Lady Pioneers overwhelm J-M, reach fourth straight WPIAL final
NORTH FRANKLIN TWP. 鈥� West Greene softball has done everything in the playoffs these last four seasons.
But in last Wednesday鈥檚 WPIAL Class A semifinal at Trinity Middle School, the Lady Pioneers came up against a circumstance they had never faced before.
They were against a Greene County rival in Jefferson-Morgan.
Despite the unique circumstance, West Greene was focused and unfazed as it rolled to a four-inning, 15-0 victory to advance to the final for the fourth straight year.
鈥淥ur focus level is always there,鈥� WG coach Billy Simms said. 鈥淎s a coach I worried about every little thing and the kids just play. There鈥檚 so many things in May, like senior trip, prom, sports banquets and all the other stuff. There鈥檚 a ton of distractions, but the girls just come ready to play.鈥�
The Lady Pioneers (18-4) faced Union, a 5-3 winner over Leechburg, in the championship game at Peterswood Park on Wednesday.
鈥淲e have played Union in the playoffs before,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淚t will always come down to pitching and playing defense. I will be sitting on pins and needles the rest of the week and trying to think of 10 more things to worry about. Union is a formidable team.鈥�
The Lady Rockets (11-7) still had a chance to make the PIAA postseason, as they met Leechburg in the consolation game Tuesday.
鈥淲est Greene is just an elite team,鈥� J-M coach Rich Rush said. 鈥淭hey are not your typical Class A team and there鈥檚 really no comparisons. We just have to regroup and get our sights back on the consolations. Whoever will play next week is not West Greene. That gives us a chance to win if we do the fundamental things right.鈥�
Kaitlyn Rizor led the offense with a 4-for-4 day that included two doubles, a triple, a home run, four RBIs and four runs scored.
鈥淚 have been working really hard on my hitting outside of practice these last couple of weeks,鈥� Rizor said. 鈥淚 left school early to hit some balls in the cage today. The hard work has paid off and I鈥檓 just squaring the ball up.鈥�
Jade Renner, Brianna Amos and Jersey Wise all had three hits for West Greene.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the best we hit ever I think because that鈥檚 a good pitcher over there,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淛efferson is a really good team and we wish them the best in the next game. Rich has done a tremendous job with them and has stuck with that program to get them back into the playoffs. We just have a lot of power in our lineup and we all hit today.鈥�
Renner was the winning pitcher and improved her postseason record to 16-0. Over four innings, the junior lefty allowed one hit with four strikeouts and no walks on 42 pitches.
West Greene jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first after an RBI triple by Rizor, an RBI double by Renner and an RBI single by Wise.
The Lady Pioneers increased their lead to 8-0 in the second, via an RBI triple by Madison Lampe, an RBI double by Rizor, an RBI single by Renner and a two-run double by Mackenzie Carpenter.
West Greene added four runs in the third with the big hits coming from a run-producing double by Rizor and a two-run single by Renner.
鈥淲e live for the playoffs,鈥� Rizor said. 鈥淲e are totally focused and don鈥檛 overlook anybody because if you lose one then your season is over. We just clicked today.鈥�
The Lady Rockets didn鈥檛 have a baserunner until the fourth when Jasmine Demaske led off with a single and stole second, but she was doubled off after a sharp line drive to shortstop.
West Greene evoked the mercy rule in the bottom of the inning after a two-run, inside-the-park home run by Madison Lampe and a walk-off solo shot by Rizor.
鈥淲e have all stayed together and put in so much hard work over the years,鈥� said Rizor, who will be playing softball at West Virginia Wesleyan next spring. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 take it for granted and we are as excited to get to the finals as we were the first time.鈥�
Caitlyn Dugan was tagged with the loss for J-M.
鈥淲ith them, you have to make ever play you can and you can鈥檛 give them extra outs,鈥� Rush said. 鈥淭hey jump on you and there鈥檚 no easy out in their lineup. Cait hit her spots and was effective, but they timed up her pitches. Every hit they had just fell into a gap.鈥�
West Greene has won the last nine meetings against its county rival with J-M鈥檚 last win against the Lady Pioneers coming in 2015.