Bethel Park wins wild one against Peters Township
Bethel Park and Peters Township were playing a typical low-scoring softball game though six innings.
That’s when things completely changed.
In the final two innings, the teams combined for 19 runs as Bethel Park ( 7- 6, 5- 3) locked up a spot in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs with a bizarre 13-10 victory against Peters Township (4-9, 1-6).
Senior pitcher Mackenzie Wade picked up the win despite allowing 10 runs, five earned, walking six and striking out five in eight innings. She also did a ton of damage at the plate by going 4 for 5 with a homer and five RBIs.
With the game tied 2-2 heading into the seventh inning, Bethel Park scored twice to take a 4-2 lead only to see Peters Township tie it up in the home half of the frame. The Black Hawks then put up nine in the top of the eighth for a 13-4 advantage, but the Indians nearly came all the way back as they crossed the plate six times before Wade shut them down.
Other softball
• West Allegheny made its debut as the No. 1 team in Class 5A and it didn’t go well. The Indians (14-2, 7-1), whose only loss this season came at The Ripken Experience in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. against
Lake Park (Ill.), were dealt a 62 loss by Western Beaver (4-5, 3-5), a team they had beaten last week.
• Uniontown was just a few days from a showdown for first place in Section 2 against Elizabeth Forward in what would have been a battle of teams with unblemished section marks. But that was before the Class 4A No. 4 Red Raiders (7-2, 7-1) were rolled by rival Laurel Highlands (4-6, 4-5), 10-0, as Izzy Coleman struck out six in a complete-game shutout and Harlie Dirda went 3 for 3 with two doubles, a walk and three RBIs.
• Carmichaels has not been happy since it dropped a one-run decision to Chartiers-Houston on Friday and took it out on its past two opponents. This time, sophomore shortstop Carys McConnell went 2 for 3 with a grand slam and five RBIs and pitcher Bailey Barnyak went 2 for 3, drove in three and struck out 10 as the Class 1A No. 3 Mikes (8-2, 51) romped to an 18-2, five-inning win against California (110, 1-8). Carmichaels has won its past two games by a combined 25-5.
• Julia Resnik hit two solo home runs and Hannah Evans homered and drove in two runs as Class 4A No. 1 Elizabeth Forward (10-1, 8-0) rolled past reigning WPIAL champion Belle Vernon (11-4, 6-4), 11-1 in a Section 2 matchup. Katie Sokol hit a solo shot off the
Warriors’ Shelby Telegdy in the bottom of the seventh that was the first run the Seton Hill commit has allowed in a section game this season. Telegdy only gave up three hits and fanned 10.
• Pitcher Sydney Gonglik continues to shine for Bentworth. The freshman tossed a one-hitter as the Class 2A No. 2 Bearcats (10-2, 8-0) pulled out a 4- 0 victory against Charleroi (9-3, 6-3) to move to within a game of wrapping up at least a share of the Section 3 title. Gonglik has not allowed a run in a section game as Bentworth has outscored its section foes 85-0.
• Rylee Gray and Abby Brooks each homered, with Brooks’ dinger being the final run in the sixth inning to enact the mercy rule as two-time defending WPIAL Class 3A champion Avonworth ( 7- 3, 5- 1) moved back into a share of first place in Section 1 with a 10-0 win against Deer Lakes (8-5, 53). The Antelopes, who got an 11-strikeout complete game from Alivia Lantzy, are now in a virtual tie with Burrell (8-4, 6-2), which was upset by Freeport.
Milestone
Fox Chapel senior midfielder Sydney Schutzman scored three goals, including the 200th of her career, to lead the Foxes’ girls lacrosse team to a 9-8 victory against rival Shady Side Academy. She now has 202 in her career.