PIAA Baseball and Softball Recaps for Semifinals on Monday

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, June 13, 2016 | 10:23 PM

The final step toward a happy place, specifically Happy Valley, the site of the 2016 PIAA baseball and softball championship games. Round Three was held Monday with four baseball and four softball teams from the WPIAL halfway to a state championship. Plum and Vincentian Academy baseball and Hempfield, Yough and West Greene softball are now one win from a state crown, while Riverside and Serra Catholic baseball and South Park softball see their dreams and seasons come to an end on Monday. Here are recaps from the State Semifinals games, all of which were heard here on MSA Sports.

A special thanks to Todd Brown, Mike Azadian, James Dotson, Lou Rood, Jason Tennant and Sean Meyers for their help on these recaps.

BASEBALL:

PIAA CLASS AAAA Semifinals:

PLUM MUSTANGS 6 – Marple Newtown Fighting Tigers 2 
One big inning was all that Plum needed, as they scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning en route to a 6-2 victory against Marple Newtown in the PIAA Quad-A baseball semifinals at Greene Township Park in Scotland.  Marple Newtown got on the board in the top of the first inning, as Scott Hahn doubled in Ricky Collings to give the Fighting Tigers a 1-0 lead.  The Mustangs would come right back with a run in the bottom of the first.  Alex Kirilloff led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on an error, and then scored on a sacrifice fly RBI by Alex Terrell.  The Mustangs broke the game wide open in the third, as after one out, Tommy Zummo reached on an error, and scored on an RBI double by Kirilloff to make it 2-1.  Taylor VIvano then brought in the third run of the game with a single which scored Kirilloff to make it 3-1.  Terrell then reached on the second error of the inning by Marple Newtown, and one batter later, Ethan Winesburgh, brought in Vivano with a double, to make it 4-1.  It looked like Marple Newtown would get out of the inning with no more damage, but with two outs, Michael Anderson brought in a pair with a two-run single into right field to make it 6-1.  That’s all the runs the Mustangs would need, as Zac Nolan and Winesburgh combined on the victory.  Nolan picked up the win, pitching 5 1/3 innings, giving up five hits, and two runs, walking three, and striking out two.  Winesburgh came on in relief, to pick up the final five outs to notch the save.  Plum improves to 25-1 on the season, and advances to the PIAA State Quad-A championship, where they will take on Boyertown on Thursday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

PIAA CLASS AA Semifinals:

Bishop McCort Crimson Crushers 1 – RIVERSIDE PANTHERS 0 
Riverside had not allowed a single run in its first six playoff contests in both WPIAL and PIAA play this season. The Panthers finally allowed a run on Monday to Bishop McCort, and that was all the run support the Crushers needed, as they prevailed 1-0 at Greater Latrobe High School in the Class AA semifinals. Bishop McCort pitcher Brett Seitz tossed the shutout, allowing just four hits. Conversely, two Riverside pitchers, Adam Jeannette and Michael Boswell, combined to limit the Crushers to only three hits. One of those hits plated the winning run in top of the sixth inning, however.  The frame began with Bishop McCort’s Billy Wilson getting hit by a pitch. A sacrifice moved Wilson to second, and he was replaced by a pinch runner, Anthony Cacciotti, while the Panthers (22-3) turned to the bullpen. Boswell induced a groundout to record the second out, but Cacciotti advanced to third. Logan Wade followed with a ground ball deep into the hole between second and third, and although Riverside’s shortstop Dylan Speicher fielded it and quickly threw to first, Wade beat the throw by a split second to drive in the only run of the contest. The Panthers attempted to stage a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, as Kolby Wolf singled to open the stanza. Seitz recorded consecutive strikeouts, though, and pinch runner Ty Thellman was thrown out by catcher Logan Wade at second base in his attempt to advance on a ball in the turf. Two of the Panthers four hits came in the first inning, as Ricky Wass doubled to begin the frame, while Wolf delivered an infield single. Both runners were stranded, though, as Seitz struck out Austin Dambach to escape the jam. Braden Bentel provided the only other hit for Riverside, a one-out single in the second inning. As a result, Riverside’s historic season came to an end, while Bishop McCort (22-5), which captured PIAA gold in 2012, advanced to face Neumann-Goretti in the Class AA Championship on Thursday at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

PIAA CLASS A Semifinals:

VINCENTIAN ACADEMY ROYALS 2 – SERRA CATHOLIC EAGLES 0 
Vincentian Academy defeated Serra Catholic 2-0 behind the 1-hit pitching of Senior Mark Cyterski who retired the first 14 batters he faced before giving up the lone Eagle hit in the 5th, and then retired the next 7 batters in a row to end the season for the WPIAL Champions.  Cyterski struck out five and did not walk a batter allowing only one Serra Catholic baserunner in the game.  Vincentian jumped out in front with a run in the bottom of the 1st inning following Cyterski’s single, a stolen base by courtesy runner James Lutz and an RBI single by Garrett Barto.  The score remained 1-0 Vincentian until the bottom of the 5th, when Kyler Fedklo who had been intentionally walked and moved to 2nd on a fielder’s choice. Fedko moved to third on an error by the 2nd baseman following a pickoff attempt, and scored on a passed ball to give the Royals an insurance run.  Jason Cernigilia got the lone hit for Serra Catholic and was able to steal 2nd base to put a runner in scoring position for the Eagles but Cyterski was able to induce a ground out to end the inning.  He continued his dominance on the mound with 1-2-3 innings in the 6th and 7th innings to seal the victory for Vincentian.  Ben Visnesky pitched the first 3and 2/3 innings for Serra allowing 1 run on 5 hits, no walks and 4 strikeouts.  Ben Davis finished the game for Serra and allowed 1 unearned run, 1 hit, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.  Cyterski and Jim Sesky each had a pair of singles for the Royals. The loss caps Serra Catholic’s season at 24-3, while Vincentian improves to 20-7 for the season. Vincentian Academy will take on the Myersdale Red Raiders 3-2 winners over Millersburg in the PIAA Class A Championship game Thursday at 4 PM at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the campus of Penn State University in State College.

SOFTBALL:

PIAA CLASS AAAA Semifinals:

HEMPFIELD SPARTANS 2 – Chambersburg Trojans 0 
If you’re going to score on Morgan Ryan, you better do it early in the contest, or else you may never get another opportunity off of a pitcher who improves so much as a game progresses. Chambersburg attempted to do just that, getting two singles in the first inning and putting runners on the corners with one out. However, catcher Madi Stoner minimized the threat, picking off Caeley Etter at third base, and Ryan struck out Dory Loukopoulos to end the inning. From there, “Mo” Ryan would methodically ‘Mo’ down the Lady Trojan batters en route to a 2-0 Hempfield victory in the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals. Ryan and Chambersburg hurler Samantha Bender fought back-and-forth in a great pitchers’ duel through the first four innings. Ryan at one point retired 11-straight batters, while Bender only allowed on hit through the first four innings and at one point took down 10-straight Lady Spartan hitters. It was after the tenth-straight out that Hempfield embraced their two-out hitting magic. Jordan a Sterling legged out an infield single, stole second, and the. Ali Belgiovane base hit to bring the top of the order to the plate with runners on the corners. Taylor Hoffman slapped one to shortstop and legged out an infield single to score Sterling. Alexa Pastor then stroked a single to centerfield, the fourth consecutive base hit for Hempfield. The single appeared to score Belgiovane from second, but as she rounded third base, she made incidental contact with base coach Bob Kalp, and was called out as a result. Jenna Osikowicz kept the offensive threat going in the sixth inning, reaching on an error and later scoring on a wild pitch. That was more than enough for Ryan, who retired the final eight hitters she faced to send her Lady Spartans to the state title game. She finished with the complete game shutout, allowing three hits, striking out four and not giving up any walks. She only needed 79 pitches in the contest. Samantha Bender took the loss for Chambersburg (24-5), giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and striking out one. One year ago,to the Lady Spartans’ season ended at Mt. Aloysius College in a 1-0 defeat in the PIAA semifinals. This year, Hempfield (24-2) returned to Mt. Aloysius, got the win, and now advance to Happy Valley. But, they still have the mindset of unfinished business. They will take on Avon Grove, a 4-2 victory over Hazleton, on Thursday at Beard Field in Nittany Lion Softball Park. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30, and two outstanding pitchers will be seen. The Notre Dame commit Morgan Ryan will take on Oregon commit and three-time Gatorade Pennsylvania Softball Player of the Year Maggie Balint. It will be an unbelievable battle, so be sure to tune in to MSAsports.net for the contest!

PIAA CLASS AAA Semifinals:

YOUGH COUGARS 1 – Donegal Indians 0 
In typical pitchers’ duel fashion with runs hard to come by, it sometimes comes down to a lucky/unlucky bounce to get a run across the plate. For the Yough Lady Cougars, it was a fortunate bounce off of the pitcher’s glove in the third inning that allowed the only run of the game to score, as Yough defeated Donegal 1-0 at Mt. Aloysius College to earn a berth in the PIAA Class AAA Softball Championships. Freshman Kierra Waywood got things started in the third with a one-out single, and later advanced to second on a Hannah Bach sacrifice bunt. Aubrie Mance then hit a soft line drive back to the pitcher, Makayla Yoder. The ball hit off of the end of Yoder’s outstretched glove and fell to the ground. As Yoder tried to corral the ball and make a play at first base, she knocked the ball further towards the outfield. The deflection was enough to allow Waywood, who never slowed as she rounded third base, without a throw. Donegal would have chances throughout the contest, getting hits in six of the seven innings, including three lead off singled. However, the Lady Indians could not string multiple hits together in any frame. Their biggest threat came in the top of the fourth inning after Yoder led off with a base hit to right. After a Natalie Orr fielder’s choice, Kaitlyn Witmer hit a fielder’s choice to first, but Kaylee Westerman’s throw to second pulled Bach off of the bag and allowed all runners to advance safely. Waywood then made what might have been the defensive play of the game on a would-be Emily Graham bloop single. The ball fell in behind the second baseman, just out of Mance’s reach. The runners had to wait to see if the ball was caught, and a heads-up Waywood fired from centerfield to third base for the atypical 8-5 fielder’s choice putout. After then walking the next batter to load the bases, Macy Mularski struck out Grace Miller to retire the side. Mularski would also strand Donegal runners in scoring position in both the sixth and seventh inning, but another backwards K ended the sixth and a pop out to second base ended the game. Yoder pitched a great, efficient game for Donegal (22-6), allowing the one unearned run on six hits and allowing only one free pass on a hit batsman. She only threw 52 pitches in her six innings of work. She did not record a strikeout, however, ending her season total at 199 Ks. She also led offensively with the only multi-hit game for the Lady Indians, going 2 for 3 in the contest. Mularski picked up the win, scattering six hits in the complete game shutout. For the Lady Cougars She struck out three and walked one. Waywood led the way in the field and at the plate, going 2-2 and scoring the only run in the game. Yough (21-3) had three losses on the year, all by a score of 1-0. They flipped the script against Donegal, and as a result, the Lady Cougars advance to the State Championship game for the first time in program history. They will battle with Lampeter Strasburg or Abington Heights on Thursday at 12:30 at Beard Field in Nittany Lion Softball Park. Listen live on MSAsports.net

PIAA CLASS AA Semifinals:

Moniteau Warriors 3 – SOUTH PARK EAGLES 0 
At North Allegheny High School in PIAA semi final AA Girls softball, the Moniteau Warriors defeat the South Park Eagles 3-0 to go to their schools first ever state championship game in softball. The Warriors scored two runs in the 3rd inning to get all they would need. A 2 out single by Gabby Stewart, a run scoring double by Cortney Claypoole, then a run scoring double by Kennedy Dematteis made it 2-0. They would plate a single run in the 6th inning for insurance as Dematteis  led off with a single, and would eventually score on a sacrifice fly by Alyssa Dailey to make it 3-0. Dematteis was the winning pitcher going 7 innings for the shut out. She scattered 3 hits, walked 2, struck out 8, she only allowed 6 baserunners. South Park could not string together any hits. They left 4 runners on base. The big one was in the 6th inning after a lead off triple, they could not get the runner in. For the Eagles Justine Dean was the losing pitcher going 6 innings, giving up 3 runs, on 6  hits, hitting one batter, she struck out 6, and did not walk a batter. South Park’s season ends at 16-5 and they end up 2nd in district seven and the final four in the state. For the Warriors their dream season continues. They improve to 24-1 on the season. Today was their 11th straight shut out and 21st of the season. During this 11 game shut out streak they have out scored opponents 110-0. On the season they have out scored their opponents an amazing 255-14. They will  play for the state title on Thursday June 16th against the Holy Redeemer Royals at 3:00 PM at Penn State University Nittany Park.

PIAA CLASS A Semifinals:

WEST GREENE PIONEERS 5 – DuBois Central Catholic Cardinals 2 
The West Greene Pioneers advanced to the PIAA State Championship Game with a come-from-behind, 5-2 win over the Cardinals of Dubois Central Catholic on Monday at North Allegheny.  Cardinals’ starting pitcher Riley Assalone had some impressive stats coming into the game including an ERA of 0.51, but in the bottom of the first, West Greene got an early jump on Assalone when McKenna Lampe hit a towering leadoff solo homerun over the fence in right field. However, Assalone recovered nicely to allow only one base runner over the next 12 Pioneer batters. The Pioneers’ Madison Renner was pitching well too. She stranded a 2-out double by Assalone in the first and worked the minimum of 6 batters over the second and third innings. The Pioneers still led 1-0 heading into the fourth inning when Dubois Central Catholic put together an inning. Jordy Frank led off with a triple and tied the game on an RBI single by Assalone. A walk to Ashley Wruble and a single by Steph Rossi loaded the bases with nobody out. After Assalone was forced out at home on a ground ball, Tessa Sayers won a hard fought at bat by drawing a walk and the Cardinals had their first lead. Another force out at home and a pop out got West Greene out of the inning only trailing by one when it could’ve been a lot worse. After stranding back-to-back 2-out singles by Kaitlyn Rizor and Lexie Mooney in the bottom of the fourth, West Greene came up in the bottom of the fifth still trailing 2-1, when Mackenzie Carpenter started a game-winning rally with a leadoff single. After a Shelby Morris walk, McKenna Lampe tied the game with an RBI single. A close play at the plate had Carpenter just scoring past the tag attempt of Frank, and that play allowed both runners to get into scoring position for Madison Lampe who drove in two runs with another single. Renner made it 3 hits in a row when she singled in Madison Lampe, who had stolen third base. Despite a double from Rizor two batters later, the Pioneers didn’t plate any more runs in that inning. They led 5-2 after the rally, and were just 6 outs away from victory. Renner then stepped up to shut down the Cardinals in order in both the sixth and seventh innings to clinch West Greene’s first ever trip the PIAA Championship Game! West Greene will face District 11 Champion Williams Valley on Thursday at Penn State University. First pitch is set for 10:00 a.m.

Tags: Hempfield, Vincentian Academy, West Greene, Yough