West Greene has its way in romp
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
West Greene softball coach Bill Simms wanted his team to start quickly in the the WPIAL Class 1A championship game against Monessen Thursday at California University. He got what he hoped for.
West Greene ( 22- 1) grabbed control with a three-run first inning and never looked back en route to winning its second consecutive WPIAL title, 10-0, against Monessen (15-6). The Pioneers (22-1) added two runs in the third and one in the fourth before a four-run outburst in the sixth.
“We were hoping for a crooked number in the first,” Simms said. “The late tack-on ones ... were twofold. It gave us momentum and took some away from them.”
The Pioneers’ back-toback titles are the school’s first in any sport.
“Our school is small. We battle geography and kids. We get thumped on here and there,” Simms said. “To be the team on top for a while, we’re just going to revel in it for a while.”
Freshman Jade Renner, who entered the game with a 14-1 record and a 1.55 ERA, threw six scoreless innings. She also went 1 for 2 with two RBIs.
“This morning, I was pacing around my room thinking, ‘Oh God, 1 p.m. please don’t come,’ because I was just so nervous,” Renner said. “When I got in there and started hitting my spots and got my changeup going, I felt really well.”
Madison Renner, Jade’s older sister, made history in the sixth when she belted a two-run home run over the left-field fence. It was the first homer from a WPIAL Class 1A player at Lilley Field.
Kaitlyn Rizor, who went 3 for 4, followed the blast with a triple, and Jade Renner followed with an RBI single. The Pioneers scored the coveted 10th run on single from junior Linzee Stover.
Monessen threatened in the sixth, stringing together back-to-back two-out hits, but Jade Renner recovered and struck out junior catcher Carly Rock to end the game an inning early because of the 10-run rule.
The Pioneers will enjoy the win, but their focus soon will shift to the PIAA tournament, where they will try to avenge a title-game loss last year.