West Greene, Monessen meet in Class A semifinals
West Greene and Monessen know they will have one more softball game remaining in their seasons no matter the outcome of today鈥檚 WPIAL Class A semifinal playoff game.
But, both teams prefer that game be the WPIAL title game on June 2, not the consolation final on May 31.
The teams produced sound victories in the quarterfinals with West Greene (21-1) defeating Union, 8-2, and the Lady Greyhounds (15-5) thumping Serra Catholic, 10-0, as both look for their first WPIAL championship appearance.
鈥淲e still have a goal in front of us and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e focused on. I鈥檓 sure at some point in time in the future I鈥檒l be able to sit back and relax and reflect on where we鈥檝e come in the program,鈥� said Monessen coach Bo Teets. 鈥淭o tell you the truth, we had high expectations. To be where we鈥檙e at right now is kind of where we thought we could be.
鈥淲e have a monumental task in front of us with the No. 1 team in the class. It鈥檚 not going to be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination. But we鈥檙e going to prepare and come out on Wednesday and see what happens.鈥�
The two teams met in the regular season for a non-section game which the Lady Pioneers won, 10-0.
鈥淭hat score is very deceiving because it wasn鈥檛 easy last time. (Dana Vatakis) struck out 11. We put a lot of emphasis on trying to put the ball in play at all times and limit the amount of strikeouts. We know she鈥檚 a good pitcher,鈥� said West Greene coach Billy Simms. 鈥淲e know we鈥檙e up against a quality opponent with their ace pitcher out there.鈥�
Vatakis tossed a no-hitter in the quarterfinals, striking out 11 and walking none, but faces a potent Lady Pioneer offense that has produced 23 runs in two playoff games.
鈥淭he first time we had some errors and they were hitting. They鈥檙e just a good overall team,鈥� Vatakis said of West Greene. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have to play very good, have a clean game and hit good to beat them, but we can beat them. If we play our best game, we can win.鈥�
Simms believes his young squad will be up to the challenge.
鈥� I think we鈥檙e battle-tested. We had a blowout win in the first game where it was nice to get some breathing room early and we lost the ball over the fence,鈥� said Simms. 鈥淟ast game we were up against a quality pitcher and we were able to use small ball. So, we鈥檝e worked on both facets of our game.鈥�
The Class AAA semifinals also feature two local schools with second-seeded Yough (17-2) facing third-seeded West Allegheny (18-1) in the semifinal at Baldwin at 4 p.m. and Mount Pleasant (11-5) playing top-seeded Thomas Jefferson (16-1) after the West Greene-Monessen game at Cal U at 5 p.m.
The Lady Vikings defeated rival Southmoreland, 9-5, in the quarterfinals, while Thomas Jefferson edged Knoch, 3-2, on Emily Scheidter鈥檚 run-scoring double in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Second-seeded Yough (17-2) edged Elizabeth-Forward, 3-2, while their opponent West Allegheny (18-1), on Mackenzie Partyka鈥檚 three-run home run, defeated Beaver, 3-2.
The winners also advance to the championship on June 2, with the losers facing one another in the consolation final for the opportunity to advance to the state playoffs.