NEW CASTLE — One bad inning proved costly for the Union High baseball team yesterday.

Western Beaver scored four runs in the top of the seventh en route to an 8-4 WPIAL Section 3-A road win over the Scotties.

Union plated two markers in the bottom of the sixth to knot the count at 4. The Scotties committed five errors in the game.

“This was a disappointing game,” Union coach Gene DiGennaro said. “We were outplayed in all phases of the game.

“Our defense continues to struggle. When you struggle defensively against good teams, you put yourself in a hole.”

The Golden Beavers scored a run in the first inning before the Scotties countered with a pair in the second for a 2-1 lead. Western Beaver answered with two runs in the third and another in the fourth for a 4-2 margin.

Union (6-3 section, 10-6 overall) could have grabbed control of second place in the section with the win. Now the Scotties must knock off Rochester today for tiebreaker purposes.

Neshannock (9-0, 15-2) paces the section and Western Beaver (7-2, 8-7) is in second place by a game over Union. The Rams (6-4, 6-9) are a half-game behind the Scotties.

“I’m proud of how they fought back to tie the game,” DiGennaro said. “It was just too much to overcome.

“We had a chance to take control of second place and we didn’t get it done. Now we basically have a one-game playoff (today) at Rochester. It’s a game we need.”

David Wright had two of the Scotties’ three hits. He drove in both of their runs as well.

Devan Schuller started and earned a no-decision for the Scotties. Schuller pitched 2 1/3 innings, giving up three hits and three runs — two earned — with four walks and two strikeouts.

Joe Salmen (4-1) took the loss in relief. Salmen twirled 4 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and five runs — three earned — with two walks and three strikeouts.

“Western Beaver is a good hitting team,” DiGennaro said. “We knew eventually they would get their hits.

“They put together a string of hits in the seventh inning and they just finally got to Salmen.”





Softball

Ellwood City 7,

New Castle 0

The Ellwood City Lincoln High softball team found a way to get it done yesterday.

Kara Sainato pitched and hit the Lady Wolverines to a 7-0 WPIAL Section 1-AAA home win over New Castle.

The win advances Ellwood City (5-5, 6-10) into the WPIAL playoffs. The Lady Wolverines and the Lady ’Canes (5-5, 6-10) split the season series, tying for third place in the section and both teams move on to the postseason.

New Castle won the first meeting, 10-7.

“We’re finally playing like the way we expected to play,” Ellwood City coach Gary Rozanski said. “The win gives us that very important split and now our season continues.

“The girls saw the ball and drove it. They put the ball in play and kept it going. I thought they were very aggressive the whole game.”

Sainato (5-8) went the distance to pick up the win. She gave up just two hits, with a walk and a strikeout.

Sainato added two hits and four RBIs as well.

Asia Borders, Shaelyn Barrett and Alex Conforti posted two hits each for Ellwood City. Conforti knocked in two runs as well.

Ellwood City posted a run in the first, four in the third and two more in the fourth.

Alyea Cioffi (4-4) started and took the loss. Cioffi pitched five innings, allowing five hits and seven runs with one strikeout and four walks.

Both coaches are looking forward to the upcoming challenges in the playoffs.

“We just wanted to get in the playoffs,” second-year New Castle coach Leah Ann Williams said. “That was our goal all year.

“We’re disappointed that we didn’t hit better (last night). But we’re very excited to make the playoffs and we’re ready to start the new season.”

Said Rozanski, “You have to find a way to get in the playoffs. Once you do, anything can happen. The playoffs are kind of expected around here.”





Neshannock 3,

Riverside 2

Madison Altmyer came through in the clutch yesterday for the Neshannock High softball team.

Altmyer delivered a two-run single with one out in the top of the seventh for the visiting Lady Lancers in a 3-2 WPIAL Section 5-AA win over Riverside.

“Altmyer’s hit was clutch,” Neshannock coach Tracy Kimmel said. “We started putting some things together in the seventh.

“I always tell the kids, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done the whole game, there’s always that chance that comes along later.”

The win locks up the section championship outright for the Lady Lancers (13-0 section, 16-0 overall). The Lady Panthers (10-2, 12-2) are in second place, a half-game ahead of Mohawk (10-3, 12-5).

“We’ve won a number of section titles before. This is not new for us,” Kimmel said. “This is just the first step for us.

“We want to take it a whole lot further this year. We’ll start concentrating on the playoffs and go from there.”

Neshannock was trailing 2-1 and was having its struggles against the Lady Panthers’ ace pitcher Kirsten Wilson. Wilson went the distance, giving up just four hits and three runs — two earned — with no walks and 17 strikeouts.

“We weren’t doing much with Wilson,” Kimmel said. “She was pitching lights out. I haven’t seen that good of pitching in a while.

“In the seventh inning, we started to put the bat on the ball. You could see we were starting to get to her.”

Amanda Furst (16-0) earned the win. Furst went the distance, giving up six hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts and one walk.

Neshannock scored its other run in the fourth inning. Riverside plated single markers in the first and sixth frames.

Riverside and Mohawk meet at 4 p.m. tomorrow to decide second place. A Lady Warriors win would tie Riverside for second place. The Lady Panthers won the first meeting, 1-0.

“This is probably the toughest section this year in double-A, just going by the records,” Kimmel said.



Wilmington 10,

Sharon 0

Wilmington put the game away with a seven-run fourth inning in a District 10, Region 2-AA home win over Sharon.

The Lady Greyhounds (3-1, 12-2) rolled up 11 hits in the game, which was stopped after five innings because of the mercy rule.

Abby Sotter (11-2) picked up the win. Sotter pitched five innings, giving up one hit and a walk with 10 strikeouts.

Cassie Marett, Mackenzie Parish, Alexis Donati, Alanna Elliott and Sotter added two hits each.

Donati slugged a two-run homer in the first inning for Wilmington, her first circuit clout of the season. She finished with three RBIs.

Wilmington posted two runs in the first and one run in the third in addition to the fourth-inning uprising.

“I thought the girls played very well,” Lady Greyhounds coach Ed Buchowski said. “Abby pitched a great game. It was probably one of her best outings of the year.”



Shenango 13,

Rochester 2

The Lady Wildcats bounced back from a loss with an easy Section 5-A road win over Rochester.

The game was stopped after six innings because of the mercy rule.

Shenango, which dropped an 8-7 matchup to South Side Beaver on Monday, scored seven runs in the top of the fourth to build an 8-0 lead.

“They came in ready to play,” Lady Wildcats coach Amy Delaney said of her team. “ That was one of the first things they said to me, they were ready to play.

“We were a little slow getting started in the first couple of innings. But then they started really doing a good job of hitting the ball well.”

The Lady Wildcats (10-1, 10-5) banged out 15 hits, led by Alexa Owrey and Jenna Petrucci, both with three hits apiece.

Michelle Watson and Kim Burdett posted two hits each for the winners.

Burdett knocked in four runs and Watson added three. Shelby McCart and Jen Jopek contributed two RBIs each for the Lady Wildcats.

Watson (10-5) picked up the win, hurling six innings. She gave up four hits and two earned runs with a walk and eight strikeouts.

“It’s good to see the bats stay alive,” Delaney said. “Michelle pitched a nice game, too. We played well offensively and defensively.”



South Side Beaver 12,

Union 0

The Lady Scots’ playoff hopes suffered a blow in a Section 5-A home loss to South Side Beaver.

Union (6-5, 8-8) must either beat Shenango tomorrow on the road, or have Rochester lose at least once against Western Beaver and Quigley Catholic to secure a playoff spot.

The Lady Scots managed just three hits in the game, which was stopped after six innings because of the mercy rule.

“South Side Beaver just really killed the ball,” Union coach Gary Trimble said. “They did everything that a good team does; they’re on a roll right now.

“It was just a very difficult game. We started OK, but we couldn’t plate runs and they wore us down.”

Krista Zorens (7-8) suffered the loss. Zorens worked six innings, allowing eight earned runs with five strikeouts and two walks.

The Lady Rams (9-1, 14-3) scored a run in each of the first two innings, before tallying three in the third, one in the fourth and six in the sixth.



Beaver 11,

Laurel 5

Laurel couldn’t come up with enough timely hits in a Section 5-AA home loss to Beaver.

“We couldn’t string the hits together,” Lady Spartans coach Lori Krol said. “We left a lot of runners in scoring position.

“My hat is off to Beaver, they played a great game. They hit the ball really hard. We just couldn’t make the plays.”

Kristan Fedrizzi (4-2) started and took the loss. Fedrizzi pitched three innings, giving up eight hits and five earned runs with two walks and three strikeouts.

Aislinn Deinert paced Laurel (3-10, 6-10) with three hits and Brittany Grannis added a pair.

The Lady Bobcats (4-8, 5-9) notched a run in the first, two in the second, two in the third, four in the sixth and two more in the seventh.

The Lady Spartans posted a run in the third and sixth innings, and three more in the seventh.



Mohawk 12,

New Brighton 2

Mohawk pulled away for a Section 5-AA road win over New Brighton.

The game was stopped after six innings because of the mercy rule.

The Lady Warriors recorded a run in the first, two in the third, four in the fifth and five in the sixth. The Lady Lions tallied two markers in the fourth.

Shelby Brown paced Mohawk with three hits and Merran Nottingham was next with two. Lucia Fee and Samantha Carr contributed two RBIs each for the Lady Warriors.

“It was a good win for us,” Mohawk coach Pam Beatty said. “We were hitting the ball well. That’s a good positive going into the playoffs.”

Rachelle Miller (8-3) picked up the win. Miller tossed six innings, giving up two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.

“I thought Miller pitched real well,” Beatty said. “She kept them off balance and they didn’t get any solid hits off her.”



Boys track

Wilmington falls

Slavi Pontius and Jon Yohman won two events each for Wilmington in a 99-51 loss to Lakeview.

Pontius claimed wins in the 110 hurdles and high jump, while Yohman captured the shot put and discus.



Girls track

King wins four

Wilmington’s Alexis King posted four wins in an 84-66 decision over Lakeview.

King was first in the 100, 400 relay, 1600 relay and the long jump.