Yough rides Waywood’s no-hitter to 4-0 over Lady Leopards
WASHINGTON TWP. — In a rematch of the 2017 WPIAL Class AAAA championship game, Kierra Waywood no-hit Belle Vernon Area to lead Yough to a 4-0 Section 2-AAAA softball win Friday.
“It feels great to come in here and win considering the rivalry and our history,” said Waywood. “I honestly think this is the best game I have pitched this year and the team did great all around.”
Waywood finished with nine strikeouts while Lady Leopards ace Bailey Parshall had 11 strikeouts and limited Yough to three hits.
“The girls pulled off our game plan perfectly,” Yough coach Dutch Harvey said. “The freshmen came through again, and we were able to take advantage of some errors.
“We wanted to make them make plays because Bailey (Parshall) is a heck of a pitcher and we wanted the girls behind her to have to make plays.
“Usually we split with us winning at home and them winning here so this is big for us.”
BVA coach Tom Rodriguez has said all season that a lack of hitting and errors have hurt his team, and it was no different against Yough.
“Nothing has changed and when you don’t get a hit, you can’t expect to win,” he said. “It is frustrating.”
Harvey chose to intentionally walk Parshall all three of her plate appearances and he spoke with respect about taking the bat out of her hands.
“It is a no-brainer and she will never hit against us again,” he said. “She will never swing a bat against us again and it doesn’t matter if the bases are loaded.
“She is that good and I won’t let her beat us at the plate.”
Rodriguez spoke about the strategy as well.
“Teams may start doing that,” he said. “We need to get one or two runners on before Bailey.”
After a scoreless first, Yough (8-1, 5-0) scored a pair of unearned runs in the second as Belle Vernon (4-2, 2-2) committed three errors.
The Cougars extended their lead to 3-0 in the fifth.
With one out, Hannah Bach singled and stole second before advancing to third on a passed ball.
Bach scored when lead-off hitter Nina Maroney hit a dribbler into the infield and the throw home was late.
In the seventh, Bach scored Yough’s last run when Aubrie Mance singled her in.
Yough’s only other hit was a double by Karlie Clark.
Four-year starters Bach and Mance talked about the win over their bitter rival.
“The seniors, we have never won on this field in our four years so it is pretty cool,” said Bach. “Our freshmen stepped up and it feels good to know we can rely on our younger players to do well.”
“Winning on their field, especially because they always have a big student section that is always loud and cheering, is big” said Mance. “This will boost our confidence as we were able to score early when we have been scoring late this year.
“We have to keep practicing hard and take one game at a time or someone will catch us off guard.”
Both coaches talked about having to put the game behind them and moving forward.
“We are going to make a few minor tweaks and have 13 players who can play,” said Harvey. “That is what is nice as we head into the second half of section play.”
“I told the girls we have to forget about it as we have a lot of section games coming up,” said Rodriguez. “I sure hope the girls can put this behind them since we are at South Fayette tomorrow (Saturday).”