Belle Vernon wins classic pitchers’ duel, 2-0
Edward K.Thompson
Belle Vernon’s Bailey Parshall winds up before unloading a pitch during Wednesday’s non-section game at Monessen. Parshall tossed a 1-hitter in the Lady Leopards’ 2-0 victory.
Edward K.Thompson
Monessen’s Dana Vatakis prepares to throw a pitch during Wednesday’s non-section home game against Belle Vernon.
Belle Vernon's Sophia Godzak pulls the bat back on a bunt attempt as the ball crosses the plate during Wednesday's non-section game at Monessen.
MONESSEN — In an epic pitching duel between Belle Vernon’s Bailey Parshall and Monessen’s Dana Vatakis, the Lady Leopards eked out a 2-0 non-section road victory.
A large crowd gathered to watch two of the best softball pitchers in the state do battle and it was Parshall who walked away with the win.
Parshall struck out the first 14 batters she faced and finished with 17 strikeouts in the game. Parshall had a perfect game entering the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Lady Greyhounds’ Sydney Caterino broke up bid with a bunt single.
The Lady Greyhounds were unable capitalize on their lone hit as Parshall stranded Caterino to preserve the 2-0 win.
Meanwhile, Vatakis also had an exceptional game, striking out 13 batters and allowing only four hits with no earned runs.
Belle Vernon coach Tom Rodriguez talked about facing an ace pitcher like Vatakis, saying, “That was the most we’ve struck out all year. I told the girls that they have to choke up a bit and get the bat on the ball.”
In the top of the first, Belle Vernon (17-3) was able to capitalize on a few errors committed by Monessen (12-3) to load the bases. Then, with two outs, Alex Sokol produced an RBI single, scoring Jordan French from third to make it a 1-0 Belle Vernon lead.
“We had a few errors, but I’m really pleased with how our defense played today,” explained Monessen coach Bo Teets. “The ball just made a couple of weird bounces in the first inning, and we’ve even been the beneficiaries of a few lucky bounces this year.”
Fast forward to the top of the sixth inning, the Lady Leopards added another run courtesy of an RBI single by Vanessa Porter to give Belle Vernon a 2-0 lead.
“Bailey’s a great pitcher, and she deserves all of the accolades she gets,” explained Teets. “There were times we were outmatched today, but it was a really good tuneup heading into the playoffs.”
“It was fun and just interesting to see two pitchers going against each other head-to-head and what we’d do,” said Vatakis.
Vatakis and Parshall combined for 30 strikeouts in the game.
“When I got to the game, I just treated it as just another game, and I didn’t want to overhype it,” said Parshall. “Dana (Vatakis) threw the pitches to her advantage, having us at a disadvantage all game, so we have to have a better approach moving forward.”
Monessen travels to Southmoreland (7-6) at Alverton Primary Center today in non-section action.
Both teams await the announcement of the WPIAL softball playoff pairings on Thursday.