Troyer’s grand slam does in Connellsville
McKEES ROCKS – Connellsville upset Kiski Area, 3-1, last week to advance to the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL Class AAAA softball playoffs, but there would be no upset Monday as the Lady Falcons fell to Seneca Valley, 9-2, at Lind Field in Fairhaven Park. “I was happy for our seniors to be able to make the playoffs, plus we had a real nice win last week to extend our season, but it wasn’t our day today,” Connellsville head coach Max Bukovac said. “We lost to a good team and they were the better team on the field today.”
Connellsville starting pitcher Erica Bartholow started out strong, allowing only one run through three innings, but Seneca Valley struck in the fourth inning with a two-out rally fueled by a Lindsay Troyer grand slam.
Bartholow gave up a single and two walks on close pitches before Troyer blasted a 1-2 pitch over the right center field wall to push the Lady Raider lead to 5-0 and that’s all they would need.
“It’s hard to recover from a big inning like that and they definitely hurt us with that grand slam,” Bukovac said. “I thought some of the balls could have been strikes on those walks, but that wasn’t the difference in the game when you add up the final score.”
Seneca Valley stretched the lead to 9-0 in the top of the seventh after eight players batted, but Connellsville did not go down without a fight. The Lady Falcons led off the inning with back-to-back singles by Britney Marra and Liz Bell.
Kylie Hamborsky reached on an error and two runs scored on the play to break the ice on the scoreboard, but Connellsville could not dent the lead any further.
“We didn’t give up and kept battling,” Bukovac said. “Unfortunately, it took a while for us to get going, and by the time we did, it was too late.”
Bartholow recorded five strikeouts and pitched four scoreless innings in the loss.
Seneca Valley pitcher Lauren Pennell stymied Connellsville early and held the Falcons for two innings without a hit. Judy Nichelson broke up the no-hitter with a single to right-center field in the bottom of the third, but leadoff hitter Emily Stout hit a bouncer to the second baseman who tagged Nichelson and threw to first for a double play to retire the side.
Nichelson led the Lady Falcon hitting with two singles for a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.
Second baseman Cassie Show led the defensive effort by recording almost half the outs in the game, including a diving stop to her left in the top of the third in which she flung the ball to first in time to end the inning.
“You shoot for the playoffs at the beginning of every season, so we accomplished that goal,” Bukovac said, “plus we have a lot of young talent returning for next season.”