Strong finishes lead Gateway baseball, softball teams to postseason berths
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Saturday, May 12, 2018 | 1:39 AM
As with every other baseball and softball team in the WPIAL, the Gateway squads endured a number of early-season game postponements or cancellations and too many practices in the gym because of bad weather conditions.
But over the final couple of weeks of the regular season, the Gators put their stamps on trips to the playoffs with winning performances on the diamond.
The Gateway softball team, along with Section 1-5A foe Kiski Area, survived a competitive four-team race for the third and fourth section playoff spots.
It came down to the final day of section play last Tuesday as the Gators, Cavaliers, Plum and Greensburg Salem were 7-6.
Gateway and Kiski scored wins over Woodland Hills and Armstrong, respectively. Plum lost to Franklin Regional, and Greensburg Salem lost to Penn-Trafford.
Franklin Regional and Penn-Trafford finished tied atop the standings with 12-2 records.
The section picked up the No. 4, No. 5, No. 7 and No. 9 seeds for the WPIAL playoffs. Gateway received the No. 9 seed and was to face Trinity in the first round Tuesday at Baldwin. The matchup was to be played past the deadline for this week's edition.
Gateway was one of a number of softball teams to play only section games during the regular season. Six nonsection games were canceled because of the weather or nixed because of the necessity to reschedule a postponed section contest.
The Gators won their final four section games after a tough stretch of consecutive losses to Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional and Kiski.
Wins against Plum, 8-5, and Greensburg Salem, 2-1, during the stretch tipped the playoff fortunes in Gateway's favor.
A pair of first-inning RBIs from Emma Kennedy and three-hit pitching from Maura Ryan lifted the Gators in the one-run victory over the Golden Lions on May 3.
Gateway is back in the playoffs after a two-year hiatus. The Gators went 1-1 in the 2015 WPIAL Class 4A tournament, beating Bethel Park before falling to Baldwin in the quarterfinals.
The Gateway baseball team, which finished the regular season 12-4 overall and 11-3 in Section 3-5A, was awarded the No. 9 seed and was scheduled to play No. 8 Hampton in the first round Tuesday, after deadline for this edition.
The Gators' 12 victories through the regular season are the most in a campaign since the 2009 squad went 13-6 and earned a trip to the postseason.
They are in the playoffs for the third consecutive year after a three-year drought that included back-to-back one-win seasons in 2013 and '14.
Gateway is 0-7 in WPIAL first-round games since 2001.
This year's team finished 5-1 down the stretch in section play. After losing its section opener to Franklin Regional (12-2 in section) on April 5, Gateway reeled off six section victories in a row to stake its claim as one of the top teams in the section.
The Gators gained a measure of revenge against the Panthers with a 3-0 win April 23. Pitcher Ethan Frenchik threw six no-hit innings against the Panthers that day. He tossed five innings of no-hit ball in Gateway's victory over McKeesport five days earlier.
Laurel Highlands (13-1) won the section title and handed Gateway its other two section losses.
The Gators capped section play with a 7-5 win over McKeesport on May 3 before Monday's 3-0 setback to 6A playoff qualifier Penn-Trafford.
Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.
Tags: Gateway
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