PIAA Softball Quarterfinals Recaps for Thursday and Friday

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, June 8, 2012 | 12:05 AM

It was a mixed bag for the six WPIAL softball teams on Thursday in the PIAA Quarterfinals. Three teams were victorious, including two district champions, one saw their season come to an end, one was in the lead when the game was suspended and another didn't even see a first pitch. Here are recaps from the PIAA Quarterfinals on Thursday involving those six WPIAL teams.

Thanks to Brandon Showers and Bob Gregg for their help on these recaps.

PIAA CLASS AAAA Quarterfinals:

CANON-McMILLAN BIG MACS 6 – Central Mountain Wildcats 1 
Maddie Engel, Georgiana Zeremenko and Abby McCartney had first-inning runs batted in, and Olivia LoRusso stroked a two-run homerun in the second leading Canon-McMillan to an impressive 6-1 win over Central Mountain.  The Big Macs (18-5) have now won eight in a row and will face Downingtown's Bishop Shanahan Monday in the PIAA semifinals. All of the scoring in the game happened Thursday before thunder and lightning forced repeated delays and heavy rains at St. Francis University caused the suspension of the game to Friday.  In the top of the first, Tara Schram walked, moved to second when Vernonica Rothka was hit by a pitch and scored on Engel's double.  Zeremenko followed with a single, her fourth-straight hit in the PIAA playoffs, scoring Rothka.  Engel scored on a wild pitch.  That also moved courtesy runner Missy Staub to second and on to third on an error getting the ball back to the circle.  McCartney's groundout brought home the fourth run.  In the Canon-Mac third, Zeremenko singled.  One out later, LoRusso homered, giving the Big Macs a 6-0 lead before the WIldcats (12-12) had gotten completely through their lineup. With two out in the Central Mountain third, Moriah Lindsey singled.  Morgan Kunes followed with a bunt basehit.  Winning pitcher Alayna Astuto threw wildly to first, enabling Lindsey to score what proved to be the Wildcats' only run.  Then came the thunder, and the lightning, 30-minute delay followed 30-minute delay, over and over and over.  Then came the rains and the call was made.  The game was suspended, to be resumed Friday afternoon.  Each team got a leadoff hit when play resumed, but neither scored over the game's final four innings.  The Big Macs final 11 batters combined for the final 11 outs of the game.  The Wildcats got two on with one out in the fourth and again in the sixth, but couldn't score.  Astuto got the win, allowing six hits–all singles, all to different players–one walk, and one unearned run.  The righthander struck out nine, giving her 22 strikeouts in two PIAA games.  Zeremenko, with two singles, is now 5-for-7 in the PIAA playoffs.  Tara Fowler added a double for Canon-McMillan.  Starter Whitney Peters took the loss, lasting just 2.1 innings, charged with all six runs.  Rachel Shady held the Big Macs to two hits and one walk over the final four innings.

PIAA CLASS AAA Quarterfinals:

Montour Spartans 4 – Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions 1
Montour Spartan catcher, Malory Gerst, is gaining a flair for the dramatic.  After a back and forth pitching battle in the first two and a half innings of today’s PIAA quarterfinal game that featured two WPIAL teams Gerst took the first pitch from Greensburg Salem’s Jayne Oberdorf and hit a rocket over the left field wall.  Greensburg Salem had trouble capitalizing on a wide array of chances after the Gerst hit.  To lead off the top of the fourth shortstop Claire Oberdorf singled and advanced on a sacrifice bunt from her sister Jayne but pitcher Kaitlyn Kutchman shut the door on the Golden Lions after striking out Taylor Meehan and inducing a ground ball from centerfielder Alyssa Mellinger.  It seemed like in the bottom of the fourth Montour would add to their lead after a leadoff single from Kaitlyn Kutchman.  Emily Diecks was the courtesy runner for Kutchman and she advanced to second on bunt from Megan Vacco.  Then came up Stephanie Seibert and she would single up the middle.  Diecks was waved around third as the ball went into Mellinger’s glove and she came up throwing.  She delivered a strike to catcher Meehan and mowed Diecks down by a few steps at the plate.  Seemingly Greensburg would use that play in the field to swing momentum in their favor.  Kellie Hutchinson led off with a double and advanced on a bunt single by Alex Garsteck.  Then with runners on second and third and two outs designated player Madison Hantz came to the plate and laced a ground ball to Seibert at second, the ball ricocheted off her glove and went to right field where Megan Vacco made probably the heads up play of the game.  She came charging to the ball and threw straight to first base where Katie Gates was waiting for the ball.  Had she not realized to do that at least one Golden Lion would have crossed and tied the game and there would have been two outs and runners at the corners.  Just as Greensburg Salem tried to ride the wave of momentum the Spartans reversed that same wave and rode it all the way to the semifinals of the PIAA tournament.  Gerst led the inning off with a single and courtesy runner Jenna Crisci scored on a Stacey Capp single up the middle.  Capp then scored on another McMurtrie single.  With McMutrie at second Kutchman laced double that plated both McMutrie.  After getting out of that inning Jayne Oberdorf walked in the 6th and scored on a Kellie Hutchinson single.  On the same hit from Hutchinson another heads up defensive play was made by the Spartans when left fielder Olivia Dixon tried to take Oberdorf down at the plate but the throw was not in time.  Gerst alertly came up throwing to get Taylor Meehan attempting to advance to third.  That ended the rally for Greensbrug Salem and Kutchman would get her sixth strikeout in the 7th and induced two fly outs to end the game.  Montour will go on to play Big Spring and Fort LeBoeuf in the semifinals at a site and time to be determined.

PIAA CLASS AA Quarterfinals:

Neshannock Lancers 4 – Fairview Tigers 3
Fairview’s Raven Rozantz came into the game without giving up a run in 14 consecutive innings. But she couldn’t quite measure up against Neshannock. Neshannock scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to pull out the win. Madison Shaffer and Rayanna Furst both had RBU singles in the bottom of the seventh. Neshannock led, 3-0, after three innings, but Neshannock scored twice in the fourth and twice in the seven to pull out the win. Amanda Furst was the winning pitcher for Neshannock.

PIAA CLASS A Quarterfinals:

Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 4 – Saegertown Panthers 3
Kayla Briggs drove in two runs and Colby Miller threw out a runner at third to end the game as Chartiers-Houston beat Saegertown, 4-3, Thursday afternoon.  The Bucs (25-1) have now won 19 straight games and are heading for a third consecutive PIAA semifinal appearance.  The bottom part of the CHHS batting order got things started in the third.  Kelli Dufresne led off with a single to left-center.  Kassie Kesneck followed with a bunt single and both runners moved up another base on an errant throw.  After one out, Briggs hit a grounder to short that got into left field, scoring two runs.  With two out, Miller singled to right-center, scoring Briggs.  The Panthers got on the board in the fourth.  Belle Mazurik's sinking linedrive to center went to the fence and the Saegertown shortstop rounded the bases for an inside-the-park homerun.  With one out in the fifth, Mackensie Garris delivered a pinch-hit single.  Mikayla Newman ran and scored on a single by losing pitcher Arianna Hanley.  The Bucs pushed the margin back to two quickly in the bottom of the inning.  Megan Kraushaar singled and Briggs tripled to the fence in right-center.  Briggs slid in safely at third, then lifted her foot off the base before getting a hand on it.  In the top of the seventh with two out, Becca Snyder singled on an 0-2 pitch.  Rachel DiBartolomeo followed with a single.  Hanley's bounding single up the middle scored Snyder but, when the throw went to the plate, DiBartolomeo tried to take third and was thrown out, ending the game.  Briggs got the win, allowing three runs and six hits while striking out four.  Hanley was charged with just one earned run on eight hits and two walks.  Kesneck had a double and a single, Dufresne and Miller each had two base hits for the Bucs.  Hanley had two singles for Saegertown (20-3).