Pioneers not content with PIAA title appearance
West Greene celebrates after defeating DuBois Central Catholic in the PIAA Class A semifinal Monday at North Allegheny High School.
West Greene’s McKenna Lampe led off the PIAA Class A semifinal against DuBois Central Catholic with a home run.
The trip from West Greene High School to State College takes a little more than three hours by bus and covers 188 miles.
Depending on the route, the bus can either take the streamlined route of highways or bend through the central Pennsylvania countryside.
Either way, the task facing Bill Simms and his coaching staff at West Greene is to make sure the softball team is not content simply on getting there.
The Pioneers, the District 7 champion with a 26-1 record, will play Williams Valley, the District 11 champion with a 25-2 record, at the Penn State softball field in State College 10 a.m. Thursday for the PIAA Class A championship. PCN is televising the game.
Few, if any, outside the tiny school in Rogersville, believed West Greene could win its first state title of any kind when the softball season began.
Now, with the opportunity within reach, psychological factors come into play.
Simms already addressed it.
“We must have said that 30 times (Tuesday morning),” said Simms, who is in his 11th season. “To get this far, we want to win this thing. We don’t want to be happy just to be there.”
Both teams got to this point with identical 5-2 victories in the semifinals. Williams Valley defeated District 4 champion Bloomsburg, and West Greene stopped District 9 champion DuBois Central Catholic.
“I’m very excited. It’ll be 10 o’clock in the morning, but I’m very excited,” Williams Valley senior center fielder Rayanne Hawk told the Republican Herald of Pottsville after the Bloomsburg win. “I’m ready. Penn State, here we come.”
To win the title, the Pioneers will have to beat a team similar to them: good offense, strong defense and outstanding pitching.
Everything centers around starting pitcher Tianna Yanoscak, who is 22-2 with a 0.95 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 148 innings. She doesn’t walk many, 17 in 24 starts. Williams Valley is making its seventh appearance in the state tournament and won the title in 2013, routing Neshannock, 13-0. Yanoscak was on the team but was not the starting pitcher.
“It’s for the seniors,” Reiser told the Republican Herald of the importance of getting back to the finals. “We said at the beginning of the year that the seniors were there as freshmen and they said it was the greatest experience of their life. I said we’ve got to get that for the seniors.
“All year long, these kids have been sticking together and trying to support and fill in the empty spots from last year so that the seniors could get their dream.”
Williams Valley’s offense is sparked by leadoff hitter Caitlyn Pinchorski, who is batting .531 with 45 runs and 35 stolen bases. Her sister, Cassidy, was the starting pitcher on the 2013 team. Center fielder Rayanne Hawk is hitting .518 with seven triples and 45 RBI. And second baseman Kate Whelski has a team-high 5 home runs. Whelski and Hawk were starters on the 2013 team.
West Greene’s lineup will again have the Lampe sisters, McKenna and Madison, in the Nos. 1 and 2 spots, respectively. The duo has combined for 45 of West Greene’s 67 stolen bases and have each hit four triples. Starting pitcher Madison Renner has hit nine home runs with 66 RBI, a phenomenal number considering many of West Greene’s games did not go the distance because of the mercy rule.
Renner is 19-1 with 118 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings. Shortstop Bailey Bennington has seven home runs and 35 RBI.
“We just told the girls, ‘You have one more,'” said Simms. “We have to concentrate on what we do well. We’re not going to change what we do. We just need to execute to win.”