A-K Valley softball notebook: Leechburg extends streak to 36 playoff berths

By: Michael Love
Friday, April 28, 2023 | 9:37 PM

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Leechburg officially clinched its WPIAL-record 36th consecutive WPIAL playoff appearance with Thursday’s 7-5 Section 3-1A victory at Jeannette.

The Blue Devils are 7-6 overall and 7-2 in the section, alone in second place behind section leader Frazier (9-1, 8-0).

“We talked about the streak before the season,” first-year coach Larry Troutman said. “We know getting into the playoffs is a standard, but we also talked about being better than the standard with going after the section title. Obviously, with Frazier being at the top, we’re going to fall short of that.

“But the streak is amazing, just a crazy thing to think about with the tradition and consistency from each team. The girls are very excited about it, and they are excited about how we are playing and what we can do when we get to the playoffs.”

Leechburg started 1-5 with losses to Valley, Apollo-Ridge, Deer Lakes, Mt. Pleasant and Frazier before getting into the meat of its section slate.

The Blue Devils have won six of seven with their only loss coming in the rematch with Frazier.

Senior pitcher Anna Cibik, also the team’s top hitter, missed Thursday’s game with Jeannette as a precaution after injuring her ankle in Wednesday’s 12-6 home win over Monessen.

“We ended up pitching our freshman (Addie Zanotto) and she did really well,” Troutman said.

Troutman expects Cibik back in the circle Monday for a section game, weather permitting, at Bishop Canevin.

Springdale hanging on

Graduation hit the Dynamos hard. Low roster numbers and inexperience from the majority of the team has produced some challenging results.

Springdale is 0-6 overall.

Bad weather has caused a few of postponements, and with the minimum requirement of nine on the roster, some player absences forced a couple of other contests to be moved.

But through it all, first-year Dynamos coach Joseph Giacomin is optimistic the program is headed back in the right direction.

“I feel good with where we are now from where we started before the season,” Giacomin said. “We are still teaching a lot. The girls do come in and work hard at each practice. The last game against Bishop Canevin (11-7 loss), the one umpire said, ‘Boy, your kids never give up, do they?’ They don’t. They’ll keep coming at you.’ With what we have coming up and the current players, I strongly feel Springdale softball will be back next year.”

Springdale is slated to host St. Joseph in a doubleheader Monday.

Returning starter Ashlyn Ferderbar, a sophomore, is hitting close to .400 and also has struck out 44 in 30 innings in the circle.

Freeport snaps losing skid

Standout junior pitcher Sydney Selker has been out of the lineup since suffering a concussion in a nonsection loss to Knoch on April 22.

Her status for the rest of the season remains up in the air, Yellow Jackets coach Ron DeJidas said.

But the show hasn’t stopped, and Freeport (5-8, 3-5) is hoping to remain in the Section 3-3A playoff mix.

Senior Aimee Heasley and freshman Addy Gourley have worked in the circle. The Yellowjackets snapped a four-game losing streak with an 18-8 win over Shady Side Academy on April 27.

Heasley pitched and earned her first varsity victory. She also helped the cause at the plate with two RBIs.

Freshman Jayden Rezak tripled and knocked in two runs, and fellow freshman Reese Selker doubled in a run for Freeport, who visits Valley (5-8, 2-6) for a crucial section matchup Monday.

DL, Burrell set to battle

Every possible matchup in Section 1-3A has happened except one.

The first matchup between the Lancers (8-3, 5-2) and Bucs (8-4, 4-2) will be Monday at 4:15 p.m. at the Bon Air Elementary field in Lower Burrell.

The teams originally were to play April 17 at Deer Lakes, but Burrell was going to be without several players who were to be away at a school-related event. That game now is May 8 at 4 p.m.

Monday’s game features the first head-to-head matchup between two of the area’s top pitchers: Deer Lakes junior Maddie Kee and Burrell senior Katie Armstrong.

The Bucs and Lancers last played in 2019 as section foes. Burrell swept the season series en route to earning a playoff spot.

They met for a scrimmage before last year’s WPIAL playoffs.

Plum clinches

The Mustangs wrapped up a spot in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs despite an 8-2 loss to Shaler in Section 1-5A play Wednesday.

Plum fell to 4-4, but it remained in third by a half game over Fox Chapel (4-5) and two games ahead of Penn Hills (2-6) with two games left.

The Mustangs were to play at Penn Hills on Friday, but rain postponed the game.

Plum hosts Fox Chapel on Monday at 4 p.m. Freshman Riley Stephans fired a five-inning perfect game with nine strikeouts in the Mustangs’ 12-0 victory over the Foxes on April 17.

Stephans and Taylor Lorish each hit solo home runs in the loss to the Titans.

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.