West Greene goes back-to-back for Class A softball title
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Thursday, June 14, 2018 | 1:27 PM
UNIVERSITY PARK — One thing the West Greene softball team has done over the past few seasons is put the rural Greene County school on the map.
No longer will people across the state ask, “Where is West Greene?”
The small school located south of Waynesburg in southwestern Pennsylvania is quickly becoming known as a softball factory.
Fans of high school softball know where the Pioneers are from, especially after they won their second consecutive PIAA Class A title Thursday at Penn State's Nittany Lion Softball Park.
West Greene pounded out 19 hits and defeated District 11 champion Williams Valley, 11-7, tying the highest scoring output in a championship game. Central Columbia defeated Bald Eagle Area, 13-5, in 2014.
It was the third consecutive year the teams met in the finals. Williams Valley won 3-2 in a walk-off in 2016, and West Greene rallied from a 7-0 deficit in 2017 for a 9-8 win.
“This is big for our community and our school,” West Greene coach Bill Simms said. “To see people drive four hours up here and give it their all while we tried to give it our all is special. My mom (Anna Marie) couldn't make it, and the Rogersville Fire Department made it possible for the elderly in the community to watch the game on TV.”
The Lampe twins — McKenna and Madison — combined for eight hits and seven RBIs to pace the attack.
McKenna Lampe hit for the cycle. Her two-run home run over the 220-foot mark in center field gave West Greene a 3-1 lead in the second inning. She added a two-run triple in a three-run sixth inning after Williams Valley cut a five-run deficit to 8-7.
“I've never done that before,” McKenna Lampe said of the cycle. “It's unbelievable.
“I've been struggling at the plate, but my teammate told me you have to be confident, you have to go to the plate confident and I did.”
Madison Lampe gave West Greene the lead for good at 4-3, with a single in a three-run fourth inning.
“We hit the ball hard, and we were confident that we were going to hit based on what we saw last year,” Simms said. “The little bit we knew of them working two pitchers, we thought we might get into a second pitcher quite frankly. One through nine we are so blessed, the top hits and the bottom rolls things over.”
After Williams Valley took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, West Greene tied the score on a double by Madison Lampe and a single by Jade Renner.
“They are a hitting machine,” Williams Valley coach Ryan Underkoffler said. “We made a few miscues, they got hits at the right time and they got ahead of us pretty good, and we had to play comeback the rest of the game.
“They are absolutely the best team we've faced all season. We knew that from last year, and we'd probably face them again. We knew what to expect, and they played the better game.”
Senior shortstop Madison Renner said she was disappointed she didn't play her best game, but her teammates picked her up.
“I knew if we played our game, we were the team to beat,” she said. “This team is amazing, and it feels amazing to bring back another title back to the community.”
West Greene (23-4) scored in every inning except the third. The Pioneers chased starting pitcher Stevie Unger in the fourth inning.
West Greene could never breathe easy against Williams Valley (23-3), mostly because the Pioneers kept making mistakes that allowed the Vikings to stay in the game. Five of Williams Valley's seven runs were unearned.
“We have strong pitching, and that's what helped kill their rallies,” Simms said. “They hit the ball hard in spots, and they got timely hits.”
Kaitlyn Rizor and Jersey Wise had three hits for West Greene, which kept the pressure on Williams Valley's defense. West Greene stranded 10 runners, including leaving the bases loaded twice.
Williams Valley stranded seven runners.
“We have each other's back the whole season,” Rizor said. “We really started to click, and we know if someone doesn't get a hit the next batter will step up. It's crazy; you never expect to get back-to-back state titles. It's great.”
How about another title in 2019?
“We're going to try,” Rizor said.
Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.
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