Springdale softball rolls past St. Joseph, improves to 3-0

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, April 2, 2019 | 7:35 PM

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The Springdale softball team scored a pair of runs in the second inning of Tuesday’s Section 3-A opener with St. Joseph at Kotecki Memorial Park in Lower Burrell.

Those runs were enough for Dynamos freshman standout Alexis Hrivnak, who gave up one unearned run, scattered three hits and walked one over seven innings in the circle.

But the Springdale offense didn’t stop as it added on over the final five frames and cruised to an 11-1 victory.

“We have each other’s backs,” freshman catcher Brianna Thompson said. “We’re all excited to play the game, because we all love the game.”

The Dynamos, No. 5 in the Trib HSSN rankings, improved to 3-0 overall. They own three wins in a season for the first time since 2014 and will go after win No. 4 Thursday against Jeannette.

Springdale collected four wins in the previous four seasons combined.

“The girls are having a blast,” Springdale coach Anthony Pototo said. “They are coming to practice every day and are working hard. Everyone comes to the field ready to play, and it shows on the field.”

St. Joseph saw game action Tuesday for the first time this season. The Spartans had three games postponed or canceled last week.

“We made a lot of improvements from our scrimmage game, especially on defense,” St. Joseph coach Al Swanson said. “We know we still have some work to do, but we got the first game under our belt, and I am proud of the girls for their effort. They are looking forward to their next game.”

The Dynamos scored twice in the third and fourth innings, tallied one in the fifth and tacked on four more in the seventh.

Seven of the nine Springdale starters collected hits, and the Dynamos drew six walks.

Hrivnak, Gabby Yost, Natalie Woitas and Dayna Zezza had two hits apiece. Emily Wilhelm and Yost each recorded a pair of RBIs, and Wilhelm, Brianna Thompson and Hrivnak all produced triples.

“From top to bottom, we have everyone producing,” Pototo said. “We’re doing a great job on the base paths of stretching singles into doubles and doubles into triples and just being aware of when they can move up to the next base.”

St. Joseph got on the board in the sixth. With two outs, Stella Swanson reached on a third-strike passed ball and later scored on a wild pitch.

Spartans catcher Hannah Kipp reached on an error in the first but was left stranded. Hrivnak had a no-hitter going through four innings, but Ally Swierczewski blooped a single to shallow right for St. Joseph’s first hit of the game.

Molly Coleman and Maddie Willard also recorded singles for the Spartans.

Hrivnak finished with 13 strikeouts, giving her 39 through 19 innings of work. She walked Kipp to lead off the fourth. It was her first walk issued this season.

“Being a freshman, (Hrivnak) is going to be one (heck of) a player throughout her career,” Swanson said. “She’s got a good footing. I think we battled pretty well at the plate. I wish we would’ve swung the bat a little more instead of taking strike three as much as we did. But we held together and supported each other.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Springdale, St. Joseph