velocity on his fast ball was good so it was just a matter of locating it in the zone because when he did, he was effective.

In the end, Moon was the better team and came away with an 11-6 win. Jack Ambrozic started for Moon and was tremendous. The big right-hander went the first 3 innings and his stuff was electric. Ambrozic pitched 3 innings, allowing just 1 hit, 0 runs, while striking out 7 batters.

As Vikings Sports Now always does, we look for positives even in defeat.

**RHP Reed Budavich certainly was that for Hopewell as he went 4.1 innings, allowing 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 2 walks and striking out 6 batters.

Hopewell’s Reed Budavich

**Despite committing 4 errors, Hopewell did make some nice defensive plays: LF Ryan Gaguzis made a great running catch late in the game, C Gunner Reese located a foul ball and made the catch, 3B Cam Hoth showed nice range moving to his left to field a ball and fire it to Andrew Arzberger at first and Arzberger made a nice running catch in foul territory.

Hopewell’s Ryan Gaguzis

*Josh Gill continues to be productive from the No. 2 hole as he went 2-for-3. This after going 4-for-5 in yesterday’s double-header.

Hopewell’s Josh Gill

*Vukovcan was productive from the cleanup spot driving in Hopewell’s first run with a RBI single to right. Then later in the game, Luke hit a deep sacrifice fly to center, which scored Gill.

Hopewell’s Luke Vukovcan

*Ethan Adams continues to impress me with his grit and scrappiness. Adams is a professional hitter that does his job by putting the ball in play and more times than not gets the job done in the field.

Hopewell’s Ethan Adams

*The freshman team has a week off before taking on Montour next Thursday at home.

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