West Greene beats rival J-M, heads back to title game
West Greene softball has done everything in the playoffs these last four seasons.
But in Wednesday’s Class A semifinal contest at Trinity Middle School, the Pioneers faced a circumstance they never faced before.
They were up against a Greene County rival in Jefferson-Morgan.
Despite the unique circumstance, the Pioneers were focus and unfazed as they rolled to a four-inning 15-0 victory to advance to their fourth straight WPIAL Class A final.
“Our focus level is always there,” West Greene coach Bill Simms said. “As a coach, I worry about every little thing and the kids just play. There’s so many things in May, like senior trip, prom, sports banquets and all the other stuff. There’s a ton of distractions but the girls just come ready to play.”
The Pioneers (18-4) will play Union, a 5-3 winner over Leechburg, in the championship game at Peterswood Park next week, either Wednesday or Thursday.
“We have played Union in the playoffs before,” Simms said. “It will always come down to pitching and playing defense. I will be sitting on pins and needles the rest of the week and trying to think of 10 more things to worry about. Union is a formidable team.”
The Rockets (11-7) still have a chance of getting to the PIAA playoffs as they will play Leechburg in the third-place game Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
“West Greene is just an elite team,” J-M coach Rich Rush said. “They are not your typical Class A team and there’s really no comparisons. We just have to regroup and get our sights back on the consolations. Whoever we play next week is not West Greene. That gives us a chance to win if we do the fundamental things right.”
Kaitlyn Rizor led the West Greene offense with a 4-for-4 day that included two doubles, a triple, a home run, four RBI and four runs.
“I have been working really hard on my hitting outside of practice these last couple of weeks,” Rizor said. “I left school early to hit some balls in the cage today. The hard work has paid off and I’m just squaring ball up.”
Jade Renner, Brianna Amos and Jersey Wise each had three hits apiece for West Greene.
“That’s the best we hit ever, I think, because that’s a good pitcher over there,” Simms said. “Jefferson is a really good team and we wish them the best in the next game. Rich has done a tremendous job with them and has stuck with that program to get them back into the playoffs. We just have a lot of power in our lineup and we all hit today.”
Renner was the winning pitcher and improved her postseason record to 16-0. Over four innings, the junior lefty allowed one hit with four strikeouts and no walks on 42 pitches.
After J-M went down in order to start the game, West Greene jumped out to a 3-0 lead after an RBI triple by Rizor, an RBI double by Renner and an RBI single by Wise.
The Pioneers increased their lead to 8-0 in the second, via an RBI triple by Madison Lampe, an RBI double by Rizor, a run-scoring single by Renner and a two-run double by Mackenzie Carpenter.
West Greene added four runs in the third with the big hits coming from a run-scoring double by Rizor and a two-run single by Renner.
“We live for the playoffs,” Rizor said. “We are totally focused and don’t overlook anybody, because if you lose one then your season is over. We just clicked today.”
The Rockets had their first baserunner in the fourth when Jasmine Demaske led off with a single and stole second, but she was doubled off after a sharp line drive to shortstop.
In the bottom of the fourth, West Greene evoked the mercy rule after a two-run inside-the-park home run by Madison Lampe and a walk-off solo shot by Rizor off J-M pitcher Caitlyn Dugan.
“We have all stayed together and put in so much hard work over the years,” said Rizor, who will be playing softball at West Virginia Wesleyan next spring. “We don’t take it for granted and we are as excited to get to the finals as we were the first time.”
“With them, you have to make ever play you can and you can’t give them extra outs,” Rush said. “They jump on you and there’s no easy out in their lineup. Cait hit her spots and was effective, but they timed up her pitches. Every hit they had just fell into a gap.”