Plenty of highlights in MVI Senior Swing

By JEREMY SELLEW

jsellew@yourmvi.com

One of my all-time favorite TV or movie quotes comes from “The A-Team,” spoken by none other than John “Hannibal” Smith.

“I love it when a plan comes together.”

Over the past few weeks, the Mon Valley Independent Senior Swing Tournament has put local softball players back on the field. 

We started games June 29 and have run every Tuesday and Wednesday since. The event culminates with the semifinals Tuesday and the championship Wednesday.

Jaguars FP and Perryopolis will face off in one semi while Warriors FP and Rams FP will have a rematch in the other. The winners collide under the lights at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the DiVirgilio Complex in Rostraver Township.

The biggest highlight for us here was simply getting to see the players back on the dirt. But there have been plenty of highlights during game play.

Here are some of the things I’ll never forget:

• So far, the best game of the bunch has been Rams FP’s win over Falcons FP in the first round of bracket play.

Literally a half hour after completing Red Division play with a 5-1 loss to Warriors Fast Pitch, the Rams battled for a 3-1 win over the Falcons in eight innings.

Play in the eighth began with the International Tie Breaker rules in effect, putting a runner at second base to start the inning. The Rams scored twice in the eighth to pull off an exciting win.

• Perryopolis’ diminutive slugger Kathryn Barch jacked a pair of two-run homers in the first inning of the Commodores’ lopsided win over Ringgold FP’s Juniors Tuesday. The only thing better than her performance at the plate were the pictures our photographers captured of her in the game.

Head coach Don Hartman’s crew has outscored teams 49-0 over the tournament and has allowed only one hit.

While most of the Perry roster is made up of state championship winning players, contributions from freshmen have been pivotal.

Delaney Warnick and Jensyn Hartman have shown they have plenty of pop in their bats, and Maria Felsher has been clutch hitting in the No. 9 spot, showing she can put the ball almost anywhere she wants it.

To read the rest of this story, please see a copy of Saturday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at https://e.monvalleyindependent.com.