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Sunday, May 02, 1999 By Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Ashley Battle is considered one of the top girls' basketball players in the country. Although she hasn't finished her junior year yet, Battle, a 5-foot-11 point guard, is being recruited by Connecticut, Duke, Penn State and Illinois, among others. Battle grew up in Pittsburgh and still lives on the North Side.
But don't be alarmed if you've never heard of Battle.
Battle is one who got away. Although she lives with her mother, grandmother and aunt on the North Side, she attends Linsly School, a private school in Wheeling, W.Va.
"We've had some good basketball here, but we've never had a Division I prospect in this area like Ashley," said Linsly Coach Carrie Kozdras. "Depending on which college coach you talk to, she's rated anywhere from the top five to the top 10 players in the country at her position for next year."
But exactly how did Battle get away? She attended Manchester Elementary School in the city and then Frick Middle School. Her basketball talent was evident at a young age. She played in national tournaments for the Pittsburgh Bruins AAU team and when she was in sixth grade, she got her first recruiting letter from Michigan State.
After eighth grade, she thought about attending Perry, Schenley, North Catholic or Canevin.
Battle, though, found out about Linsly. A few other Pittsburgh area students have attended school there and done well.
Willie Clay, a former Hill District resident who now plays in the NFL, attended Linsly, as did Eddie Drummond, an East Liberty resident who plays receiver at Penn State.
"I just wanted to try something different and get a good education," Battle said. "It's more challenging here."
Battle, who has a 3.5 grade-point average, played on a Linsly team that went against mostly public schools, including some Class AAA teams (AAA is the largest classification in West Virginia). Battle had 11 triple-double games in a row.
Kozdras said, "She had one game where she almost had double figures in five categories -- points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. She came close to having 10 blocks."
For the season, Battle averaged 27 points, 13.4 rebounds, 8.l steals and 7.9 assists. She was selected the Gatorade Circle of Champions Player of the Year for West Virginia.
"We didn't have a game this year where there weren't at least two college coaches there," Kozdras said. "We didn't have a week of practice where at least one coach didn't show up. These were head coaches as well as assistant coaches."
Battle lives in Pittsburgh when not attending Linsly. She also comes home many weekends and still plays for the Bruins AAU team.
But don't bother asking her about college.
"I like everyone right now," she said.
John Sarandrea has decided to return next season as New Castle's boys' basketball coach.
After New Castle lost in the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals to Erie McDowell in March, Sarandrea criticized the officials and said he didn't care if the PIAA penalized him for his comments because he was retiring.
A few weeks later, Sarandrea said he wanted to think about the decision more. Now he has decided to stay. The PIAA has said it will not penalize Sarandrea for his comments.
If you like close baseball games, then go watch the Shaler Titans play.
Each of Shaler's past seven games has been decided by one run, and all seven have been WPIAL Class AAA Section 5 games. The Titans have won four of the nail-biters and lost three.
But close games seem to be a way of life in Section 5. North Allegheny is undefeated in section play, but three of the Tigers' six wins have been by one run and another by two runs. North Hills also has been involved in four one-run section games and has lost three.
The way they are burning up the tracks for McKeesport, Kinnan, Ed and Jose are Herriotts of fire.
Ed and Kinnan Herriott are brothers and Jose is their cousin. Ed and Jose are tied for the third-best 100-meter dash time in the WPIAL at 10.9 seconds. Kinnan has triple jumped 46 feet, 3 inches, which is the second-best mark in the WPIAL.
Kinnan also is an excellent football player. A running back-defensive back, he is considered one of the better college prospects in the WPIAL for next season.
Doug Huff of Wheeling picks a 50-player All-American football team for Street & Smith's magazine every year. He said next year's senior class is heavy on big offensive linemen.
"There are about 10 juniors who are 6-5 or bigger and weigh more than 300 pounds who are highly touted," Huff said. "It's amazing the size of these kids today."
Huff said New Castle's 6-6, 318-pound Nick Marmo is included in that "highly touted" group. Marmo will make an oral commitment tomorrow to Penn State. He chose the Nittany Lions over Ohio State and Michigan.
Huff said two of the best offensive linemen in the country are from Ohio -- Michael Munoz (6-6, 310) of Cincinnati Moeller and Antonio Hall (6-5, 305) of Canton McKinley. Munoz's father, Anthony, is a former NFL offensive lineman who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer. Michael Munoz's sister, Michelle, is an all-state basketball player who attends Mason High School near Cincinnati.
Two other top offensive line prospects next season are twin brothers from Dixie High School in St. George, Utah. Paul and Scott Fisher are both 6-8, 320.
Can you imagine the food bill at the Fisher home?
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Sarandrea staying