Waywood tosses no-hitter as Yough softball blanks Belle Vernon in Section 2-4A

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, April 13, 2018 | 8:06 PM

There were no black cats crossing the infield at Tom Rodriguez field at the Washington Township Complex in Belle Vernon. There were no shattered mirrors in the host's dugout.

But Leopards senior pitcher Bailey Parshall was at a loss when trying to explain all the crazy things that happened to the defending WPIAL 4A champs on Friday the 13th.

No. 2-ranked Yough scored three unearned runs, which was more than enough to back the no-hitter thrown by Kierra Waywood as the Cougars remained perfect in Section 2 and won their eighth straight in a 4-0 whitewash of the No. 4 Leopards on Friday.

“I thought I pitched good enough to win,” said Parshall, a Penn State recruit. “But we couldn't get any hits, and we struggled on defense.”

Parshall may have the star power in WPIAL softball, but on this afternoon, it was the junior Waywood who was shining bright.

“Kierra pitched one of her best games,” Yough coach Dutch Harvey said. “She pitched well, and the defense was solid behind her.”

This was a battle between two premier programs that have battled for gold in a WPIAL softball championship game in two of the last three years; Belle Vernon won the Class AAA title in 2015 and Class 4A crown last spring.

The craziness began in the top of the second when Yough center fielder Savannah Manns grounded to third base where Belle Vernon's Alex Sokol fielded cleanly, but her throw deflected off the glove of her sister, first baseman McKenzie Sokol, for an error. The next batter, Sammie McGhee grounded to second base, but Natalie French's throw to second ended up in left field, and the Cougars had runners on second and third with nobody out. Karlie Clark hit a ground ball to short, but Kourtney Gavatorta's throw home was late and off the mark as Manns scored. The next batter, Kaylee Westerman, hit into a fielder's choice that scored McGhee.

Yough (8-1, 4-0) scored two runs without a hit or a ball leaving the infield.

Another unearned run scored in the fifth when Yough's Hannah Bach bunted for a single, the Cougars' first hit. Bach stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before scoring on another fielder's choice to shortstop.

The game's final run came in the seventh when Bach walked and stole second and was plated on a two-out RBI-single by Aubrie Mance.

Parshall allowed one earned run on three hits with a walk and 11 strikeouts. To add to her frustrating game, Harvey ordered an intentional walk of Parshall in all three of her at-bats. Those walks and a catcher's interference call on a tapper in front of the plate by Belle Vernon's Jaelynn Clegg were the only runners all afternoon for the Leopards (4-2, 2-2).

“We kept on preaching how big of a week this was for us,” Harvey said after section wins over West Mifflin, South Fayette, Elizabeth Forward and now Belle Vernon in consecutive days. “Top to bottom, this is the best this section has been since I've been here. But we need to keep playing well now.”

Or avoid spilling salt or walking under open ladders.

Don Rebel is a TribLive High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Yough