SA rolls to first-round triumph

By JEREMY SELLEW

jsellew@yourmvi.com

South Allegheny softball coach Jenn Stockett admitted she didn’t do much homework on her Gladiators’ first-round opponent.

Turns out, she didn’t need to do much.

The Gladiators did what the Gladiators have done all season Tuesday. They hit the ball hard, they were aggressive on the bases and they forced No. 12 Valley into three errors, which they happily took advantage of. 

The result was a 7-0 win for No. 5 South Allegheny at Fox Chapel to set up a quarterfinal date with No. 4 Avonworth Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

“I didn’t do much research on them. I knew they played Mt. Pleasant. I thought about calling for some info on them, but I got worried about overthinking things,” Stockett said. “I just wanted us to be relaxed and go play our game.”

The Gladiators (12-5) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first behind some two-out lightning from Ava Martorelli and Payton Linhart.

Martorelli ripped a double down the left-field line and Linhart delivered a hard line drive for an RBI single. Those were the lone hits the first time through the South Allegheny batting order and it was clear Valley pitcher Morgan Dunkel’s lack of velocity was a factor.

“A few of our hitters came off and said it was tough to get their timing down,” Stockett said. “In our section, we saw more velocity. Once we got our timing down, we started hitting the ball pretty hard.”

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