Two big innings carry C-H to win
Jessica Ford drove in three runs, Kayla Alderson hit two doubles and Kaitlyn Dittrich pitched a four-hitter as Chartiers-Houston advanced in the WPIAL Class A softball playoffs with a 9-4 victory over Leechburg at Hampton High School.
Chartiers-Houston (12-7) used a pair of four-run innings to overcome an early deficit and move on to the quarterfinals. The Bucs will play second-seeded Shenango (15-3), a 14-4 winner over Riverview.
Leechburg (12-7) scored two runs in the top of the first, but C-H answered with four of its own in the bottom of the inning.
Macie Kesneck drove in C-H’s first run, and Alderson and Ford had run-scoring doubles around a double steal that allowed the Bucs’ third run to score.
Kasey Scears and Lauren Lober each hit run-scoring singles in the Bucs’ four-run third inning that pushed C-H’s lead to 8-2. An error allowed two runs to score in the inning.
Leechburg pulled to within 8-4 with two runs in the sixth, but C-H scored its final run in the bottom of the inning on a single by Brittany Blumen.
Dittrich struck out nine and allowed only two walks.
Neshannock 11, Waynesburg 5: Neshannock scored nine runs over the final three innings and pulled away for an 11-5 win over Waynesburg in a Class AA preliminary round softball game at West Allegheny.
Crista Nativio was 3-for-5 with a triple and five RBI for the Lancers., who broke open the game with a three-run fifth inning to take a 5-0 lead. Waynesburg (9-12) scored its first run in the bottom of the fifth, but Neshannock (10-7) scored three more times in the sixth to open an 8-1 advantage.
Waynesburg (9-12) scored its first run in the bottom of the fifth, but Neshannock (10-7) scored three more times in the sixth to open an 8-1 advantage.
Rachel Elsenheimer was 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI to lead Waynesburg at the plate. Tara Staley had a double and Tiffany Ross added a two-run single top the Raiders’ offense.
In other games: Peters Township rallied to outlast Franklin Regional and defeat the Panthers 8-7 in a 10-inning Class AAAA first round softball game at Baldwin. The Indians overcame an early two-run deficit to take the lead, then saw Franklin Regional score in the seventh to force extra innings.
Peters Township (11-6) will play Section 4 rival Baldwin in the quarterfinals. Baldwin defeated PT twice during the regular season.
In Class AAA baseball, Blackhawk blanked South Fayette 5-0. Blackhawk did all its scoring in the first two innings.
No other game details were made available to the Observer-Reporter.