Plum among A-K Valley teams gunning for section title as softball season begins

By: Nathan Breisinger
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 | 5:23 PM

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Vying for a title in a softball section that boasts the state runner-up can be quite the challenge. That challenge increases after graduating two all-state players, but that hasn’t deterred Plum from its goal.

Mackenzie Lang and Taylor Lorish, who received Valley News Dispatch first-team all-star nods, are gone and leave a void in the Mustangs lineup.

“It’s hard to replace what they did last year, but we are going to have to rely on people from last year to step it up,” Plum coach Phil DiLonardo said.

The Mustangs will turn to a pair of VND second-team all-stars, junior Dani Pici and sophomore Riley Stephans.

After going 10-7 overall last season before bowing out in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A tournament, Pici believes Plum can make that leap to compete in Section 1 even against a talented Shaler team that was a PIAA finalist.

“I believe we can win the section if we play hard and we focus on what the other team is better at and if we focus on that at practice,” Pici said.

Pici, who will catch for Stephans, knows she needs to take on a bigger role if her team is going to challenge.

“I’m focusing on being a better leader,” she said. “Being more vocal, speaking to my pitcher every pitch she throws, telling the infield and outfield how many outs there are and where the runners are and what the play is, calming everyone down by calling timeouts.”

Plum is one of several Alle-Kiski Valley softball teams expecting to challenge for section titles this season.

Fellow playoff team Fox Chapel (8-12, 4-6) will look to stand in the Mustangs’ way in Section 1-5A.

Knoch again could be knocking on the door of a section championship after securing a share of the Section 1-4A title last year with West Mifflin. The Knights (8-2 in the section in ’23) split the season series with the Titans with a 7-6 victory and 8-0 loss, along with a split against Indiana.

“We’re going to have to beat West Mifflin and Indiana to win the section. It’s going to come down to those two teams as the teams to beat,” second-year coach Chris Gardner said.

For the first time, the Knights will head to spring training to commence its season.

“Knoch’s never been to spring training, so I’m taking a team to Myrtle Beach this year,” Gardner said. “It’s going to benefit our girls getting together and getting some reps down there.”

While Knoch prepares near the beach, other area teams will battle for supremacy in a loaded Section 1-3A that includes district champion Avonworth, along with Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport and Valley.

Despite losing all-state player Katie Armstrong to graduation, Burrell seeks to improve upon a 14-7 record from last year and a WPIAL semifinal berth with a new coach at the helm.

Dave Ferres takes over the Bucs after years as a travel baseball and softball coach and a former 36th-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Reds. Though there are no seniors on the Bucs roster, Ferres will have juniors Braelyn Jones and Pyper Ferres, both VND first-team all-stars, at his disposal.

After a third-place finish in the section a year ago, Deer Lakes (10-6, 6-4) again will be a tough out with senior pitcher Maddie Kee leading the way. She was 10-5 with a 2.64 ERA and 127 strikeouts last season.

Freeport coach Ron DeJidas understands his section is one of the more daunting in the WPIAL, but the team is back at full strength after losing star Sydney Selker and Abby DeJidas to injury last season and going 5-12, 3-7.

“Losing those two to injuries really set us back last year,” the coach said. “Sydney is definitely going to be a major contributor, especially defensively, but offensively as well. When she goes, we’ll go.”

Along with Ferres, Ashtin Kirkwood will be new to the local softball coaching ranks she takes over an Apollo-Ridge team that went 6-10 overall and 5-5 in Section 2-2A.

“I’m excited to step up to a new rank in competition, as last year I was the assistant softball coach for the Kiski middle school team,” Kirkwood said. “During my time playing, I realized that I wanted to one day pass on my passion and knowledge about the game, leading me to want to turn softball into a career.”

In Section 3-A, Leechburg will look to punch its ticket to the postseason for the 37th consecutive year. After a second-place finish in its section (10-2), Leechburg went on to beat South Side, 8-1, in the opening round of the playoffs before falling to Carmichaels, 13-3, in Round 2.

Other Class A teams include Springdale (0-11, 0-11) and St. Joseph in Section 3.

The Spartans received welcome news when senior Anna Kreinbrook decided to rejoin the team after not playing a year ago because of a conflict with AAU basketball. Senior and star basketball player Julie Spinelli and classmate Jamie Noonan will be relied upon this season after the Spartans missed the playoffs last year.

“We have senior leadership,” coach Don Noonan said. “We have six seniors coming back this year. We’ve gotten better with those six players. We all agreed as a team that we have to come out of the gates hitting the ball better.”

Along with St. Joseph, several other area teams will look to improve upon their position in the standings this season. Kiski Area finished fifth in Section 2-5A and returns outfielder Mackenzie Rainey, who received VND second-team honors last year.

In Section 1-4A, Highlands ended last season with a 3-7 record and aims to climb the ranks behind junior shortstop Carrah Scardina, who led the Golden Rams with a .438 batting average and 27 RBIs.

For the second year in a row, Riverview will not field a team. The Raiders dealt with low numbers last season and have to sit out this year based on the two-year alignment cycle.