Ringgold wins first playoff game since 2002

WEXFORD – At his third-base coaching post, Ringgold High School softball coach Gregg Adams said with conviction that times had to change.
It had been a long time – 17 years to be exact – since the Rams had last won a playoff game.
Times changed and the drought ended Wednesday afternoon.
Nya Adams broke a tied game in the fourth inning with a two-run triple and Jillian Scherer recovered after surrendering three early runs as ninth-seeded Ringgold defeated No. 8 New Castle, 9-3, in a WPIAL Class 4A first-round game at North Allegheny High School.
“It had been forever,” Adams said. “It makes it all worth it. We have been wanting to get to this level. A month ago we didn’t think we would have this chance after losing four games in a row. This is huge for us.”
The Rams’ first postseason win since a preliminary-round game in 2002 advances them to a quarterfinal matchup with top-seeded and undefeated Mt. Pleasant Monday at a site and time to be determined.
After the three-run first, including the final two runs that scored on a Ringgold (8-8) throwing error, Scherer had four innings where she retired the Hurricanes in order. She had a stretch where she retired 11 straight batters.
“I didn’t have any nerves,” Scherer said. “Most of the went away at least (after the first inning). It was just a lot of fastballs and screwballs inside.”
Scherer pitched a complete game, struck out six and allowed three hits, none after the second inning.
“She hit her spots well and threw to where the umpire was calling strikes,” Adams said. “She figured it out. She moved the ball in the strike zone well. We have committed errors. She is learning how to overcome them.”
The Rams benefitted on three errors from New Castle (7-8) to score a pair of runs without a hit to tie the game at 3-3 in the third inning.
Adams’ first triple, which landed a foot inside the left-field foul line and made up for her first-inning error, gave Ringgold a 5-3 lead in the fourth. Lauren Temoshenka singled to score Adams from third.
The Rams extended their lead with two runs in the sixth, including an RBI triple from Adams, and another in the seventh to lead 9-3.
“Nya is our leader,” Adams said. “She doesn’t make that throwing mistake often. A lot of kids would have fallen apart. Instead, she hits triples. She is just such a dynamic player. She stepped up.”