Lady Raiders derail West Greene in clash of softball powers
Evan Sanders
Evan Sanders West Greene celebrates after Brianna Amos crosses home plate during a Section 2-A match-up against Monessen Tuesday at Monessen High School. Amos, a courtesy runner, scored the game鈥檚 only run in West Greene鈥檚 1-0 win at Monessen.
Monessen's Maddie Guzzie (left) tags out West Greene's McKenna Lampe (right) at second base during their Section 2-A match-up at Monessen High School on Tuesday.
As we are closing in on the month of May, only two weeks remain in the regular season for Greene County baseball and softball teams.
The action is definitely heating up on the diamond, as teams are maneuvering their way through their respective sections in search of a playoff spot.
So with that in mind, let鈥檚 look at some of the headline-grabbing topics in the county this week.
Lady Raiders with a big win
Last Wednesday, Waynesburg Central picked up potentially its most impressive win of the season with a come-from-behind 7-6 victory over West Greene in non-section action.
鈥淲e had to believe in each other and be ready for the moment,鈥� Waynesburg coach Jim Armstrong said. 鈥淭his is probably the best team win I have ever been involved with in my coaching years. We are a good hitting team and we showed so much heart.鈥�
Trailing 5-3 in the top of the seventh at Rice Energy Park, the Lady Raiders tacked on four runs and regained the lead in a seesaw contest against the Lady Pioneers.
After a fly out to center, Paige Rutan and Rachel Elsenheimer collected back-to-back singles. Clean-up hitter Tara Staley made the deficit 5-4 after a RBI single that scored Rutan.
With two outs, Bailee Shimek had the hit of the day with a towering three-run homer that gave the visitors a 7-5 advantage in the wild non-section affair.
鈥淲e are a good hitting team,鈥� Staley said. 鈥淲e had to get the bats going. Our dugout was so loud in that inning. My ears hurt and I probably won鈥檛 have a voice tomorrow. As soon as Bailee made contact with that pitch I knew it was over the fences. It was a great hit.鈥�
The Lady Raiders gave up a run in the bottom of the seventh, but winning pitcher Emma Riccuitti was able to induce a slow grounder to second for the game鈥檚 final out.
Despite the loss, McKenna and Madison Lampe had stellar games for the Lady Pioneers. McKenna went 3-for-4 with a double and two home runs, while Madison tallied a solo shot and scored two runs.
With the loss, West Greene鈥檚 28-game regular season winning streak is over. The Lady Pioneers last regular-season loss came against Moore Catholic (N.Y.) 4-3 at the Ripken Experience.
鈥淲e are never going to shy away from competition,鈥� West Greene coach Billy Simms said. 鈥淲e are never going to be afraid of a loss at West Greene. We are going to learn a lot from this loss and build off of it. Our goal was never to go undefeated. We wanted to face some tough non-section teams and Waynesburg is a quality program. This will help us in the long run.鈥�
Rockets and Raiders continue to roll
After missing the playoffs last year, both Jefferson-Morgan and Waynesburg baseball squads are eyeing up returns to the postseason in 2017.
The Rockets (6-4, 6-0) are the lone unbeaten team in Section 2-A play after Greensburg Central Catholic lost to Monessen, 7-1, on Monday. The two squads will meet on back-to-back days near the end of the regular season (May 9 at J-M and May 10 at GCC).
J-M edged by Monessen last week, 5-4, as Gage Clark picked up the win on the rubber with six innings of work and fanned eight batters. Clark also added a triple to the Rockets鈥� eight-hit attack.
On Tuesday, the Rockets swept a doubleheader with Geibel Catholic (16-1 in four innings) and Mapletown (9-0). In the win versus the Maples, Clark threw a no-hitter and registered 16 strikeouts.
In Section 3-AAA action, Waynesburg is the lone undefeated team. As of Tuesday, the Raiders were 8-1 overall and 6-0 in section play.
Last Wednesday, the Raiders defeated previously undefeated Brownsville at home 5-2.
Waynesburg鈥檚 Hunter Robinson went 5 2/3 innings and was removed from the game due to his pitch count. The senior ace pitcher allowed two unearned runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks.
Hunter鈥檚 brother Luke came on in relief and recorded the final four outs for the save.
Earlier in the week, Waynesburg picked up wins over Seton-La Salle (4-2) and Washington (7-2). In the victory over the Prexies, Brandon Turcheck tossed a no-hitter for the Raiders.
Waynesburg hosts Charleroi today at 4 p.m. The two teams will also complete a suspended game at Charleroi from April 11 (2-2 in the eighth inning) beforehand at Meadowlark Park.
Notable numbers
2 鈥� Carmichaels and Monessen softball squads play each other twice over a seven-day span (they met Wednesday at Carmichaels and play again May 2 at Monessen). These two games will likely decide second place in Section 2-A behind West Greene. The Lady Mikes posted wins over J-M (9-1) and California (6-0) this week.
683 鈥� At the beginning of the week, the Lady Pioneers鈥� McKenna Lampe was batting a robust .683 at the plate. She leads her team in hits (28), runs scored (33), walks (13) and stolen bases (26) from her lead-off spot. The center fielder also has pop in her bat with five doubles and five home runs on the year.
5 鈥� The Carmichaels鈥� baseball squad only compiled five hits against Burgettstown last Friday, but that was more than enough in its13-4 Section 1-AA triumph on the road. Joel Spishock, Chad Ruse and Dylan Wilson smacked doubles in the win, while Nathan Broadwater was the winning pitcher.
15 鈥� In a wild contest, Mapletown鈥檚 baseball team rallied and scored eight runs over the final two innings for a 15-14 victory over Geibel. Cody Dice picked up the win in relief for the Maples, while Dylan Rush (triple), Garrett Phillips (double), Brandon Donley (two doubles) and Kevin Hayes (two doubles) anchored down the offense.
203 鈥� In Monday鈥檚 19-0 rout of Avella for the West Greene鈥檚 softball squad, pitcher Madison Renner registered her 203rd strikeout for her Lady Pioneers鈥� career. She allowed only one hit in just three innings of work with five strikeouts and one walk. For her career, Renner is 27-4 with a career ERA under 2.00.
1 鈥� The Lady Pioneers needed one run in Tuesday鈥檚 1-0 win over Monessen. Jade Renner picked up her ninth win of the season with four strikeouts and no walks. McKenna Lampe鈥檚 RBI single that scored courtesy runner Brianna Amos in the top of the seventh was the difference maker in the contest.