Mt. Pleasant beats Yough, builds momentum with playoffs on horizon

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, April 28, 2025 | 8:40 PM

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Now, Mt. Pleasant can celebrate.

Having already clinched the Section 1-3A softball title, the Vikings still had business to tend to in the section finale Monday at Yough.

Momentum and positive mojo are important for a team headed to the WPIAL playoffs. A team that didn’t want to take a step backwards.

“We knew we won the championship, but we didn’t think like we won it until today,” senior Gigi Stanek said. “Winning today would make it better. We wanted to play like we know how to play.”

A six-run fourth inning set the table for a 9-2 victory over the Cougars, the No. 4 Vikings’ eighth win in 10 games. They are now 10-5 overall and 8-2 in section with two nonsection games left before the postseason.

Yough (4-8, 2-6) was hoping to surprise the Vikings (10-5, 8-2) but instead was dealt a section sweep.

“I warned them about the letdown,” Mt. Pleasant first-year coach Paul Reho said, referring to his team’s second one-run win over rival Southmoreland on Thursday. “We’re coming off another emotional win. We wanted to make sure we kept up a certain level of play. We wanted to make sure we avoided the tiebreaker.”

It Mt. Pleasant had lost, it could have ended up tied for first with Southmoreland, but still would have won the section title because it swept the Scotties.

Senior Ella Alakson went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, Stanek had two doubles and three RBIs, and sophomore Kendra Brunson also had two hits for the Vikings, who pulled away after an early 1-1 tie.

Sophomore Dani Trainer doubled and knocked in a run for Mt. Pleasant. She shared time in the circle with Stanek, who earned the win.

Mt. Pleasant’s first run scored on an error in the first, following Trainer’s leadoff double, but Yough tied it bottom frame on Jaidyn Vay’s RBI single.

Yough’s Kierstin Odelli made a 4-3 double play happen to end the Vikings’ third, but the Cougars went down in order on just five pitches.

The top of the fourth belonged to the Vikings. Brunson started the rally with an infield single, then sophomore Kendell Waters, freshman Jenna Whipkey and junior Carly Surma singled, with the latter two hits scoring runs.

Sophomore Autumn Jurkovic-Muzma walked, and Trainer grounded out to give the Vikings a three-run lead.

Alakson then singled for another RBI before Stanek’s two-run double made it 7-1.

“We had the bases loaded with one out, same situation earlier in the season,” Reho said. “We didn’t score. When we scored in that situation today, I knew we’d be fine.”

The Vikings made a habit of swinging at first pitches against Vay, a hard-throwing freshman. The ball was rapidly put into play and it led to offense.

“For some reason, it works at the right time,” said Stanek, a Pitt-Johnstown commit. “She is a faster pitcher, so we wanted to jump on pitches early. Sometimes, that’s not what coach tells us to do.”

Reho said he is partial to more patience at the plate.

“Sometimes you need to stay back,” he said. “It’s fine as long as we’re smart about it. We have to work on getting bunts down.”

Yough, which had only five hits, all singles, scored again in the bottom of the fourth. After singles from sophomores Brooke Kowalski and Peyton Jenkins, an error let a run cross to make it 7-2.

“We had too many errors,” Yough coach Dutch Harvey said. “That’s been our M.O. all year. When you have one bad inning like that, you have to come back and recover from it. We didn’t do that.”

In the sixth, Mt. Pleasant upped its lead to 9-2 thanks to RBIs by Alakson and Brunson.

Stanek pitched four innings with four strikeouts and one walk. Trainer relieved her fifth and did not allow a hit while striking out five and walking one.

“Me and Dani work together,” Stanek said. “We have two different styles. She throws fast and I can change speeds. It throws off batters.”

Kowalski had two hits for Yough, which has lost 3 of 4.

The Cougars can still make the playoffs but will likely need to sweep Ligonier Valley to get in.

“No team in this section is dominant,” Harvey said. “Anyone can beat anyone. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Mt. Pleasant, Yough