West Greene’s bats boom in rout of Monessen
West Greene pitcher Madison Renner hugs catcher Shelby Morris after the Pioneers beat Monessen, 10-0, in the WPIAL Class A semifinals.
West Greene’s Bailey Bennington rounds the bases after hitting a home run against Monessen Wednesday.
West Greene’s McKenna Lampe slides safely into second in front of Monessen’s Madison Guzzie,
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter West Greene’s pitcher Madison Renner celebrates with catcher Shelby Morris after beating Monessen 10-0 on Wednesday, May 25.
CALIFORNIA – The day began with a rally attended by hundreds at West Greene High School to send the girls softball team off to one of the most important games in the program’s history: the semifinals of the WPIAL Class A playoffs.
Right before the start of the game, a loud cheer from the large crowd of West Greene fans went up, party streamers filled the air and balloons were released, all to the consternation of the umpires who traded questionable looks.
Was this in the rule book?
Once the game started, the Pioneers unleashed some fireworks of their own, tattooing Monessen starting pitcher Dana Vatakis for 10 runs and eight hits in just four innings on the way to a 10-0 victory on a perfect Wednesday afternoon at California University’s Lilley Field.
The win sends the Pioneers into the finals Thursday, June 2 against Chartiers-Houston back at Lilley Field at a time not yet determined.
The win also qualifies West Greene for the PIAA tournament. Monessen plays North Catholic Tuesday for the third and final state berth from Class A at a site and time to be determined.
The Pioneers smashed three home runs off Vatakis – one each by third baseman Madison Lampe, shortstop Bailey Bennington and second baseman Kaitlyn Rizor – bringing their total to 26 for the season. West Greene scored five runs in the first inning, two in the second and three in the fourth.
“We can do a lot of things, but yeah they hit today,” said West Greene head coach Bill Simms. “We wanted to come down here and not have what we call a trap game. We beat them 10-0 earlier in the year but it really wasn’t that type of game. Vatakis is a great pitcher and we wanted to take a different approach. … It wasn’t about power; it was about reducing our strikeouts.”
Bennington provided the big hit in a five-run first inning with a laser shot down the third base line with the bases loaded for a double that made it 3-0. Rizor brought her home when she sent a blast over the right-center field fence to make it 5-0.
“(Getting the lead) is like the first goal in hockey, the first strike on a batter, it’s big,” said Simms. “It’s a comfort zone for them and us. Scoring first and getting the lead was big for our comfort level.”
“It feels great getting ahead like that,” said Rizor. “It relieves the pressure.”
The Pioneers (22-1) made it 7-0 when Monessen center fielder Janae Evans appeared to lose the ball in the sun off the bat of Madison Lampe and it glanced off her glove for an error that brought home McKenzie Lampe, who had drawn a one-out walk. Renner drove in Madison Lampe with a single.
Bennington, who went 3-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored, blasted a solo home run to left two batters after Madison Lampe hit a two-run shot to center field in the fourth inning to make it 10-0.
“(Vatakis) threw a lot inside for the first pitch, so I knew it was coming and took advantage of it,” said Bennington.
The top five hitters in the Pioneers lineup went a combined 8-for-12 with 10 runs scored and 10 RBI.
“Of all the teams I’ve seen this year, this is probably one of the best, regardless of classification,” said Monessen head coach Bo Teets. “They hit the ball so well. I think what gets overlooked because they hit so well, is their defense. We had some hard-hit balls and they were right at them. They made the plays when they needed to. That shows you where they are, definitely on the upswing. The team that beats them will have to play a near-perfect game and get some breaks.”
Highlighting that defense were Madison Lampe, who made a fine stab of a line shot to third base in the third inning and first baseman Lexie Mooney, who made a nice catch of a liner to end the game. West Greene’s starter Madison Renner pitched four no-hit innings and Bennington came on for a 1-2-3 fifth to end the game.
West Greene came into the game as the top-seeded team in Class A and with seven shutouts, the latest coming in the playoffs’ first round, 15-0, over Greensburg Central Catholic. One was a 10-0, five-inning game against Monessen earlier in the season.
Monessen (15-6), behind the pitching of Vatakis, had not allowed a run in two playoff games and posted six shutouts this season.
“The first time we played them, we stranded 11 or 12 batters,” said Teets. “We had the bases loaded twice and first and second twice. We just didn’t get the hit. (This time), they just beat us. My hat’s off to them. They are a great team.
After the game, there was one more ceremony, a team picture to celebrate the latest accomplishment.
“The school and community have been unbelievable,” said Simms. “We had a fire truck escort us through Rogersville. It’s just wonderful. The kids were highly motivated when they came here for this game.”