Battery mates Cheyenne Piper, Sydnee Foust to lead Ligonier Valley into PIAA 3A playoffs

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, May 31, 2024 | 5:50 PM

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Softball pitchers get all of the credit when they throw no-hitters, while their catchers humbly remove their masks and pads and wander off into obscurity.

But Ligonier Valley senior ace Cheyenne Piper said she couldn’t be her dominant self without junior Sydnee Foust behind the plate.

Even though they bicker. Even though they disagree. Even though they shake one another off.

The pair often makes it work, to glove-popping, pitch-framing perfection.

“We have a love-hate relationship,” Piper said of her catcher. “We go back and fourth at each other.”

The Rams’ battery mates will power their team into the PIAA Class 3A playoffs Monday.

Ligonier Valley (16-6), the third-place team in the WPIAL, will take on District 6 champion and host Forest Hills (18-2) to begin state play. The start time has not been announced.

Piper — with the help of Foust — has tossed three no-hitters in the past five games, including a perfect game in the WPIAL quarterfinals against Ellwood City.

“They work well together,” Ligonier Valley coach Mark Zimmerman said. “Pipe and Pudge.”

Zimmerman gave Foust the “Pudge” nickname after former Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

“Yes, we butt heads,” Foust said. “But we keep each other focused. If we have a base-running situation or there is an error, we’ll have a talk. I know when to call certain pitches to get her fired up.”

Piper was a freshman when Ligonier Valley made a run at a state title in 2021. Like this year, the Rams lost in the semifinals, then got hot in the PIAA bracket to reach the championship.

They took third in the WPIAL and proceeded to win three straight state games before falling to Line Mountain, 1-0, at Penn State to finish 22-3 with ace Maddie Griffin dealing in the circle.

“This sure does seem to follow suit,” Zimmerman said of this season. “We’re going to try to keep it going as long as the train keeps moving.”

Piper struck out 10 Tuesday as Ligonier Valley blanked Avonworth, 4-0, in the WPIAL third-place game.

That followed a 3-0 loss to South Park in the semis when Sydney Sekely tossed a perfect game to break up Piper’s impressive run.

“We didn’t want to go into the state playoffs on a two-game losing streak,” Zimmerman said. “We beat a good team.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Ligonier Valley