Mt. Pleasant softball uses 2-out rally to beat Southmoreland in slugfest

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, April 11, 2025 | 10:16 PM

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Mt. Pleasant heard the car horns and the cheers when Southmoreland went ahead in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was like a party erupted behind the outfield fence.

But the Lady Vikings made some noise of their own with a two-out rally in their final at-bats to silence the Scotties in a Section 1-3A softball slugfest.

Pitcher Dani Trainer cranked a three-run homer with two down in the top of the seventh to propel first-place Mt. Pleasant to a 12-11 victory over No. 4 Southmoreland on Friday in frosty Alverton.

“I thought nine runs gave us a good chance to win,” Mt. Pleasant coach Paul Reho said. “But this is Mt. Pleasant-Southmoreland. It goes back and forth. This is kind of what you expect. It doesn’t get much better than this. What a game.”

The teams combined for 23 runs and 25 hits, trading leads five times before Mt. Pleasant (5-3, 3-0) came back to win its third straight game.

“I had a feeling things were going to turn around,” Trainer said. “No matter how much we get behind, we can always get back into it. We are resilient.”

Southmoreland (3-3, 1-1), which had won three straight, took an 11-9 lead on a two-run homer from Taylor Doppelheuer, prompting fans who parked behind the fence to honk their car horns with elation.

Makayla Brown ripped an RBI double, and Zoey Murphy, who had a career day, hit a run-scoring single to tie it 9-9.

But Mt. Pleasant wasn’t going quietly.

With two down, Layla Gratzinger and Carly Surma both singled to right to set up Trainer’s big blast.

Mt. Pleasant did not strike out against Murphy.

Asked about his team’s resilience, Reho said, “Playing Southmoreland helps. I am very happy with the way we responded. Dani is good in big moments.”

The Vikings closed it out with a game-ending double play.

Kendra Brunson gave the Vikings a 9-7 lead in the sixth when she crushed a grand slam — the team’s fourth straight hit in the inning — after Surma doubled and Trainer and Stanek singled.

The Scotties regained command late but knew the advantage was unsettled.

“When you play a good team it’s always about the little things,” Scotties coach Todd Bunner said. “We can’t make errors and lose our minds when they get on base. Errors hurt us today. We can see how we match up against a team like Mt. Pleasant.”

In a game that won’t be remembered for its pitching and defense — both teams made four errors — the big hits kept coming.

After falling behind 5-3 while making two errors in the top of the fourth, Southmoreland took a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the frame on Murphy’s two-run blast, which followed a two-run double from Brown.

Murphy was 4 for 4 with four RBIs to lead the Scotties. The imposing left-hander took the loss in the circle.

Brunson was 3 for 4 with four RBIs, and Trainer, Gianna Stanek, and Surma — the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 hitters — had two hits each.

Abigail Grabiak had three hits, including two triples, for Southmoreland, which was playing just its second game in 14 days. It was one of the few games played Friday.

A tarped infield was game-ready, but the outfielders negotiated some muddy spots in the grass.

Both teams were just glad to play a game in what has been a stop-and-start kind of week with rain and cold.

“We’re tired of being in the gym,” Bunner said. “The girls wanted to get out and play. I know we can hit the ball. We’ll clean some things up defensively. We play them again and hopefully it’s a better result.”

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

Tags: Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland