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West Greene headlines remarkable season

By Rob Burchianti rburchianti@heraldstandard.Com 6 min read
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Evan Sanders

Logan Hartman (right) receives her gold medal from her father and Frazier High School head coach Don Hartman after defeating South Side Area, 2-0, in the WPIAL Class AA softball championship, May 31, at California University of Pa.’s Lilley Field. The two were the Herald-Standard Class AA Softball Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively.

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John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard

West Greene’s McKenna Lampe (16) beats the throw to Williams Valley first baseman Maddy Bordner (8) to open the game with a bunt single in the PIAA Class A softball championship clash, June 16, at Nittany Lion Softball Park in University Park. Lampe and teammate Madison Renner are the Heraald-Standard Class A Co-Softball Players of the Year after helping lead the Lady Pioneers to the Section 2-A, WPIAL and PIAA championships.

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John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard

Albert Gallain’s Annalia Paoli (3) get a high five for coach Gary Serock after hitting a three-run homer in the third inning of their Section 3-AAAAA game against Laurel Highlands on April 13. Paoli, a freshman shortstop who hit 13 home runs, is the Herald-Standard Class AAAAA Softball Player of the Year and Serock is the Coach of the Year.

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Darnell Graham

Belle Vernon pitcher Bailey Parshall (22) rushes forward to catch a pop-up during a Section 2-AAAA game against Yough at Washington Township Field on May 9. Parshall, who help lead the Lady Leopards to a WPIAL title for the second time in three years, is the Herald-Standard Class AAAA Softball Player of the Year.

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John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard

After hitting a lead-off triple in the third inning, Southmoreland’s Olivia Porter comes home on a wild pitch during a WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal playoff game against South Allegheny on May 17 at California University of Pennsylvania’s Lilley Field. Porter is the Herald-Standard Class AAA Softball Player of the Year.

The 2017 season was a remarkably successful one for area softball teams, producing two PIAA champions, three WPIAL champions and six section champions.

West Greene swept all three of those categories in reigning supreme in Class A, while Mount Pleasant tied for the Section 1-AAAA title and, despite falling in the WPIAL semifinals, went on to win the state crown in Class AAAA.

Belle Vernon and Yough tied for first place in Section 2-AAAA and the Lady Leopards went on to secure their third WPIAL crown. Frazier cruised to a section title and its first WPIAL championship in Classs AA. Connellsville was a section winner in Class AAAAA and Carmichaels, which finished behind West Greene in Section 2-A, continued its annual march into the postseason.

Teams such as Albert Gallatin and Monessen broke new ground for their programs while Ringgold and California snapped postseason droughts. Other playoff teams were Elizabeth Forward, Southmoreland, Waynesburg Central and Bentworth.

Following is the 2017 Herald-Standard All-Area Softball Team:

CLASS AAAAA

Player of the Year

Annalia Paoli, Albert Gallatin.

Coach of the Year

Gary Serock, Albert Gallatin

The Elite

Albert Gallatin: Ally Bezjak, Maddie Flowers

Connellsville: Mia Burd, Madison Hollis, Brooke Miller, Josie Moorhead.

Ringgold: Jillian Scherer.

Honorable Mention

Albert Gallatin: Madison Hershberger, Hannah Turtzer, Katie Kelley, Kassie Miller, Hannah Umble

Connellsville: Abbigaile Friguglietti, Francesca Stefano.

Laurel Highlands: Hailie Rusko, Mercedes Sickles, Allison Lowery, Lauren Sperry, Danielle Jones

Ringgold: Natalie Adams, Taylor Mendicino, Johnna Mocniak, Nya Adams, Maddie Beckinger.

NOTES: Greg Adams led Ringgold into the postseason for the first time in 14 years and John Burd led Connellsville to a section crown but Serock was even more impressive as he took the Lady Colonials to new heights with their first ever appearances in the WPIAL semifinals and the PIAA tournament.

CLASS AAAA

Player of the Year

Bailey Parshall, Belle Vernon

Coach of the Year

Lauren Shaheen, Mount Pleasant

The Elite

Belle Verrnon: Lexie Church, Megan Christner

Elizabeth Forward: Jessica Cartia, Taylor Ludwick

Mount Pleasant: Chloe Poulich, Ava Gnibus, Caroline Alincic

Yough: Alona Sleith, Olivia Miller, Kierra Waywood, Aubrie Mance, Hannah Bach

Honorable Mention

Belle Vernon: Mekenzie Sokol, Kourtney Gavatorta, Jordan French, Alex Sokol, Hannah Legazza

Elizabeth Forward: Jordan Pinneri

Mount Pleasant: Addy Kubasky, Mya Klejka, Meadown Uncapher, Christiana Czegan, Autumn Shogan

Uniontown: Madison Yankulic, Milissa Lucas, Emilee Harvilla, Lyndsi Urani, Lindsay Merschat, Bailey Hoover

Yough: Hailey Warrick, Kayley Westerman

NOTES: Parshall is hands down the best player in the area. … Tom Rodriguez guided Belle Vernon to a WPIAL title for a third time and Dutch Harvey won another section crown and made another strong run in the PIAA playoffs despite losing several key players off last year’s PIAA championship team. But while both grabbed headlines most of the year, in the end it was a former Cal U star, Lauren Shaheen, who emerged as the Coach of the Year as her Mount Pleasant squad knocked off both the Lady Leopards and Lady Cougars on its way to winning the state title.

CLASS AAA

Players of the Year

Olivia Porter, Southmoreland and Tara Staley, Waynesburg Central

Coach of the Year

Todd Bunner, Southmoreland

The Elite

Brownsville: Hannah Batovsky

Charleroi: Adrianna Gottheld

Southmoreland: Katie Troisi-Clark, Bethany Bunner, Adeline Nicholson

Waynesburg Central: Jordan Sibert

Honorable Mention

Brownsville: Payton Hall, Emily Bohna, Bethany Gumro, Abby Vaughn

Southmoreland: Lexi Klatt

Waynesburg Central: Paige Rutan, Rachel Elsenheimer, Sydney Hare, Emma Ricciuti.

NOTES: Waynesburg handed West Greene its lone loss on the season. Southmoreland. … Bunner has guided the Lady Scotties to five WPIAL playoff victories and two semifinal appearances in the last three seasons.

CLASS AA

Player of the Year

Logan Hartman, Frazier

Coach of the Year

Don Hartman, Frazier

The Elite

Beth-Center: Londyn Brown

Bentworth: Savannah Adams

Frazier: Kayla Matway, Megan Celaschi, Emi Curcio, Lauren Mastowski, Kara Mastowski

Honorable Mention

Bentworth; Chase Watson, Autumn Zgorliski

Frazier: Juliann Johnson, Kathryn Barch

NOTES: Don Hartman showed he has the magic touch in softball just as he did in baseball, guiding the Lady Commodores, led by a spectacular freshman pitcher who just happened to be his daughter Logan Hartman, to their first WPIAL championship. Hartman coached California to a pair of WPIAL baseball titles previously.

CLASS A

Players of the Year

Madison Renner and McKenna Lampe, West Greene

Coach of the Year

Bill Simms, West Greene

The Elite

California: Bre Trusler

Carmichaels: Megan Walker, Kylie Sinn, Natalie McNett

Geibel Catholic: Gillian Yourish

Jefferson-Morgan: Brooke Diamond

Mapletown: Abby McIntire, Taylor Vanata

Monessen: Dana Vatakis, Destiny Habeck, Mattie Telegraphis

West Greene: Madison Lampe, Kaitlyn Rizor, Jade Renner

Honorable Mention

California: Kylie Trusler, Rebecca Staley, Kalsie Walker, Karen Watkins, Ashley Gush, Kristina Luko

Carmichaels: Laura Walker, Morgan Faddis, Gina Ranieri, Kaitlyn Wilson,

Geibel Catholic: Gabby Yourish, Lyn Hamborsky, Taylor Hennessey.

Jefferson-Morgan: Caitlyn Dugan, Autumn Tedrow, Krista McCartney

Mapletown: Makenzie Cree, Sara Chory, Hannah Dusenberry, Macee Chesney, Michaela Perry

Monessen: Carly Rock, Maddie Guzzie, Kelsey Bachinski, Tori Cooper

West Greene: Marissa Rode, Linzee Stover, Lexie Mooney, Mackenzie Carpenter, Shelby Morris

NOTES: Picking between all the great players on West Greene’s roster for Player of the Year made it tough to go with just one. … It’s not easy to rebound from a crushing loss in the bottom of the seventh inning in the state final, but that’s what Simms did a year later. Not only that but his Lady Pioneers faced the same team (Williams Valley) again in this year’s PIAA championship game and fell behind, 7-0, before rallying for a dramatic 9-8 victory. … Special recognition to Monessen’s Bo Teets who has done wonders with the Lady Greyhounds program in his short time there, guiding them to the WPIAL championship game for the first time in school history this season. … Carmichaels’ Dave Briggs continued his consistent work with the Lady Mikes in leading them into the PIAA postseason.

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