Jun 6, 2024 By Jim Downey 3 min read

MONROEVILLE – The last time Bentworth and Laurel played one another Bentworth came away with a late rally for a win in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals.

There would be no such frantic finish this time around with Laurel building a 4-0 lead and then holding off Bentworth for a 5-3 victory in the PIAA Class AA softball quarterfinals at Gateway High School.

Bentworth’s most successful season in program history closes with an 18-5 record, including a 4-1 win over Everett in the first round of the PIAA playoffs and a second-place finish in the WPIAL tournament.

“It was great,” said Bentworth head coach Jack Cramer. “My assistant, Tim Jansante, the first year we coached we went to states and that was the last time. So, this is his last year and they went further.

“Somebody wins, somebody loses. We just happened to be on the short end of the stick. We don’t have any seniors. We’ll be back.”

Laurel (21-5) advances to the state semifinals Monday against rival Neshannock. Neshannock (25-0) shut out Saegertown, 5-0.

Laurel jumped out to the early lead when Mayci Lang roped a line drive over the right field fence.

Laurel’s lead grew to 4-0 in the top of the fourth inning with mistakes on both teams.

Alexis Sherry led off with a single, but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double.

Alexis Krol lofted a fly ball to the outfield, but the defender over ran the ball and was unable to hold on to the catch as Krol took second. Krol moved to third when Ivy Pancher singled past a drawn-in Addyson Nigut at third base with the ball not exiting the infield.

Both runners scored when Lang roped a line drive inside the left-field line.

Addyson Deal capped the rally with a home run.

Bentworth gamely fought back in the bottom of the inning with only one hit. The lone hit was a long home run by Sydney Gonglik that scored Hailey Tatar and Aubrie Logan after both had walked.

Laurel’s Autumn Boyd settled in after the Gonglik home run. The right-hander allowed just two runners in the final 4.2 innings, a single to Zoie McDonald and a walk to Gonglik. She had 10 of her 16 strikeouts over the stretch, and allowed more walks (3) than hits (2).

“I don’t think they ever give up. Autumn Boyd is a good pitcher. There’s no way around it,” said Cramer.

Laurel added an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning.

Lang was safe when her ground ball was mishandled to open the inning. She moved to second on a wild pitch and then sped home on Boyd’s one-out double.

Gonglik finished with 11 strikeouts, including the first six outs of the game. The freshman allowed six hits and didn’t walk a batter.