BVA edges West Mifflin

By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
Good pitching, good defense and timely hits. Those are the keys to victory for Belle Vernon Area softball coach Tom Rodriguez.
The Leopards got all three of those Wednesday night and used them to advance to the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals thanks to a 2-1 win over No. 5-seed West Mifflin at Boyce-Mayview Park in Upper St. Clair.
Great pitching came from senior Olivia Kolowitz, who threw a complete game four-hitter and struck out nine, as she silenced the heavy-hitting Titans (13-5).
“Olivia was great. Her curveball was on tonight and I swear that thing breaks about a foot,” Rodriguez said using his hands as a measuring stick. “I wasn’t sure I was going to throw her tonight because last year she pitched and we beat them. Then the second time we played them we beat them, but they hit Olivia hard and we brought Talia in. So, I wasn’t quite sure what to do today.”

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