Union takes down Leechburg, advances to WPIAL Class A title game

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, May 25, 2021 | 10:14 PM

The Union softball team has another crack at unseating West Greene from its WPIAL Class A throne.

The Scotties advanced to next week’s championship game at Cal U. with Tuesday’s 7-2 semifinal victory over Leechburg at Mars.

“This is fantastic,” Union coach Doug Fisher said of his team’s run to a second straight title-game opportunity.

The Scotties (12-7) fell to West Greene, the three-time defending Class A champion, 11-0 in the 2019 title game at Peterswood Park in Peters Township.

“We’ve worked really hard for this,” Fisher said. “They really wanted it. This is basically the same group of girls who went last time, a lot of them as sophomores, and we’ve had some new freshman step up this year. It all really came together.”

Tuesday’s game was a rematch of a 2019 semifinal contest. Leechburg and Union also met in the 2018 consolation game, and the Scotties won that matchup to clinch a spot at states.

“The balls just happened to fall in our favor (Tuesday),” Fisher said. “Leechburg is a great team, and I knew it was going to be a tough battle. We just happened to jump on them quick, and that helped us.”

Leechburg, now 12-5, will play South Side in Thursday’s consolation game at a site and time to be determined. The winner advances to states. Three teams will play in the PIAA tournament from WPIAL Class A.

“We’ll regroup and go with it (in the consolation game),” said Leechburg coach Debbie Fleming, who saw her team edge Jefferson-Morgan, 3-2, in the 2019 third-place game with a trip to states on the line.

“Getting to the title game would’ve been the sweeter ride, but we’ll take this ride, too. We’ve done it before, and the girls will be ready to go.”

The Blue Devils played in the WPIAL semifinals for the fourth year in a row, and it was their sixth straight setback in this round overall since they reached the Class A title game in 2008.

Union batters collected nine hits off of Leechburg starter Emma Ritchie and also took advantage of five Blue Devils errors. Of the seven runs scored by the Scotties, only three were earned.

“That is uncharacteristic of the team this season,” Fleming said. “I am surprised that’s how we came out and played today. But that happens sometimes. You get your nerves up in a game like this, and the girls were really hyped up for this game.”

Fueled by run-scoring hits from Skylar Fisher (single) and Racquel Zarlingo (double), Union put three runs on the board in the top of the third to open a 3-1 lead.

Leechburg got a run back in the bottom half of the frame as Ritchie doubled and scored on a double from Anna Cibik.

Zarlingo, who finished with a team-best three hits, and Halaena Blakley singled home runs in the fifth to extend the Scotties’ lead to 5-2.

Mallory Gorgacz delivered an RBI triple in the sixth, and Fisher homered to lead off the seventh to cap the scoring.

Blakley earned the win. She went the distance and gave up seven hits and three walks while striking out three. Leechburg left seven runners in scoring position.

Union senior leadoff hitter and shortstop Gianna Trot was injured in a collision covering third base in the bottom of the second. She had to be helped off the field but was able to recover quickly and stay in the game.

“There was some adrenaline when she thought she was coming out of the lineup,” Fisher said. “She did take a spike right to the side of her knee. But she is a tough player, and she wanted to do whatever she could to stay in the game.”

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: Leechburg, Union