The view from the press box at Fairhaven Park in Kennedy Township as the 2011 WPIAL Softball Playoffs get underway.
By Matt Popchock
If you?re a frequent listener to ?Vinnie & Cook? (weekdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on SportsRadio 93-7 The Fan), you know our own Vinnie Richichi closes every show by saying he?ll return tomorrow ?if the Lord?s willing, and the creek don?t rise.?
Unfortunately, for the umpteenth time this spring, the creek has done quite a bit of rising.
Rain interrupted the WPIAL Baseball and Softball Playoffs, pushing both schedules back one day, and Wednesday has brought further delays. Oh well, at least day one went off without a hitch, and one is better than none.
So in case you missed it, here?s a sample of what happened on the first day of playoff softball in western PA:
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For Peters Township to keep its season alive, two things had to change from its last meeting with North Allegheny, and one of the top pitchers in her classification had to remain true to form.
?It was all about errors,? Peters Township junior Tara Konopka said of the May 11 contest, an 11-2 loss. ?We were hitting at the time, but just hitting balls right at people. We?ve spent a lot of time working on that and on defense since the last meeting.?
In stark contrast to the regular season finale, Konopka and her fielders were dialed in pretty much from the get-go on this muddy Monday. She tossed seven strikeouts while allowing only three hits and two walks to help the 11th-seeded Indians (9-5) to a 3-1 win over the sixth-seeded Tigers (14-5) in Class AAAA First Round action at Fairhaven Park in Kennedy Township.
Konopka also went 2-for-4 at the plate, scoring what proved to be the game-winning run.
?We haven?t played as many games as them, so the weather being better, and just being able to practice a lot more has made us a lot better,? she said.
Peters broke the ice in the top of the third inning thanks to the prowess of second baseman Katie Makoski, who went 3-for-3 out of the No. 9 spot. She doubled to right with one out, and center fielder Katie O?Laughlin followed with a single. When O?Laughlin broke for second, catcher Toni Miller?s throw bounced off a body and into center field. Makoski hustled and scored on a wild throw to home by Jordan Macey.
?I looked for the ball to go toward right field. When I saw where it went, I just wanted to keep on running,? Makoski said.
Freshman Mary Funderlich, who struck out two, walked one, and allowed seven hits in defeat, settled down, and her team got a break of its own in the bottom of the third. Macey was hit by an 0-2 pitch from Konopka and eventually took second on a fielder?s choice. She tied the game for NA when Megan Lynkskey smashed a ground ball off Makoski and into shallow right field, giving Macey time to score.
But Makoski would redeem herself the very next frame. With runners on first and second and two out, she ripped Funderlich?s 0-2 offering into right field for a two-run single.
?I knew I had to get a hit because it was 1-1, and because I knew we weren?t going to get another chance like that again in this game,? Makoski said.
North Allegheny was poised to counter-punch in the bottom of the fourth, as its first two hitters reached base and advanced on a sacrifice bunt, but Konopka induced a ground out, then a pop-up to catcher Abby Cunningham, and struck out Macey to end the Tigers? last real threat of the day.
?Me and Abby went over a lot of signals [in the fourth]. She called a great inning and a great game. The pitches were just right,? Konopka said.
She and the rest of the Indians will take on a familiar foe, Section 4 rival and champion Baldwin, the No. 3 seed, in the Class AAAA Quarterfinals later this week, weather permitting. Baldwin split its regular season set with Peters.
The matchup with the Highlanders and Anna Lauterbach, one of the WPIAL?s strikeout leaders, is one that has Konopka excited.
?I think it?s an advantage to us because we know what they?re capable of,? she said. ?We know a lot about Anna and her pitches, and we know what we have to do to beat them.?
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It was a slight upset, but it certainly wasn?t the most significant one on the first day of the 2011 postseason. With a 9-8 extra-inning victory, No. 15 seed Fort Cherry shocked Sto-Rox, one of the favorites in Class A (and one of our picks to reach the Class A Final). The Vikings trailed 8-4 entering the seventh when their heavy-hitting offense finally sprung to life and forced the extra frame, but eventually they became just the second No. 2 seed in the past decade to fall in the First Round.
Elsewhere in Class A, No. 13 seed Frazier upended No. 4 seed Leechburg, and Carmichaels, though seeded No. 3, certainly turned some heads by narrowly defeating Vincentian Academy to end the Royals? three-year reign as WPIAL Class A champions.
South Side Beaver and West Greene were also victorious to round out Monday?s Class A action.? West Greene will face Fort Cherry in the Class A Quarterfinals, while South Side Beaver contends with Frazier.
Meanwhile, all was relatively quiet on the Quad-A front. Perennial power Latrobe won comfortably, as did Section 4 runner-up Canon-McMillan, though the Lady Macs will have their work cut out facing top-seeded Shaler in the Class AAAA Quarterfinals.
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For more WPIAL Softball Playoff updates, be sure to revisit the Mr. High School Sports blog later this week!
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