Decade’s best WPIAL finals: Softball No. 1
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Wednesday, June 10, 2020 | 11:54 PM
Belle Vernon players, from left, Alyssa Larson, Erica Amoroso and Megan Christner run to greet Emily Frederick after she hit a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Yough in the 2015 WPIAL Class AAA championship game.
From classification expansion to field renovations forcing a change in the venue for the district championships, there was a lot going on with the WPIAL softball championships this past decade.
From Lilly Field at Cal (Pa.) to Seton Hill to a mishmash of title games played here and there or anywhere there was turf in a battle against Mother Nature, there have been plenty of memorable moments at the WPIAL softball finals.
Wash, rinse and repeat was the theme in district softball these past 10 years as nine schools were able to successfully defend their WPIAL championships this past decade, including a three-peat by West Allegheny, a four-peat by West Greene and one for the thumb with five straight championships for Hempfield.
So, while the third decade of the 21st century got off to a slow start with the 2020 season wiped away, here is a look back at the last 10 years with a countdown of the Top 10 WPIAL softball championship games.
No. 1 – Cat comeback
They say the final three outs to win a championship game are the toughest ones to get.
In the 2015 Class AAA title game, after cruising through the first 18 outs, Yough could not get the final three and its title hopes slipped away.
The worst thing for the Cougars was their heartbreaking loss came at the hands of the rival Leopards, as Belle Vernon celebrated gold while Yough was left to wonder what just happened.
Yough led 4-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth when Belle Vernon finally plated a run to pull to within three with one inning left.
With the help of some shoddy defense by Yough, Belle Vernon rallied for four runs to win a wild one at Cal U. Freshman Baily Parshall was the winning pitcher for the Leopards. She would also be the winning pitcher in the 2017 and 2018 championship games for Belle Vernon.
Click the final score below for the recap of the Leopards’ comeback win over the Cougars.
Decade’s best WPIAL softball finals:
No. 2 – 2018 Class 6A: Hempfield over Latrobe
No. 3 – 2010 Class AA: Valley over Burrell
No. 4 – 2010 Class A: Vincentian Academy over Chartiers-Houston
No. 5 – 2012 Class AA: Deer Lakes over Greensburg Central Catholic
No. 6 – 2018 Class 2A: Laurel over Frazier
No. 7 – 2018 Class A: West Greene over Monessen
No. 8 – 2018 Class 4A: Belle Vernon over Elizabeth Forward
No. 9 – 2012 Class A: Chartiers-Houston over Carmichaels
No. 10 – 2015 Class A: Jefferson-Morgan over Chartiers-Houston
Tags: Belle Vernon, Yough
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