Cara De Carlo's feature on the West Allegheny softball team:
"Despite a bit of a sour ending, this was a pretty sweet season for the West Allegheny High School softball team.
West Allegheny lost, 2-0, to District 10 champion Fort LeBoeuf on Monday in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA tournament at Penn State Behrend. Despite the loss, this season left the Indians with many positives."
Sophomore Colin Claus allowed just two hits in the WPIAL Class AAA third place game but the second was a two-out triple in the seventh inning that allowed Keystone Oaks to escape with a 1-0 win and the final WPIAL spot in the PIAA playoffs.
Claus struck out eight and walked just one but West Allegheny’s bats went silent at the wrong time of the year, being shut out in the final two games of the 2013 season. Still, the Indians finished with a 17-7 record and can look forward to next season with optimism.
West Allegheny, a team that finished third in its own section this season and a team that could not get past the WPIAL first round last season, finds itself in the PIAA first round this year.
The Indians caught a few teams by surprise this season. Entering the playoffs as the No. 12 seed, West Allegheny upset Mars 5-3 in the first round and Elizabeth Forward 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
West Allegheny then played perhaps its most impressive postseason game, battling Greensburg Salem into extra innings before losing 3-2 in ten innings. Greensburg Salem went on to win the WPIAL title with an 8-0 win over Ambridge.
West Allegheny has had a week to recover from a 4-0 loss to Hopewell in the semifinals and gets a chance to extend its season tonight in the third-place game against Keystone Oaks at W&J at 6:30.
The Indians are hoping for a repeat of the regular season as West Allegheny defeated Keystone Oaks on April 17 at home 7-6. In that game, it was a pitcher’s battle through five innings with the Indians holding a 2-1 lead. Both teams scored five runs in the sixth inning and West Allegheny went on to win 7-6.
West Allegheny finished the regular season as the third best team in Class AAA Section 2.
On Tuesday the Indians have a chance to be the third best team in Class AAA. West Allegheny will play West Mifflin at North Allegheny at 5 p.m. in the WPIAL Class AAA third-place consolation game with a berth in the PIAA playoffs riding on the line.
softball