Alle-Kiski Valley PIAA softball capsules for June 7, 2021

By: Greg Macafee
Sunday, June 6, 2021 | 5:20 PM

Purchase Photo Options

PIAA softball playoffs

Monday’s games

Class 5A

First round

7-1 North Hills (16-5) vs. 7-4 Fox Chapel (13-8)

6:30 p.m. at North Allegheny

Coaches: Libby Gasior, North Hills; Chris Olbrich, Fox Chapel

Winner plays: Winner of 6-1 Bellefonte (18-2)/7-3 Chartiers Valley (14-8) on Thursday in the quarterfinals, (site and time, TBD).

Players to watch: Sophia Roncone, jr., P/INF, North Hills; Mackenzie Borkovich, jr., P, Fox Chapel

Extra bases: North Hills is fresh off its first WPIAL title since 2000 and its sixth in program history. Coach Gasior was the starting third baseman for that North Hills team 21 years ago. The Indians mercy-ruled Armstrong, 12-2, and starting pitching Sophia Roncone allowed two hits and two runs while striking out four in the victory. As Section 3-5A opponents, Fox Chapel and North Hills played twice this season and split their season series. Fox Chapel won the first game, 3-1, and North Hills bounced back to win the second contest, 6-0. As the No. 14 seed, Fox Chapel made a Cinderella-type run through the WPIAL playoffs, upsetting No. 3 Plum, 2-0, and then taking down Franklin Regional on a 3-run home run by Brynn Palmer. The Foxes then lost to eventual runner-up Armstrong, 2-1, in the semifinals and dropped another 2-1 contest to Chartiers Valley in the third-place matchup.

7-2 Highlands (16-5-1) vs. 9-1 Clearfield (15-5)

2 p.m. at Heindl Field, DuBois

Coaches: Jen Koprivinikar, Highlands; Derek Danver, Clearfield

Winner plays: Winner of 3-1 Bishop McDevitt (21-2)/2-2 Berwick (14-9) Thursday in the quarterfinals (site and time, TBD)

Players to watch: Jess Cekada, jr., SS, Highlands; Emma Hipps, jr., P, Clearfield

Extra bases: Highlands makes its first trip to the PIAA playoffs, while Clearfield will play in the state tournament for the second season in a row. The Bisons made the 2019 Class 3A semifinals, losing to District 6 champion Bald Eagle Area. The Golden Rams hope to bounce back from a 2-1 loss to Beaver in the WPIAL title game Wednesday at Cal (Pa.). Highlands junior pitcher Jaycee Haidze struck out 38 batters over 27 innings in four WPIAL playoff games. The Golden Rams have scored 10 or more runs 11 times this season, including 12 against Blackhawk in the WPIAL first round and 10 against Montour in the quarterfinals. … Clearfield has won eight in a row, and it punched its ticket to the PIAA main draw with a 10-0 win over District 5 champion Somerset in a play-in game last Tuesday. Junior first baseman Lauren Ressler leads the Bison with a .493 average with 23 RBIs and 19 runs scored. Hipps (13-5) threw a no-hitter against Somerset, her second in four games. She owns a 1.65 ERA and 231 strikeouts over 119 innings pitched.

Class A

PIAA first round

7-3 Leechburg (13-5) vs. 9-1 DuBois Central Catholic (19-2)

4 p.m. at Heindl Field, DuBois

Coaches: Debbie Fleming, Leechburg; George Heigel, DuBois Central Catholic

Winner faces: Winner of 6-1 Glendale (13-7)/7-2 Union (12-8) Thursday in the quarterfinals (site and time, TBD)

Players to watch: Bella Vozar, Jr., C, Leechburg; Shyanne Lundy, Sr., DP, DuBois Central Catholic

Extra bases: Leechburg will play in the state playoffs for the second year in a row and seventh time since 2004. The Blue Devils defeated South Side, 10-3, in the consolation final May 27 to secure a spot in the state tournament. Sophomore Anna Cibik hit a grand slam as part of a six-run fourth inning. Monday’s game is a rematch of a 14-4 DCC victory in the 2019 PIAA first round. Seniors Sky Rapush and McKenna Pierce both are batting .500 to lead the Leechburg offense. Vozar (.455) and senior Emma Ritchie (.434) also are among the hitting leaders. … DuBois Central Catholic returns to the state playoffs after reaching the Class A championship game in 2019. The Cardinals’ lone losses this season came in District 9 nonleague games against Class 4A St. Marys and Class 5A DuBois. The DCC offense has produced 13.5 runs a game. Nine players with at least 17 games played are batting .400 or better. Senior Shyanne Lundy, who transferred from DuBois as a sophomore, leads the way with a .571 average (36 of 63) with 49 runs batted in and 30 runs scored. Junior Madison Hoyt (7-2) pitched her team to victory in the District 9 title game, but junior Morgan Tyler also is 8-0 on the season.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Fox Chapel, Highlands, Leechburg