High school roundup for May 18, 2021: Franklin Regional knocks off defending softball champ

By: Tribune-Review
Tuesday, May 18, 2021 | 11:03 PM

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Thanks in large part to the bat of Sydney Jackson, No. 11 Franklin Regional defeated No. 6 West Allegheny 4-1 in a WPIAL softball Class 5A first-round playoff game Tuesday, dethroning the three-time defending champs.

Jackson hit a three-run home run in the third inning and an RBI single in the fifth to account for all of Franklin Regional’s runs. Jackson and Kamaria Kelly went 3 for the Panthers (10-7).

Winning pitcher MaKinzie DeRiggi gave up four hits and struck out three. Angela Costa homered in the fourth inning to give West Alelgheny (13-4) its lone run.

Chartiers Valley 9, Thomas Jefferson 5 – Zoe Mangan hit a tie-breaking grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning to lead No. 5 Chartiers Valley (13-7) to a first-round win in Class 5A. Marta Gualazzi went 3 for 3 and Kenz Maga singled and doubled. Madison Crump drove in a pair. Graci Fairman went 4 for 4 with a home run and Alyssa McCormich also homered for No. 12 Thomas Jefferson (8-6).

North Hills 4, Trinity 2 – Abby Scheller had a two-run single in the third inning and an RBI single in the fifth to lead No. 8 North Hills (14-5) to a Class 5A first-round win. Kyra Blauth also had a run-scoring single for the Indians. Winning pitcher Sophia Roncone allowed two hits and struck out nine. Alyssa Rager had a sacrifice fly in the fifth and an RBI single in the seventh for No. 9 Trinity (8-5).

Armstrong 16, South Fayette 3 – Emma Smerick and Riley Kilgore each homered twice as No. 7 Armstrong (13-4) cruised to a Class 5A first-round win in five innings. Jessica Pugh and Mackenzie Egley also homered for the River Hawks. Abbey Girman hit a home run for No. 10 South Fayette (13-8).

Southmoreland 11, Keystone Oaks 9 – Freshman Amareh McCutcheon had three hits including a two-run triple and a two-run homer to lead No. 7 Southmoreland (10-4) to a Class 3A first-round win. Kaylee Dopplehauer doubled and drove in a run for the Scotties, who jumped out to a 9-1 lead. Maria Fratangelo and Lauren Foti homered for No. 10 Keystone Oaks (10-6).

Ellwood City 7, Deer Lakes 5 – Makinley Magill hit a tie-breaking RBI single in the seventh inning and winning pitcher Julian Nardone followed with a run-scoring double as No. 11 Ellwood City (12-4) rallied for a Class 3A first-round win. Angie Nardone singled and doubled for the Wolverines. Hannah Mass drove in three runs and Delanie Kaiser and Reece Hasley doubled for No. 6 Deer Lakes (11-4).

South Allegheny 7, Valley 0 – Breena Komarnisky threw a four-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts to lead No. 5 South Allegheny (12-5) to a Class 3A first-round win. Ava Martorelli doubled, tripled and drove in two runs. Madison Pikula had two hits and Payton Linhart had two RBIs. Ryleigh Karsten and Jada Norman doubled for No. 12 Valley (5-9).

Springdale 11, Rochester 0 – Alexis Hrivnak opened the playoffs with a dominant pitching performance, throwing a five-inning no-hitter to lead Springdale (11-3) past Rochester (4-8) in a Class A first-round game. Hrivnak struck out 13 and walked three. Emily Wilhelm tripled and drove in four runs and Brianna Thompson had a triple three RBIs for the Dynamos, who walked 11 times.

Greensburg Central Catholic 14, Ellis School 1 – Jaden Cox doubled twice and drove in three runs as No. 6 Greensburg Central Catholic (11-4) rolled to a Class A first-round victory in four innings. Riana Booher had a single, double and three RBIs. Isabella Marquez tripled and Makenzee Kenney drove in a pair. Annalise Hammer and Athena Iverson had base hits for No. 11 Ellis School (4-6).

Mapletown 12, St. Joseph 0 – Freshman Devan Clark allowed no runs on four hits as No. 7 Mapletown (9-6) picked up the program’s first playoff victory in a Class A first-round win. The Spartans’ lone threat against Clark and the Maples came in the second inning on back-to-back singles by senior Kelsey DuVall and junior Stella Swanson, but a couple of fielder’s choices later and No. 10 St. Joseph (6-10) left the bases loaded. Mapletown took advantage of six St. Joseph miscues to score four runs in the first inning, six more in the second inning, then single runs in the third and fourth innings. Sophomore Riley Pekar had three hits and three runs scored while junior teammate Taylor Dusenberry had a pair of hits for the Maples.

Bishop Canevin 8, Jefferson-Morgan 3 – Meadow Lokaitis homered and drove in three runs and Bree Bazeck had three hits to lead No. 8 Bishop Canevin (7-6) to a first-round win in Class A. Alysha Cutri singled, doubled and drove in a pair. Cameron Lokaitis had two hits and an RBI for the Crusaders, who were down 1-0 when they scored four runs in the fifth. Payton Farabee had two hits for No. 9 Jefferson-Morgan (5-9)

Lacrosse

No. 12 Franklin Regional and No. 10 Quaker Valley recorded upsets in the first round of the WPIAL Class AA girls lacrosse playoffs.

Gwen Shilling scored the tying goal with less than eight minutes left and the game-winning goal in the final minute to lead Franklin Regional (4-9) to a 9-8 win over No. 5 Seton LaSalle (9-5).

Ruby Hale scored five goals and Paige Gabriele and Kyra Gabriele added four goals apiece as the Quakers (9-6) turned in a decisive 18-5 win over No. 7 Plum (12-7).

No. 6 Aquinas Academy and No. 8 Chartiers Valley also won first-round games.

The seeds held, meanwhile, in Class AAA boys. No. 5 Pine-Richland, No. 6 Bethel Park, No. 7 Peters Township and No. 8 Seneca Valley moved into the quarterfinals.

Volleyball

A pair of No. 11 seeds pulled off upsets on the opening night of the WPIAL boys volleyball playoffs. In Class AAA, Shaler swept No. 6 Peters Township. In Class AA, Thomas Jefferson blanked No. 6 Deer Lakes.

In Class AAA, that was the only upset. No. 2 Norwin, No. 3 Penn-Trafford, No. 4 Hempfield, No. 5 Butler, No. 7 Fox Chapel and No. 8 Norwin moved on to the quarterfinals.

In Class AA, No. 9 Plum knocked off No. 8 Trinity in five games and No. 10 Montour beat No. 7 Mars in four. No. 2 North Catholic, No. 3 Ambridge, No. 4 Hopewell and No. 5 OLSH also moved on to the quarterfinals. OLSH needed five games to defeat No. 12 Bishop Canevin.