Alle-Kiski Valley PIAA softball capsule: Game for Monday, June 5, 2023

By: Michael Love
Sunday, June 4, 2023 | 4:57 PM

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PIAA

Softball

Class 3A

First Round

7-3 Burrell (14-6) at 6-1 Juniata (22-3)

4 p.m. Monday at Juniata High School, Mifflintown

Winner plays: Winner of 7-1 Avonworth (21-1)/10-2 Fort LeBoeuf (20-1) on Thursday in second round (site/time TBD)

Players to Watch: Katie Armstrong, Burrell; Liz Gaisior, Juniata

Extra-bases: Burrell is in the PIAA playoffs for the second year in a row after an eight-season hiatus. The Bucs clinched the third seed in the WPIAL with a 3-0 victory over Waynesburg Central in the third-place game last Tuesday (May 30) at Gateway. Burrell is 6-3 in the postseason the past two seasons. Armstrong struck out 14 Waynesburg batters to give her 258 on the season. She and the Bucs defense limited their four WPIAL opponents to five combined runs. Three of them came in the semifinal heartbreaker to eventual WPIAL champion Avonworth. … Monday’s game is a matchup of pitchers who have combined for more than 1,400 career strikeouts. Gaisior, a left-handed Fordham commit for Juniata, has close to 800. The Indians scored in the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie and top Forest Hills to capture their first-ever District 6 Class 3A title. Gaisior surrendered just one run in three district tournament games and struck out 53. She fanned 19 against Forest Hills. Juniata, in addition to winning its first District 6 title, will compete in the PIAA playoffs for the first time. The Indians played a conference schedule made up entirely of District 3 teams as the school is located close to the boundary of District 3.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell