West Greene bats too hot as Pioneers get ‘revenge’
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
West Greene’s Madison Renner, center, and Madison Lampe, left, wait for Jade Renner after she hit a grand slam during a game against Waynesburg Monday.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
West Greene’s McKenna Lampe batted better than .550 in each of her four seasons for the Pioneers.
Waynesburg’s Paige Rutan tags out West Greene’s Jersey Wise at 2nd base during at Waynesburg on Monday, April 30, 2018.
WAYNESBURG – In the two games since last Friday’s heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Section 2-A softball foe Monessen, West Greene’s offense has been on a tear.
West Greene scored 17 runs in three innings against Mapletown Saturday and didn’t slow down Monday at Waynesburg.
The Pioneers smacked 16 hits, six of which went for extra bases, en route to a 15-3 mercy-rule win over the host Raiders in a nonsection game.
“We’ve been squaring the ball up,” said West Greene head coach Bill Simms. “We came in here with a purpose and a passion today. These girls are friends … and there’s a lot of talent in both dugouts. With the revenge factor from last year and the true friendly camaraderie we have, it’s a great game for the community.”
In addition to the Greene County rivalry is the fact that Waynesburg was the only team last season to defeat West Greene (11-3), which went on to win the Class A state title.
“We knew they’d want to beat us again, and obviously we didn’t want to get beat by them again,” said center fielder McKenna Lampe, who went 4-for-4. “I think the revenge factor helped out a lot and motivated us to get on them early.”
Simms said the past two games, scoring 32 runs in eight innings, shows how “contagious” hitting can be.
“When you get those line drives, those are contagious,” Simms said. “Then everybody is on the fence and they’re banging it. I think it then catches fire and everybody gets a taste of it. That’s what happened the last two games.”
The Pioneers didn’t wait to get their bats going as McKenna Lampe led off the game with a triple. Madison Lampe, who went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs, singled home McKenna Lampe. After Madison Lampe advanced to second on an error by the left fielder, Madison Renner singled her home. Kaitlyn Rizor scored later in the inning on a throwing error to give West Greene a 3-0 lead.
McKenna Lampe realizes the importance of getting on base as the team’s leadoff hitter. Along with reaching base all four times, the junior scored four runs and had two extra-base hits.
“It seems like when I get on, everybody gets on,” she said. “It helps get our team get excited and into the game. When I get on, it does set the tone.”
Waynesburg (6-7) answered in the bottom of the inning as Sydney Hare singled home Rachel Elsenhimer, who reached on an error with two outs and stole second base.
The only other action the Raiders would see on offense the rest of a game was caused by Elsenhimer and Hare. Elsenhimer singled to lead off the fourth and Hare smashed a two-run home run.
The Pioneers batted around in the second inning, scoring five runs. With one out, Renner walked with the bases loaded to score Mackenzie Carpenter. Jade Renner then hit a grand slam that narrowly stayed fair down the right-field line. It was the sophomore’s second over-the-fence homer of her career and the first grand slam.
“She’s just been absolutely tattooing line drives,” Simms said.
Waynesburg head coach Jim Armstrong said it’s important against a good team like West Greene to avoid letting it get out to an early lead.
“The first couple innings were pretty big,” Armstrong said. “They put us in the hole immediately. It’s hard to come back from that, especially against a good team.”
Jade Renner was the winning pitcher. The southpaw tossed five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits. She walked none and struck out two.
In the third inning, Kaitlyn Rizor ripped a two-out single to score McKenna Lampe and Madison Renner. Rizor 3-for-3 with a walk in the No. 5 hole.
“Kaitlyn Rizor is so unsung, but not to me,” Simms said.
The Pioneers tacked on five more runs in the fifth to win by mercy.
McKenna Lampe, Madison Lampe and Madison Renner, who went 1-for-1 with three walks, each reached base to start the inning, and Linzee Stover and Carpenter ended it by roping doubles to score two and one, respectively.