Nick Tolomeo's feature on the West Allegheny softball team:

"There have been plenty of ups and downs this season for the West Allegheny High School softball team.

There was an opening-game loss to rival Montour and a tough 2-3 start. There was a stretch at midseason where the Indians won five consecutive games scoring 56 runs along the way.

That was followed by dropping two out of three games. Then on Saturday West Allegheny went on the road and won a non-section game against an 8-1 Ambridge Area team."

West Allegheny graduate Ashley Gerhart has wasted no time in making her impact felt on the Robert Morris University softball team. Gerhart, a freshman at Robert Morris, landed a starting spot at shortstop with the Colonials and is also batting leadoff.

At West Allegheny she was named all-state second team as a senior and was part of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's all-area All-Star team after hitting .492 with 21 extra-base hits and 29 runs scored last season. Gerhart made headlines around West Allegheny when she landed a scholarship offer to Robert Morris. She became the first player in program history to be offered a Division I scholarship.

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Name: Brianna Lach
School: West Allegheny
Sport: Softball
Grade: Senior
Position: Pitcher

Background info: Brianna Lach is one of three returning starters back this season for West Allegheny. She handled all the pitching last year for the Indians and continues to do so this year. In addition to pitching, Lach is the top bat in the West Allegheny lineup. She hits third.

Coach Mindi McFate: "She has about five pitches she can throw, a fastball, drop curve, curveball, changeup and screwball, it just depends on what pitch is working for her the best. We want her to focus on her fastball location and work a couple other pitchers in to keep the batters guessing."

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Brad Everett's feature on the West Allegheny baseball team:

"It comes as little surprise that Section 1 is arguably the most talented, deepest section in WPIAL Class AAA.

The section includes top-ranked Hopewell and defending WPIAL champion Blackhawk, not to mention a pair of teams that have been playing excellent ball thus far -- Central Valley and Montour. Ambridge has had its moments, too.

Heading into this week, only one team was winless in the section, but it's a team that figures to be a major player in the race for one of the section's three playoff spots.

West Allegheny dropped its section opener to Ambridge, 13-2, last week, and was scheduled to play an extremely difficult schedule this week: Hopewell on Monday, Blackhawk Tuesday and Montour today. After losing, 7-0, to No. 1-ranked Hopewell on Monday, the Indians (7-3, 1-2) picked up a huge win Tuesday, 2-1, against Blackhawk. They are finding themselves in a battle for survival in rugged Section 1."

(Photo: West Allegheny's Alex Palmer slides into third with a triple as Hopewell's Arion Sepp awaits the throw. John Heller/Post-Gazette.)

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