Remember When?: Leopards top rivals for softball crown
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
For the second time in three seasons, Belle Vernon Area hoisted the WPIAL softball championship trophy while rival Yough watched from the first-base line.
The Leopards and Cougars met for the third time this season Thursday, with BVA coming out on top in the WPIAL Quad-A championship game, 4-1, at California University’s Lilley Field.
The teams split their previous meetings, winning on their home fields and sharing the Section 2 championship. Yough won 2-0 on Cougar Mountain and BVA prevailed, 5-4, in 12 innings at Washington Township.
But this game was for higher stakes and Bailey Parshall took over.
She fired a four-hitter and struck out nine, bringing her total to 224 strikeouts on the season, but her bat did the most damage.
The Penn State recruit was 3 for 3 with three doubles, the third of which brought home BVA’s final two runs to break open a 2-1 game in the top of the sixth inning.
“The sixth inning was a killer,” Yough coach Dutch Harvey said.
Kaitlyn Carr drew a walk and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Megan Christner. Lexie Church followed with a walk before Parshall ripped a deep fly ball over the head of the Cougars’ Olivia Miller.
“I’m surprised he pitched to BP there,” BVA coach Tom Rodriguez said. “She killed the ball twice earlier and she loves to hit.”
Parshall said the Leopards’ preparation helped lead to their eight-hit attack.
“I’ve really been seeing the ball well at the plate,” she said. “And we worked on outside pitches on the tee and driving the ball to centerfield. That’s exactly what I saw all day and that’s what happened on that last one.”
The two runs came at the perfect time as Miller had hammered a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the fifth to cut the Leopards’ lead to 2-1 and swung the momentum back to the Cougars.
Hailey Warrick and Kayley Westerman each followed with hard-hit singles to put two runners on with nobody out.
“I just took a deep breath and settled down,” Parshall said. “I knew I had to settle in and sit the next three down. That’s what I did.”
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