Forfeits cost Belle Vernon spot in WPIAL softball playoffs
Belle Vernon head coach Tom Rodriguez during a game April 28 at Trinity. The Leopards won that day but forfeited the result, and two others, because of the use of two freshmen players who were ineligible.
Belle Vernon’s Bailey Parshall, a Penn State recruit, pitches during an April 28 game against Trinity. A sophomore, Parshall is considered one of the WPIAL’s top pitchers.
Belle Vernon’s defense of the WPIAL Class AAA softball championship came to an abrupt end Wednesday, when the school officially forfeited three section games after it was discovered two players were ineligible.
After defeating Elizabeth Forward Tuesday, Belle Vernon finished the regular season second in Section 3-AAA with a 9-3 record against section opponents, but the forfeit of three games drops the Leopards to fourth place in the section and Trinity will now qualify for the postseason as the third-place team.
According to Article XIX of the PIAA by-laws, any freshman player placed on the junior high school roster is not eligible to compete with the varsity team 21 days after the first practice date. Belle Vernon moved two freshman players to its varsity roster last month after they competed with the junior high school team, which by rule, makes them ineligible for the varsity roster.
Belle Vernon ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak, including a 5-2 victory over Trinty April 28 at Hiller Field, but the Leopards were forced to forfeit that game and wins over Ringgold and West Mifflin.
“You have 21 days from start of the season to make a determination which roster you’ll be on,” Tim O’Malley, WPIAL executive director, said Wednesday. “In that period, if you played in a contest, you are locked into that level. They apparently, according to the eligibility sheets we had, removed two young women from the eligibility sheet in junior high to varsity in April. That violates the by-laws. Any competition at the varsity level is ineligible and use of those players requires a forfeit.”
O’Malley said Belle Vernon sent letters to the three schools to officially forfeit the games. With the three forfeits, Trinity is the third-place team in the section with seven wins and gains the final playoff spot. Elizabeth Forward finishes in second place and Belle Vernon is out of the playoffs with only six section wins.
Belle Vernon has been operating without an athletic director for more than three months, since the resignation of Jesse Cramer in late January.
Jason Boone, Belle Vernon Area High School principal, was notified of the issue late Tuesday morning and was told to investigate the team’s rosters for each game. Once he submitted the information to the WPIAL office, Boone was notified of the violation. After the forfeits became official, he met with the Leopards’ 17 players.
“When I spoke to the girls this morning, I told them that it was like I was standing in front of 17 of my daughters,” Boone said. “You hate seeing your kids upset and crying. That’s what it was like. It’s a tough thing. The girls put in so much hard work and you hate to see their season end that way, but you have to do the right thing.”
Belle Vernon players took to Twitter Tuesday night to voice their frustration by using the hashtag “#LetUsPlay.” Sophomore pitcher Bailey Parshall, a Penn State recruit, posted a screenshot of a message to her teammates.
“Sad day for Belle Vernon softball also very sad to say this season is over,” Parshall’s message said. “None of us are happy with our ending but I’m so proud of my team for all we’ve accomplished this year.”
Belle Vernon won the WPIAL championship last season with a 5-4 victory over Yough at California University’s Lilley Field and lost in the PIAA quarterfinals to Trinity.
This is the second eligibility issue the school faced in 2016. Belle Vernon wrestler Jarod Verkleeren was forced to sit out the WPIAL individual wrestling postseason when it was determined he was ineligible to compete at 145 pounds after he exceeded the weight criteria during the PIAA team championships in February.
Verkleeren sought an injunction to wrestle in the postseason, but it was denied by a Westmoreland County judge.
There will be no legal battle for Belle Vernon, which had four seniors’ high school careers end and saw its chance to return to the WPIAL title game disappear.