Westmoreland PIAA softball playoff capsules: Games of June 4, 2018

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, June 3, 2018 | 3:42 PM

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Class 6A

First round

Hempfield (20-3) vs. Warwick (17-6)

5 p.m. Monday, Latrobe

Winner plays: Mifflin County (17-5) or Baldwin (12-5)

Coaches: Bob Kalp, Hempfield; Mark Hough, Warwick

Players to watch: Maddie Uschock (Sr., P), Hempfield; Amanda Herr (Sr., P), Warwick

Extra bases: After winning a fourth consecutive WPIAL title with a 2-1 extra innings win over Latrobe, Hempfield enters the PIAA playoffs seeking a third consecutive state title. Jessica Persin singled to score Allison Podkul in the 10th inning for a walk-off win. Uschock, a Dominican recruit, struck out five in the final. The Spartans have a 20-game postseason win streak. Their last playoff loss came June 10, 2015, a 1-0 setback to Cumberland Valley in the state semifinals. Hempfield also won a state title in 1999. … Warwick is in the PIAA tournament for the first time in eight years after a 4-2 win against Penn Manor in the District 3 consolation game. Herr, a St. Joseph recruit, has 90 strikeouts in 112 ¹⁄₃ innings and a 2.37 ERA. She's second on the team in hitting (.508 average) and has nine doubles and eight homers. Freshman Katelyn Minney has a .531 average with seven doubles and five triples.

Latrobe (12-4) vs. Central Dauphin (16-5)

4:30 p.m. Monday, Millersville University

Winner plays: Council Rock North (15-8) or Nazareth (19-4)

Coaches: Rich Kozusko, Latrobe; Ken Williams, Central Dauphin

Players to watch: Kiley Myers (Jr., P), Latrobe; Sam Gress (Sr., P), Central Dauphin

Extra bases: Latrobe lost to Hempfield for the second consecutive year in the WPIAL title game, but advanced to the state playoffs for the third year in a row. The Wildcats lost to Chambersburg in the PIAA first round last year. Myers, a Marist commit, had 11 strikeouts in the loss to Hempfield, and Becca Tatone had an RBI double that scored Latrobe's lone run. Latrobe was the state runner-up in Class 4A in 2007 and ‘08. … Central Dauphin upset top-seeded and previously unbeaten Central York, 1-0, in the District 3 championship game. Gress, an Ohio recruit, had seven strikeouts in the win and drove in the only run with a bunt single. She pitched another shutout in the semifinals against Penn Manor. The Rams have never won a state title.

Class 4A

First round

Mt. Pleasant (17-1) vs. Slippery Rock (17-4)

4 p.m. Monday, Allegheny College

Winner plays: Belle Vernon (21-3) or Bellefonte (16-3)

Coaches: Lauren Armanious, Mt. Pleasant; Daniel Hindman, Slippery Rock

Players to watch: Meadow Uncapher (Sr., P/1B), Mt. Pleasant; Cheyenne Hindman (Sr., P), Slippery Rock

Extra bases: Mt. Pleasant will attempt to defend its state title after defeating Yough, 3-0, in the WPIAL consolation game. It's the second consecutive year the Vikings enter the state playoffs as the third-place team from the WPIAL. Uncapher, a Seton Hill recruit, pitched five scoreless innings against Yough. Carolyn Alincic, a Dominican recruit, came on in relief and closed out the final two innings. Mary Smithnosky added a two-run double. The Vikings had a 3-0 win over District 10 champion Harbor Creek in last year's first round. … Slippery Rock topped Warren, 3-1, to claim the District 10 title. Hindman is a two-way standout for the Rockets. She's hitting .553 with 10 doubles and four homers and has a 1.56 ERA with 135 strikeouts in 117 innings. Macy McCall has a .526 batting average.

Belle Vernon (21-3) vs. Bellefonte (16-3)

2 p.m. Monday, Peters Township

Winner plays: Slippery Rock (17-4) or Mt. Pleasant (17-1)

Coaches: Tom Rodriguez, Belle Vernon; Fred Caldwell, Bellefonte

Players to watch: Bailey Parshall (Sr., P), Belle Vernon; Lexi Rodgers (Fr., P)

Extra bases: Belle Vernon rallied for a 5-4 win over Elizabeth Forward to secure its second consecutive WPIAL title and third in four seasons. Mekenzie Sokol had a two-run double in the top of the seventh that gave the Leopards the lead. Prior to the final, Parshall, a Penn State recruit, had thrown three consecutive no-hitters. She stranded the bases loaded with no outs in the seventh to preserve the win. Belle Vernon has never won a PIAA title and lost to Mt. Pleasant in the quarterfinals last year. … Bellefonte won its third consecutive District 6 title, and 20th overall, with a 10-0 win against Somerset in five innings. Rodgers struck out nine and allowed one hit, and Hanna Lauck and Lissi Przybys homered for the Red Raiders in the win. Bellefonte won the Class 3A state title in 2010.

Class 3A

First round

Southmoreland (10-7) vs. Central (14-9)

5 p.m. Monday, North Allegheny

Winner plays: Hickory (13-6) or Avonworth (14-7)

Coaches: Todd Bunner, Southmoreland; Dale Evans, Central

Players to watch: Bethany Bunner (Sr., CF), Southmoreland; Cam Feathers (So. C), Central

Extra bases: Southmoreland shocked top-seeded and defending state champion South Park with a 12-1 win in five innings in the WPIAL final. It was the Scotties' first WPIAL title, and they are appearing in the PIAA playoffs for the first time. Bunner, Charity Henderson and Faith Miller had two hits apiece in the win. Bunner tripled. Southmoreland had lost five consecutive games to South Park, its Section 3 rival, prior to the WPIAL final. …Central (Martinsburg) pulled a pair of upsets as the No. 6 seed in District 6 before losing to top-seeded Phillipsburg-Osceola in the final. Feathers has 11 homers this season and a .518 batting average. Dylan Claycomb is the Red Dragons' top pitcher with 1.66 ERA in 71 ²⁄₃ innings.

Class A

First round

Monessen (15-4) vs. Cambridge Springs (10-8)

2 p.m. Monday, Penn State Behrend

Winner plays: Elk County Catholic (15-8) or Union (17-3)

Coaches: Bo Teets, Monessen; Angie Mumford, Cambridge Springs

Players to watch: Dana Vatakis (Sr., P) Monessen; Julia Malliard (Jr., SS), Cambridge Springs

Extra bases: Monessen nearly upset top-seeded and defending WPIAL and PIAA champ West Greene, but the Pioneers scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to rally for a 5-4 win in the WPIAL title game. It was the second consecutive year the Pioneers, who have won the last three WPIAL titles, defeated the Greyhounds in the district final. Vatakis kept West Greene at bay through six innings before the rally. Hannah Yorty and Destiny Habeck hit two-run doubles. Monessen lost to Commodore Perry in the PIAA first round last year. … Cambridge Springs scored nine consecutive runs in a 9-4 comeback win over Commodore Perry in the District 10 final. Malliard went 4 for 4 with a homer, triple and 4 RBIs. Freshman Chloe Schultz had three hits in the win, including run-scoring double that tied the score in the fifth. Malliard followed with an RBI single that put the Blue Devils ahead for good.

— Jerin Steele

Tags: Belle Vernon, Hempfield Area, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland