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Hopewell High School Baseball

Hopewell’s Charlie Smetana Competing in Prestigious Prep Baseball 2025 Pennsylvania State Games

by Mike Vukovcan Published: June 10, 2025

written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

While the high school baseball season is technically over with, the reality is that baseball for kids that play it competitively is never over.

Whether it’s off-season workouts, or Pony and Colt League or a Travel League, baseball is pretty much a year around sport.

That’s certainly the case if you have aspirations of playing it beyond high school, which is the case with Hopewell senior Charlie Smetana.

Since playing Youth Baseball, Smetana’s goal has always been to play college baseball and he’s hoping this offseason is when he gets that opportunity from schools.

Following the Vikings season, Smetana started up play with the BV program and is also playing with a travel organization in Ohio. With these two programs, they’ll be plenty of opportunities to be viewed by college scouts.

Another such chance will be with a prestigious opportunity that Smetana was awarded with recently by receiving an invitation to play in the Prep Baseball 2025 Pennsylvania State games. This began yesterday in Palmyra, Pennsylvania and will through Thursday night.

This is a massive opportunity to play with over 600 of the best amateur baseball players in the state and more importantly, to be seen by college scouts from all levels of baseball. Since 2020 when the Prep Pennsylvania State games began, over 1,500+ players who competed in this have committed to college baseball programs.

This is not something that you can just sign up for, you must receive an invitation from the organization, which Smetana did.

Hopewell’s Charlie Smetana

Once he arrives today, Smetana and other players will , which will be followed tomorrow and Thursday by competing in games against the best players in the state.

Players that participate in the PA State Games will receive a full PBR profile update including a highlight, subscription-based video, stats, Vizual Edge, advanced metrics and more to help with their recruitment.

Vikings Sports Now wishes Smetana all the best over the next few days and can’t wait to report on that first scholarship offer that comes in.

Published: June 10, 2025 0 comments

Hopewell Athletics

It’s Time to Help Out Hopewell Standouts Charlie Smetana and Victoria Mann

by Mike Vukovcan Published: May 20, 2025

written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

Let’s go Hopewell, it’s time to help out a couple of the top performers at Hopewell High School receive a nice honor.

Hopewell catcher Charlie Smetana completed his junior season and game in and game out, not only performed as Hopewell’s top player but one of the best players in the area. The same can be said for Hopewell senior catcher Victoria Mann.

This morning, the Beaver County Times posted a poll to determine the 2025 Beaver County Times Baseball and Softball Players of the Year. Let’s help them get the recognition that they deserve and help them bring home this award.

Fans are able to vote for the player of the year with the poll remaining open until May 27 at Noon. Winners of athlete of the year polls will be revealed on May 28th.

You’re able to vote as many times as you want up until when voting closes.

Here’s the link, and as they say, ‘Vote Early and Vote Often’. Please share and send this article to friends and family so that they can help out.

Here’s the link for the Boys Baseball Player of the Year.

https://www.timesonline.com/story/sports/high-school/baseball/2025/05/20/who-is-the-beaver-county-times-baseball-player-of-the-year/83670488007/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKZaIxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFRTjZVRWhRQlNyeXhFaDhOAR6uYQBArzq4VwaBahcird0ihhuYJQIgn4-6cGaN4yVU0KdUfnIxMJzCebkftw_aem_FEt4DsxUanbKzAQJKqBEKw

Here’s the link for the Girls Softball Player of the Year. Mann finished her senior year with a .650 average, 10 doubles, 7 HRs, 33 RBI, 24 runs scored along with throwing out 8 runners and picking 4 off.

https://www.timesonline.com/story/sports/high-school/softball/2025/05/20/who-is-the-beaver-county-times-softball-player-of-the-year/83670505007/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKZa4xleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFRTjZVRWhRQlNyeXhFaDhOAR5vJzKOjKeq6hb7efWCj1LoVWoiFEV_hH1HsQp4TGmP2hBOZzXQ08dRERj1zA_aem_HxZgIADX6GOIEnhknInbcg

Good luck Chuck and Victoria!

Published: May 20, 2025 0 comments

Hopewell HS Baseball

Hopewell Ends Home Season with 10-4 Loss to Blackhawk

by Mike Vukovcan Published: May 7, 2025

written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

Hopewell Township- The Hopewell Vikings HS baseball team played their last home game of the 2025 season and lost 10-4 to the Blackhawk Cougars.

Blackhawk jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning and that was the score after 4 innings. However, Blackhawk added 5 runs in the fifth inning to increase the lead to 7-0.

Hopewell added 2 runs in the fifth and 2 more in the seventh but were only able to register 5 hits for the game.

Junior Charlie Smetana reached base 3 times with 1 hit, 2 walks and collected an RBI. Cleanup hitter Logan Triscila went 2-3 with an RBI.

This afternoon was the final home game for Hopewell senior David Medich, who started the game in right field.

Thanks David for all your contributions to Hopewell baseball!

The Vikings will close out the 2025 season on Friday night as they take on West Allegheny at Washington Wild Things Park.

Published: May 7, 2025 0 comments

Opinion

Vukovcan: Losing Sucks

by Mike Vukovcan Published: May 5, 2025

written by Mike Vukovcan 2 minutes read

If you’re a regular follower of Vikings Sports Now, then you’re familiar with the phrase ‘Winning is Fun’ that I like to use following Hopewell Viking wins.

While that is true, the same can’t be said for losing, in fact, ‘Losing Sucks’ and unfortunately, the Hopewell High School baseball team endured a lot of that this season.

In fact, following their 7-2 rain shortened loss this afternoon to Blackhawk, Hopewell was eliminated from playoff contention.

The fact that I wrote that is a shock to me and no doubt everyone associated with the baseball program. Using the word shock isn’t an understatement because no one would’ve predicted that at the start of the season.

Unfortunately that’s the reality and that once again sucks because of the commitment that these players and coaches put into making the playoffs this season. When I tell you that no program in Hopewell and any that I’m familiar with puts in more time working to get better than Morgan Singletary’s baseball program.

That’s the truth.

They don’t practice/train year-round but it’s pretty damn near close to it. And when you invest that much time and fail to reach your goal, I can’t imagine what the players and coaches are thinking/feeling.

Honestly the Vikings baseball program is in a position they haven’t found themselves in since 2014. The 2013-14 was the last time the Hopewell HS baseball program failed to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

Considering the competition they face year in and year out, that was a hell of a streak, and it sucks that it came to an end but that’s the nature of sports.

I can tell you one thing, considering the winning they’ve done and championships they’ve won, no one is feeling sorry for Hopewell and nor should they.

This is a prideful program and one that will attempt to finish the last 2 games strong before working on a plan to get this turned around for next season.

With the season coming to a close on Friday, I’d imagine the planning, looking back and critiquing will begin Saturday. That’s obviously an exaggeration but I’m probably not that far off.

The urgency to get this turned will be ramped up because next season will be the final season for the core of this team.

Since they grew up playing youth baseball together- Charlie Smetana, Kingston Krotec, Drew Donovan, Ben McDonald, James Gill and Logan Triscilla have won a lot of baseball games and haven’t experienced much losing. However, the last two years, Hopewell’s combined record is 14-22.

Losing in baseball isn’t in their DNA so this is no doubt a trying time for them in terms of confidence.

That core, along with the other members of the team and this coaching staff are winners so others can get their licks in and enjoy it now because I’d be surprised if it lasts.

The Hopewell baseball program has too much pride and is surrounded by too many talented people that care for this losing to continue.

This Class of 2026 has one season left of playing baseball together, they’re going to do everything possible to make sure they won’t have to live through another 2025 season.

They have one more shot to get this right and they will because the alternative sucks.

Published: May 5, 2025 0 comments

Hopewell HS Baseball

Coach Morgan Singletary Hopes Team Continues Strong Play Down the Stretch

by Rich Donahue Published: April 27, 2025

written by Rich Donahue 3 minutes read

The 2025 season has been full of peaks and valleys for the Hopewell Vikings baseball team.

Starting off the season 0-5, the Vikings have rallied over the last month and find themselves right in the middle of 4A WPIAL Playoff hunt with a big series looming this week against rival Central Valley.

Despite the slow start, head coach Morgan Singletary is proud of his young team staying the course.

“We’ve been reading the energy of the team, staying positive, and continuing to work towards the goals that we have,” Singletary said. “Nothing’s changed since the beginning of the year. We’re starting to put things together which is a good thing. We just held the course.”

“We know what the potential was. It was just a matter of achieving that. I think we’re getting close to seeing all that put together.”

And that comes at the perfect time with 4 section games remaining in the season. The Vikings will face the Warriors of Central Valley this week and close out their section schedule against Blackhawk next week, which could be a battle for the section title or a fight for a playoff spot.

But after a great sweep series against Hampton last week, Singletary believes his team is peaking at the right time heading into this final stretch run.

“We probably had our most complete game in that first Hampton game where the pitching was really good, defense was extraordinary and then our hitting finally came together,” Singletary stated.

“And then the second Hampton game, hitting held up, pitching was still really good and defense was still good enough. I think we’re starting to put the pieces together. Beginning of the season obviously didn’t go how we wanted to, but I think we’re in a good spot right now.”

Singletary hopes that momentum continues this week.

“I really think we just need to keep playing how we played the past two games,” Singletary said. “We went into the Hampton series and that was pretty much a must win for us and the kids understood it and they responded to that. And now we’re looking at Central Valley. They might not be must wins, but they’re about as close as they can get because if we can end up winning them both, then I think that puts us in the playoffs. So we’re looking at it that way, two games that can get us into the playoffs.”

Coming into the season, Singletary was excited about his pitching staff and knew it would carry them through the year. It has been that and then some this season for the Vikings, but the offense is finally coming around at the right time.

“I would definitely say our pitching is our strength,” Singletary said. “They’ve kept us in a lot of the games that we lost. We had the ability to win just because our pitching performed so well. But with that being said, the offense is doing their part now in the last couple games. I’m happy to see how our offense has progressed and how some of the younger kids have really stepped up and started taking on rules that we want them to take on. So I’d say our strength is still our pitching, but everything’s starting to complement that really well.”

Charlie Smetana and Kingston Krotec have been two of the keys for the Vikings offense in this late season resurgence. Logan Triscila has also set up at the plate throughout the season.

If the pitching continues to control games and the offense progresses like it has, the Vikings should find their way back in the playoffs. For Singletary, he is taking it one game at a time and hopes they continue to roll into the playoffs, and they will be a tough out for any team.

“If we continue to play the way that we have, we can compete against almost any team. It’s just going to be a matter of how we get there,” Singletary stated. “If we get on a nice little roll and put a bunch of games together here at the end of the season, that will give us a lot of momentum going into playoffs, which can really help. It’s just how this next series goes against CV and then honestly, how the series after that goes against Blackhawk, and we’re just really taking it one game at a time because that’s kind of where our season’s at.”

Published: April 27, 2025 0 comments

Hopewell Athletics

Looking at the Tuesday Hopewell Sports Schedule

by Mike Vukovcan Published: April 22, 2025

written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

It’s going to be a perfect today to get outside and many of the Hopewell Boys and Girls athletic teams will be competing later today on the athletic field.

After having a few days off for Easter, it’s going to be a busy week for teams in Hopewell, starting today with 4 teams that are in action.

Here’s a look at which teams will be playing today and where these Vikings teams are in their section.

*The Hopewell High School Baseball team has a game this afternoon at Hampton. First pitch has been moved up to 3:15 PM. It’s a very important game for Hopewell as they try and earn that last playoff sport.

CLASS 4A SECTION 1

Blackhawk 4-2

Beaver 5-3

Ambridge 5-3

Central Valley 3-3

Hampton 3-5

North Catholic 2-4

HOPEWELL 2-4

*The Hopewell HS Softball team will travel to take on Avonworth. First pitch is set for 4 PM.

CLASS 3A SECTION 2

Mohawk 7-0

Avonworth 3-2

Ellwood City 3-2

HOPEWELL 2-3

Beaver Falls 1-4

Quaker Valley 0-5

Hopewell’s Allison Ramaley

*The Hopewell Junior High Softball team will host Central Valley this afternoon at 4 PM. The Lady Vikings have a record of 3-3-1 and are coming off of a double-header split against Beaver.

*The Hopewell HS Boys Volleyball team will host Seton-LaSalle tonight at 7 PM. The Vikings come into tonight with a record of 6-5 and 3-2 in section. This is a non-section match. Seton-LaSalle is in first place in Section 2A Section 3 with an overall record of 10-3 and 4-0 in section.

Hopewell’s Jake Pollick

Published: April 22, 2025 0 comments

Site News

VSN’s Top 5 Stories of the Week

by Mike Vukovcan Published: April 21, 2025

written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

We hope everyone had an enjoyable Easter weekend with family and friends.

As you probably noticed, we took the weekend off on Vikings Sports Now, which stopped us from setting a new record high of weekly traffic. The few days off to recharge the battery was necessary and we still recorded our second-best week.

No days off this week, ‘now we go’!

Last week VSN wrote 19 stories, here were the ones that received the most views from you the readers and were our top five most read stories of the week (April 14-20).

5. News and Notes in Hopewell’s Boys and Girls Athletics

News and Notes in Hopewell Boys and Girls Athletics

4. Offer No. 4 Comes in for Hopewell’s Freshman QB James Armstrong

Offer No. 4 Comes in For Hopewell Freshman QB James Armstrong

3. Arzberger and Ackerman Lead Hopewell Freshman Team to Double Header Sweep of West Mifflin

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

2. Let’s Vote (Again)- 3 Hopewell Athletes Up for Athlete of the Week

Let’s Vote (Again)- 3 Hopewell Athletes Up for Athlete of the Week

1 Hopewell Track and Field Celebrates Their Seniors with Big Personal

Hopewell Track and Field Celebrates Their Seniors with Big Personal Performances

Published: April 21, 2025 0 comments

Hopewell HS Baseball

Check Out Hopewell Varsity Baseball Photo Gallery of Serra Catholic Game

by Mike Vukovcan Published: April 18, 2025

written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

Vikings Sports Now photographer Ed Thompson was a busy man on Thursday. Not only did he attend the Hopewell Freshman baseball game at West Mifflin, but he also stopped by the Hopewell High School/Serra Catholic game to take photos for us.

While the outcome of the game wasn’t what we wanted, the photos that Thompson shot were top notch as usual.

VSN has put together photo galleries from a recent Hopewell Track and Field Meet, the Freshman game and two Hopewell High School games. The plan is to get out to a softball game in the near future.

Here’s a look at our gallery from the Hopewell/Serra game.

1 of 47

Published: April 18, 2025 0 comments

Hopewell Athletics

Busy Day on the Hopewell Vikings Athletic Schedule; Plus Big Volleyball Win

by Mike Vukovcan Published: April 16, 2025

written by Mike Vukovcan 2 minutes read

Let’s hope that the weather cooperates because plenty of Hopewell athletic teams are scheduled to be in action today.

First off, a big congrats to the Hopewell Boys Volleyball team for a tremendous come from behind victory last night over the Montour Spartans.

After trailing 2 sets to none, Hopewell came back to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat! Vikings junior Jake Pollick had a huge game with 25 kills on the evening.

Hopewell’s Jack Pollick

Hopewell has now won 3 of their last 4 matches and will next take on Seton LaSalle in a non-conference match. The win improved their overall record to 6-5 and 3-2 in conference play.

Here is Match Point with a serve from Hopewell junior Justin Obeldobel.

Looking ahead to tonight’s busy schedule:

*The High School baseball team will be on the road as they travel to Serra Catholic for a non-section game. The Vikings will also be in action tomorrow as they travel to Laurel Highlands and will look to gain some momentum for a big stretch of games over the next 2 weeks against Hampton and Central Valley.

*The Freshman team also has a road game as they go up against West Mifflin in a scheduled double-header. Hopewell is looking for their first victory of the season and will be looking to carry over some positives from their first five innings of their last game against North Allegheny.

*The Middle School team will also be hoping to pick up their first win of the 2025 season when they host Montour. Gametime will be at 4 PM from over at the Hopewell Junior High School. These two teams played earlier this season with Montour coming out ahead 12-9.

*The Girls Junior High Softball team will also be at home as they’ll host Beaver at 4 PM. Hopewell will be looking for their 3rd win of the season and are coming off an exciting game against Blackhawk, in which they lost 17-16.

Hopewell’s Gianna Rossi

*Jeff Brunton and the Hopewell High School Track and Field team will be at home this afternoon as they host Central Valley and Ambridge in a dual meet from the High School. If you’ve never been to a track meet, go over and check out this team, which is full of talented athletes.

*Finally, Hopewell Youth Baseball will have two games going on tonight from the Kane Road Fields as Coach Daley’s Coach Pitch Team will take on Beaver Falls at 6 PM and Coach Gigliotti’s Little Leage team will take on Freedom. Both of those games will start at 6 PM.