A-K Valley softball capules: Games of Monday, May 21, 2018

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, May 19, 2018 | 11:51 PM

Class 6A

Quarterfinals

No. 7 Kiski Area (11-6) vs. No. 2 Albert Gallatin (11-3)

4 p.m. Monday at Upper St. Clair

Winner plays: No. 3 Penn-Trafford (16-3) or No. 11 Thomas Jefferson (11-5)

Extra bases: Kiski Area beat Mars, 8-3, on Wednesday in the first round for its first postseason victory since 2008. The Cavaliers scored four runs each in the third and fifth to rally from an early two-run deficit. They've won eight of their last nine games. Junior Megan Andree stars in the circle for Kiski Area and struck out seven against Mars. Kassandra Cessna and Alayna Mintz each drove in a pair of runs. … Section 2-5A champion Albert Gallatin finished third in the WPIAL last season to advance to the PIAA playoffs. The Colonials boast one of the most explosive offenses in the area, clubbing 25 home runs in 14 regular-season games. Sophomore Annalia Paolia leads the way; she's hitting .510 with 10 homers and 29 RBIs. Junior Maddie Flowers is batting .520 with three homers and 19 RBIs, and senior Ally Bezjak is at .451 with three homers and 28 RBIs. Albert Gallatin is hitting .402 as a team.

Class 3A

Quarterfinals

No. 2 Freeport (12-0) vs. No. 7 Waynesburg (10-7)

3 p.m. Monday at Plum

Winner plays: No. 3 Southmoreland (7-7) or No. 6 Steel Valley (13-6)

Extra bases: Freeport is coming off a first-round bye after winning the Section 1-3A championship, its first title since 2000. Now the Yellowjackets will look to get past the quarterfinals; they have lost in this round seven times since 2000, including each of the past two years. Freeport hits .379 as a team, led by junior Ally DeJidas (.622, five homers, 22 RBIs) and senior Ashleigh Schmidt (.512, 1 homer, 10 RBIs). Schmidt is 9-0 with a 1.25 ERA in the circle. … Waynesburg advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-3 win over Freedom in the first round. It's the Raiders' first appearance in this round since 2014. Like Freeport, Waynesburg boasts a prolific offense. Rachel Elsenheimer (.589, four homers, 29 RBIs), Sydney Hare (.472, four homers, 26 RBIs) and Bailee Shimek (.415, three homers, 26 RBIs) provide the big bats, but the Raiders had a 6.27 team ERA.

No. 5 Burrell (12-4) vs. No. 4 Avonworth (12-6)

4 p.m. Monday at West Mifflin

Winner plays: No. 1 South Park (14-1) or No. 9 Ellwood City (9-5)

Extra bases: Burrell is in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season after beating McGuffey, 10-4, in the first round. The Bucs lost on a walk-off to eventual champion Ellwood City in this round last season and are seeking their first semifinal trip since 2011. Pitt-Greensburg recruit Brittany Dunn leads Burrell. She drove in four runs against McGuffey, including a three-run homer, and also struck out eight in the circle. Leadoff hitter Kayla Santucci had four hits against McGuffey. … Avonworth won the Section 2-3A title, its lone loss in section play coming in an explosive 20-19 game against Ellwood City, and has won nine of its past 11 games. The Antelopes lost in the quarterfinals to Deer Lakes last season. The team has an explosive offense, reaching double figures 10 times and winning nine of those games.

Class A

Quarterfinals

No. 3 Leechburg (12-4) vs. No. 6 Sewickley Academy (11-4)

2 p.m. Monday at Hampton Community Park

Winner plays: No. 2 Monessen (13-3) or No. 7 Riverview (12-4)

Extra bases: In the WPIAL playoffs for a record 32nd consecutive season, Leechburg earned a first-round bye for the second straight year. The Blue Devils defended their Section 3-A title. Last season Leechburg won a postseason game for the first time since 2010 but ended up one win short of a PIAA tournament appearance. Senior Morgan Pierce is a four-year starter at pitcher, the latest in a long lineage of standouts in the circle at Leechburg. She pitched five shutouts and also bats leadoff for a team that scored double-digit runs eight times. Three freshmen start for the Blue Devils, including McKenna Pierce, Morgan's younger sister and the Blue Devils' No. 3 hitter. … Sewickley Academy beat Mapletown, 13-12, in a first-round slugfest. The Panthers rallied from a five-run deficit in the sixth inning, scoring five runs in the sixth and three in the seventh to get a walk-off win. Kaylee Paterson went 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs, and Olivia Ryder was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Sewickley Academy scored at least 10 runs in all of its victories this season. The Panthers lost in the quarterfinals last season.

No. 7 Riverview (12-4) vs. No. 2 Monessen (13-3)

4 p.m. Monday at Canon-McMillan

Winner plays: No. 3 Leechburg (12-4) or No. 6 Sewickley Academy (11-4)

Extra bases: Riverview blasted Quigley Catholic, 21-0, in three innings in the first round to pick up its first postseason victory since 2012. The Raiders, 9-1 in their last 10 games, put away the game by scoring 13 runs in the first inning, sending 19 batters to the plate. Katelyn Davis doubled three times and knocked in four runs and Carys Kenny-Howell had three hits and three RBIs as all of Riverview's starters reached base. Kenny-Howell struck out eight in a three-inning no-hitter. The Raiders are looking to avenge last season's 11-0 first-round loss to Monessen. … Monessen tied West Greene for the Section 2-A championship. The Greyhounds, the 2017 WPIAL runner-up, lost two of their final four regular-season games, to Class 2A playoff qualifier Chartiers-Houston and Class 4A playoff qualifier Belle Vernon. Their other loss came to West Greene. Pitcher Dana Vatakis, a Robert Morris recruit, is 13-3 with a 1.07 ERA and 197 strikeouts and also is hitting .554 with three homers and 23 RBIs.

No. 8 St. Joseph (11-4) vs. No. 1 West Greene (16-4)

6 p.m. Monday at Canon-McMillan

Winner plays: No. 4 Union (15-2) or No. 12 Bishop Canevin (9-5)

Extra bases: St. Joseph advanced to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season with a 13-0 rout of Western Beaver in the first round. The Spartans scored 12 runs in the first inning of the game, with Serena Edgar hitting a grand slam, and didn't strand a baserunner. Edgar and fellow senior Anna Swierczewski, who had three RBIs against Western Beaver, are St. Joseph's top hitters, while Shelby Gogal the No. 1 pitcher. St. Joseph is seeking its first semifinal appearance. … West Greene is the defending WPIAL and PIAA champion and tied Monessen for the Section 2-A title. The Pioneers scored double-digit runs in 14 of their games this season. Five regulars are hitting .450 or better, led by junior McKenna Lampe at .554. Madison Renner and Madison Lampe each hit five homers and drove in 31 runs, and Jade Renner cracked nine doubles and knocked in 26 runs. The Renner sisters split the pitching responsibilities.

Tags: Albert Gallatin, Avonworth, Burrell, Freeport, Kiski School, Leechburg, Monessen, Riverview, Sewickley Academy, St. Joseph, Waynesburg, Waynesburg Central