Warriors earn state playoff bid

By JEREMY SELLEW

jsellew@yourmvi.com

Saying the Elizabeth Forward and West Mifflin softball teams are familiar with one another may be an understatement.

The two teams met for the third time this season in Tuesday’s WPIAL consolation game, with the right to advance to the state playoffs on the line. The third chapter’s result mirrored the other two meetings. Only this one was closer.

The Warriors — who entered as the No. 1 seed in Class 4A — got a big strikeout and needed some great defense for the final out to preserve a narrow 4-3 win over the Titans to advance to the PIAA playoffs. The game was a sharp contrast to the first two meetings, which EF won by 10-run rule.

Warriors pitcher Kailey Larcinese struck out West Mifflin’s Lauren Yuhas, an Ohio University recruit, for the second out of the seventh inning and EF right fielder Lauren Vay made a diving grab in the right-center field gap for the final out to strand the tying run on second and send the Warriors to states.

“Despite the struggles the past couple games, Lauren has made big plays out there all season for us,” EF head coach Harry Rutherford said with a big smile on his face. “It’s nothing we haven’t come to expect all season. She’s made a lot of catches just like that one all season.”

The seventh started with Larcinese getting Jaslyn Guenther to fly out to Vay. That brought up Yuhas, the leadoff hitter. She was already 1 for 3 in the game, but most of what the Titans have done all season starts with Yuhas at the top of the lineup.

“She is a great player,” Larcinese said. “She’s one of the best players in our section and probably their best player.”

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