Pioneers pave way to PIAA finals
Members of the the West Greene girls softball team celebrate after beating DuBois Central Catholic, 5-2, in the PIAA Class A semifinals at North Allegheny Monday.
Members of the the West Greene girls softball team celebrate after beating DuBois Central Catholic, 5-2, in the PIAA Class A semifinals at North Allegheny Monday.
West Greene’s Kaitlyn Rizor throws to first for an out after tagging out DuBois Central Catholic’s Steph Rossi during the second inning.
West Green’s McKenna Lampe slides into home safely home in front of DuBois Central Catholic’s Jordy Frank as part of the Pioneers’ four-run fifth inning.
West Greene pitcher Madison Renner shouts after fielding a bunt and then throwing to first for an out in the fifth inning of Monday’s victory.
West Greene’s McKenna Lampe watches the ball leave the field after leading off Monday’s game with a home run.
Observer-Reporter
West Greene softball coach Bill Simms, left, is congratulated by family after the team’s 5-2 win against DuBois Central Catholic in the PIAA Class A semifinals in 2016.
John Lampe hugs his daughter, Madison Lampe, after Monday’s victory. Madison and her sister, McKenna, are members of West Greene’s team that will play for a state championship Thursday.
WEXFORD – Nothing, it seems, rattles the West Greene softball team.
Not the confounding rise ball of pitcher Riley Assalone, not the great offensive attack of a DuBois Central Catholic’s softball team that entered this game undefeated, not even a one-run deficit late in the game.
The Pioneers, playing with the purpose of a champion, brushed away the pressure with a few important swings of the bat, rallied in the fourth inning, and came away with a 5-2 victory over the District 9 champion Monday at North Allegheny High School.
The win, the 23rd in a row for the Pioneers (26-1), sets up a showdown with Williams Valley, which defeated Bloomsburg, 5-2, at 10 a.m., Thursday in State College at Penn State University’s softball field.
No sports team at this tiny school has ever reached these heights, and to those who think this stage is too big for a team with just one senior on the roster, well, ask DuBois Central Catholic, which lost for the first time in 25 games.
“We knew we had a very special group,” said West Greene head coach Bill Simms. “I don’t want to sound cocky but we felt if we weren’t playing for a WPIAL title, it was a failure on this coaching staff. This has all been gravy since.”
So does anything shake this team?
“Maybe prom. It’s the only four-letter word we’re not allowed to use around the field,” Simms joked.
Freshman leadoff hitter McKenna Lampe set the tone to open the game, sending a 1-1 pitch from Assalone over of the right-center field fence. Just like that, West Greene had a 1-0 lead with its first batter. Lampe went 3-for-4, drove in two runs and scored twice.
“It was huge,” said Simms of the home run. “You heard that roar. I don’t know if it was the loudest in Single-A history. We had a lot of people send that ball out for her.”
The crucial inning for West Greene, and the time when the Pioneers could have collapsed, was the fourth inning, when Dubois Central Catholic not only took the lead, 2-1, but also spent most of the inning with the bases loaded against West Greene starter Madison Renner.
Judy Frank led off with a triple and scored on a single by Assalone. Renner would walk in the go-ahead run four batters later. In between, the Pioneers threw two players out at the plate. The first was Assalone, who was forced out on a bouncer back to Renner. The second was Steph Ross, who was forced on a grounder to Madison Lampe at third base. Renner got the final out on a pop-up to third that Lampe pocketed.
“I needed to get out of that inning because I was the one who got us into it,” said Renner. “I shouldn’t have put that pressure on myself but I did. That’s what I do. I knew my defense would get to anything they hit.”
While DuBois Central Catholic might not have been aware of it, the death knell had sounded.
“We had an opportunity in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and no outs,” said DCC head coach George Heigel. “We just weren’t in the right place for our lineup. … We put the bat on the ball but they were right at someone.”
West Greene sent nine players to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring four times and breaking the spirit of DCC.
Mckenzie Carpenter opened the inning with a single to right field and moved to second on a walk to Shelby Morris. McKenna Lampe lashed a single to center field that scored Carpenter to tie the game. Madison Lampe drilled a single to center that scored courtesy runner Brianna Goodwin and McKenna Lampe to make it 4-2. Renner singled to left to score Madison Lampe.
Renner had 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh to ignite West Greene’s celebration.
“With the team we have, the offense, the defense, I thought we would go pretty far into (the playoffs),” said McKenna Lampe. “We stay calm under pressure, one out at a time. We don’t panic.”