J.J. HOOVER

SCHOOL: Elizabeth Forward.

WHO IS HE? One of the top pitchers in WPIAL baseball.

THE PAST WEEK: A hard-throwing right-hander, Hoover fired his first scholastic no-hitter April 13. He struck out 15 and walked three in a 6-1 victory against McGuffey. Right fielder Dan Laffin made a diving catch late in the game to preserve the no-hitter.

Hoover pitched a five-hitter with 10 strikeouts Tuesday as the Warriors defeated Thomas Jefferson, 6-4. That gave him a 6-0 record, a 0.74 ERA, and 71 strikeouts in 38 innings this season. Elizabeth Forward (7-2, 4-1) is in third place in Section 4-AAA.

CAREER: Hoover, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior, is in his fourth varsity season with the Warriors. He had only a 3-5 record as a junior, but that was largely because of a lack of offensive support. He had a 2.00 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 55 innings.

ROCKET MAN: The fastball, clocked at 92 mph this spring, is Hoover's trademark. He is built like and patterns himself after future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens.

AT HOME ON HILL: Pitching became a passion for Hoover when he was 6 or 7, and it has continued. Only in an extreme emergency will he play in the field or bat for the Warriors.

FUTURE: Hoover has signed with Niagara University, a Division I program. But he is hoping to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft in June.

-- By Rick Shrum

SCHOOL: Trinity.

WHO IS SHE? A junior second baseman who has helped turn Trinity into one of the top softball teams in WPIAL Class AAAA this season.

THE PAST WEEK: Falleroni singled and scored the winning run in a 1-0 victory Monday against Hempfield. In a 10-2 victory April 12 against Upper St. Clair, Falleroni hit two home runs.

THEY RANK: Trinity's victory against Hempfield vaulted the Hillers into prominence. Hempfield was the Post-Gazette's No. 1-ranked WPIAL Class AAAA team, and Trinity was unranked. Now, Trinity is No. 2 and Hempfield No. 4. Trinity has an 8-2 record.

BARELY 5 FEET: You wouldn't expect someone of Falleroni's stature to have much power. She is only 5-1¹/₂. But she carries a big stick, evidenced by her home runs and .666 slugging percentage this season.

"I don't think people expect much power from me, just because I'm a leadoff hitter and shorter than most girls," Falleroni said. "I guess last year was the start of it. I hit two or three home runs last year."

ONE OF THE FEW: Trinity manager Linda Rebish doesn't usually put freshmen into the starting lineup, but she felt she had to start Falleroni two years ago as a freshman. "She had gotten a lot of experience playing elsewhere, so she came to us in pretty good shape," Rebish said. "Plus, her maturity level was very high."

-- By Mike White