Jun 1, 2016 4 min read

Perhaps the most interesting question before the first pitch of today’s WPIAL Class A softball championship game is this:

Which team is the underdog?

Most would say it’s Chartiers-Houston, the No. 7 seed. but the Bucs pulled off two upsets to reach these finals and are in search of their ninth WPIAL title in the program’s history.

One can be sure that West Greene head coach Billy Simms is preaching that to the Pioneers, who have never won a WPIAL championship and are making their first appearance in a softball final in 33 years. None of his players has appeared in a final while Chartiers-Houston played in the championship game last season, falling to Jefferson-Morgan by one run.

“I expect a (Chartiers-Houston) team to show up that has won eight WPIAL titles,” said Simms after a semifinal win against Monessen. “It’s the respect factor. They do a great job of getting their kids ready all season. I know (they) have them coached up and that’s why they are in the finals again this year.”

First pitch is 4 p.m. at California University’s Lilley field.

West Greene enters the game as the No. 1 seed with a 22-1 record, the most victories in the program’s history, and already owns two victories over the Bucs, 11-1 on April 5 and 12-2 on April 21. But the Bucs defeated Jefferson-Morgan in the first meeting of the 2014 season, then dropped the next two meetings, 1-0 in the regular season and 3-2 in the finals.

“I can tell you right now that the third game will not be an indicator of the first two,” Simms said. “It seems like the road to the Class A title always goes through Chartiers-Houston.”

Both teams have already qualified for the PIAA tournament, which begins Monday.

“We need to play our normal game to win,” said Simms. “We have to make the Jay Bell plays. He was the old Pirates shortstop and he never made ESPN, but he made every single play hit to him. That’s what we need to do.”

Chartiers-Houston (14-7) defeated No. 2-seed Shenango, 9-1, in the quarterfinals and No. 5 North Catholic, 3-1, in a semifinal game. The Bucs have allowed only six combined runs in the three playoff games, thanks to the pitching of sophomore Kaitlyn Dittrich and the strong defensive play behind her. Dittrich, who won 19 games as a freshman, is one of three current C-H players who started on last year’s team.

“It comes down to Kaitlyn needs to have a good game, a solid performance, and we have to play well behind her,” said C-H head coach Tricia Alderson. “The first time we played them, we played horrible in the field. The second time we played them, they hit the ball all over the place. They were two very different games. … It all comes down to pitching and defense as far as I’m concerned.”

Dittrich will face one of the more powerful offenses in Class A that boasts a collective batting average of .425. The Pioneers have 26 home runs this season, with shortstop Bailey Bennington and pitcher Madison Renner tied for the team lead with seven apiece. Freshman twins, McKenna and Madison Lampe, have sparked this youthful team with batting averages of .629 and .472, respectively. McKenna Lampe has 30 stolen bases, her sister 11.

“This team can do a lot of things,” said Simms. “We’ll just approach this like the next game up.”

Chartiers-Houston has a roster of 11, the result of losing seven seniors from last year’s team. Still, the Bucs have made the finals in eight of the 12 years Alderson has been head coach. In 2007, a roster of 12 produced a 22-1 record, and in 2006, a roster of 10 went 18-5. Both teams won WPIAL championships.

“The challenge has been keeping everyone healthy,” said Alderson. “A lot of the season, we’ve only had 10 healthy players. At times, some girls had issues where they were hurt but only for a game or two. At one point in the season, all of the girls had some type of illness or something hurting. But they knew they had to battle through it.”