Things started out well for Ligonier Valley in a Section 1-3A softball game Monday at Deer Lakes High School.
The Rams tallied three runs in the top of the first as Natalie Bizup and Abby Springer paced the early uprising with an RBI apiece.
But the homestanding Lancers rallied from the early deficit, grabbed the lead for the first time in the fourth, added on in the fifth and closed out an 11-6 victory.
“That was a really nice win for the girls,” said Deer Lakes coach Paul Lagnese, whose team concluded section play with Monday’s victory. “We got down today, but the girls kept fighting. We came back, got the lead, piled on, and then shut it down late.”
Thursday’s game with Fox Chapel is senior day, and the lone senior, shortstop Sophia Laurenza, will be celebrated.
With the win, Deer Lakes improved to 7-10 overall and capped section play at 5-5, splitting with every team in the section. The Lancers clinched a playoff spot with last week’s 2-0 win over Mt. Pleasant.
Monday’s victory also was a bounce-back effort from their last outing, a 6-5 loss to Burrell last Thursday in which the Bucs rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh.
“That was a tough last inning (against Burrell), but we came to practice the next day and had a wiffle ball game,” Lagnese said. “We had some ice cream, too. The girls were loose and relaxed. We talked about the game a little bit and what we needed to do to be better. But then that was it, and we let it go and got focused and prepared for Ligonier Valley. They came back and played great today.”
Ligonier Valley fell to 3-9 overall and 3-4 in the section. The Rams still are in the mix for a WPIAL playoff spot.
They have three more section games left, starting Tuesday against Yough.
Ligonier Valley took a 4-3 lead in the third when pitcher and cleanup hitter Bizup hit a solo home run to left.
Scout Hinton and Maggie Peters drove in runs with back-to-back sacrifice flies in the fifth against Deer Lakes reliever Laney Dineff. But the Lancers offense surrounded those two runs with four in the fourth and four more in the fifth.
“Deer Lakes has a strong offense, and they kept putting the ball in play,” Ligonier Valley coach Mark Zimmerman said. “Then we started to boot around some balls in the infield that we should’ve made plays on. We started giving them too many outs. The girls will be ready to get back on the field tomorrow and work to get another win.”
Leading 7-6 in the bottom of the fifth, Deer Lakes added on, but the fireworks were delayed.
Alexandria Claypool drew a leadoff walk, but Kylee Pryor and Haley Friess grounded out. Claypool moved to third on the groundouts.
Zimmerman chose to intentionally walk center fielder Siena Miller, who was 3 for 3 with two doubles and three RBIs to that point.
Laurenza then made Ligonier Valley pay as she singled home Claypool for an 8-6 lead.
Dineff reached on an infield single, Plummer scored on a wild pitch, and Riley Jones doubled home Laurenza and Dineff to make it 11-6.
Thomas and Dineff combined to give up seven Ligonier Valley hits. Of the six Rams runs, only one was earned.
Dineff, who struck out two and walked none while scattering three hits over four-plus innings, took a sharply hit ball to the shin from Ligonier Valley No. 9 hitter Adelynn Witcoski to lead off the top of the sixth.
But Dineff shook it off and retired the last six Rams batters to pick up the win.
“I get hit a few times. It’s OK,” Dineff said. “I just wanted to finish that game. I wasn’t coming out.
“I felt super good out there and confident in my defense. It was really comforting having that lead, and we were just counting outs over the last two innings. We were able to count to six pretty quickly. It was a good feeling.”
Thomas worked into the third before the pitching change. She gave up four hits and three walks.
“We have three pitchers, and Laney has been that closer-type of pitcher for us,” Lagnese said. “She is good when she comes in when we need a change of pace. Once again, she did a great job for us. Ella had a couple of tough spots early on, but she battled. When we played Mt. Pleasant last week, she was strong and shut them out (2-0).”
Deer Lakes collected 11 hits off of Bizup.
Laurenza went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored before receiving an on-field, postgame promposal from Lancers baseball player Luca Mangieri.
Five of Deer Lakes’ 11 hits were doubles. Right fielder Gracie Spagnola had one of the doubles, a two-out shot in the bottom of the fourth that plated a pair of runs.
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Elyse Witcoski, Ligonier Valley’s leadoff hitter, fronted her team’s offensive efforts with a walk, two singles, and three stolen bases.