Trib HSSN softball team of the week: April 26, 2021

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, April 25, 2021 | 9:10 PM

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On May 16, 2019, Montour couldn’t wait to get back to work preparing for a new season after a 7-4 loss in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A softball playoffs.

“It’s been a tough year and a half because of losing last season to the pandemic,” Montour coach Ken Kutchman said. “We had a bitter taste in our mouths losing that last playoff game. There was nothing to wash that taste away last year. It really has given our kids an appreciation of the game and feeling of not taking anything for granted.”

After last week, the Spartans are enjoying the sweet taste of victory, three times over.

Now playing in Class 4A, Montour opened last week with a trip to South Fayette for a nonsection game against one of the top Class 5A teams.

“South Fayette is a very good team, and we talked about starting fast both on offense and defense,” Kutchman said. “We did that, and the whole team contributed on all sides: pitching, offense and defense.”

The Spartans beat the Lions, 10-5.

Then on Tuesday and Thursday, it was back to Section 3-4A play for Montour as it won at Hopewell and Ambridge.

“The focus that we had in all parts of the game stood out,” Kutchman said. “When we are focused, we have the ability to put pressure on teams with our offense and make them earn everything with solid defense.”

The Spartans beat the Vikings on Tuesday, 11-1, and the Bridgers two days later 16-0.

Montour was led by sensational sophomore Mia Arndt. Her huge week consisted of going 10 for 11 at the plate with two walks, two doubles, two triples, a home run, eight RBIs and 11 runs scored.

“As a sophomore, Mia has the potential to be the best softball player to come out of Montour,” Kutchman said. “She has all the tools along with a great attitude and work ethic. She leads our team in every offensive category and has played flawless in center field. Mia has been around our program for many years coming to camps and clinics. We kind of had an idea that she could be a great player for us.”

Arndt certainly wasn’t alone in helping the Spartans outscore their three opponents 37-6 last week.

“Our pitching was very good last week,” Kutchman said. “We use two pitchers, senior Morgan Castelucci and sophomore Kaitlyn Molitoris. Our hitting has been solid all year, and that continued this week with Angelina LaMarca, Avrie Polo, Gia Labrie and Payton Wiernik all having multi-hit games.”

The three wins last week couldn’t come at a better time for Montour. The Spartans dropped their previous two games, including section showdowns with Central Valley and Beaver.

“It was huge,” Kutchman said. “We kind of lost a little bit of focus against two very good teams in CV and Beaver. We talked to the team about getting that focus back and improving on our starts to games. We did that this past week.”

With three weeks left in the regular season and two weeks remaining in section play, Montour is 5-2 in the section and 6-3 overall.

Kutchman likes where his team is and is excited for what it could become.

“I think if we keep doing the things we are capable of doing and keep the focus we have had recently, we can accomplish what we set out to do every season: make the playoffs and contend for a WPIAL championship.”

2021 Trib HSSN Softball Teams of the Week:

Week 3 — Central Valley Warriors

Week 2 — North Hills Indians

Week 1 — Norwin Knights

Tags: Montour