Partyka homers twice as West Allegheny tops defending state champion Donegal in PIAA 1st round
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Monday, June 4, 2018 | 6:12 PM
With two swings of her bat, West Allegheny's Mackenzie Partyka picked a perfect time to double her home run output for the season.
The senior third baseman, who entered the day with two home runs, homered twice on Monday to back righthander Ashley Seamon's six-hitter as West Allegheny beat defending PIAA champion Donegal, 7-3, in a PIAA Class 5A first-round game at Latrobe.
Partyka went 3 for 3 with three RBIs and an intentional walk in her final at-bat.
“Mackenzie had a great day. Anybody would take that day,” West Allegheny coach Mindi McFate said.
“It was all right,” Partyka said with a laugh.
It was the 16th consecutive victory for West Allegheny (21-1), which captured its second WPIAL championship this season. The Indians were beaten by Donegal last year in the PIAA quarterfinals.
“The more you play in big games, the better you can get,” McFate said. “This group has kind of been the pioneers in our program. They were the first team to get to the WPIAL playoffs, the first team to win a WPIAL championship. I said to them, ‘Let's do something this year that you haven't done yet. Let's get to the state championship.' ”
For West Allegheny, the journey continues Thursday, when the Indians will face Albert Gallatin, the WPIAL's third-place team, in the quarterfinals at a site to be determined.
Partyka hit a solo homer in the first off Donegal's Sierra Neiss and clubbed a two-run shot off Neiss in the fifth after Donegal (22-5), the fifth-place team in District 3 and also known as the Indians, cut the West Allegheny lead to 4-3 in the top of the inning with the help of four errors.
The Donegal rally included just two hits off Seamon.
“We tend to have one of those innings from time to time,” McFate said.
Even with the help of a big inning, Donegal coach Wayne Emenheiser said West Allegheny's offense, led by Partyka, was too much for his team to overcome. The West A Indians collected 11 hits, including five for extra bases.
“She definitely hurt us,” Emenheiser said. “They hit the ball well, and we made some mistakes, (too).”
After Partyka's second homer made it 6-3 in the fifth, West Allegheny stretched its lead to 7-3 in the sixth on leadoff back-to-back doubles by Angela Costa and Taylor Goldstrohm.
Of Partyka's notable offensive potential, McFate said: “She has the ability to change the game with one swing of the bat.”
Partyka wants to be known as a power hitter, but she hasn't hit as many homers this season as she'd have liked.
But, she said, “I see myself as a home run hitter. Recently, I haven't been hitting to my best potential. I actually had a talk with a couple of coaches and a couple of my players to hype it up. The energy was up, and I knew my teammates were there for me. That's kind of what my hitting was about today.”
Oddly enough, Seamon did not strike out a batter or issue a walk for West Allegheny.
“She kept us off-balance,” Emenheiser said.
Whatever works.
Neiss recorded eight strikeouts and walked one unintentionally for Donegal, which returned four starters from last season's state-champion team.
The District 3 Indians were making their sixth consecutive appearance in the PIAA playoffs.
Dave Mackall is a freelance writer.
Tags: West Allegheny
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