Payback time is now for Gladiators

By JEREMY TEPPER

For the MV Independent

Anxiously, the South Allegheny softball team is waiting for the playoffs to start.

When the Gladiators step onto the field Monday against Ellwood City in the WPIAL 3A quarterfinals, it will be 13 days since they played their last game. Those days have been spent trying to stay locked in, trying to maintain the feeling they had when the season ended with a five-game winning streak.

Only so much can be replicated, or attempted to be replicated in practices. But this group, led by six seniors, has managed the time well.

“We’re ready to get back to work,” said South Allegheny coach Hal Minford. “The kids have been excellent. They understand where we’ve been, where we want to go and what it takes. We’re very disappointed how last year ended with a 4-1 loss. We didn’t hit. The key to us this year is we have to hit.”

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