As the qualifying rounds of the WPIBL girls team championships progressed Thursday at AMF Mt. Lebanon, Plum and Hempfield began to distance themselves from the pack.
It was no surprise, then, when they ended up meeting in the finals for the second year in a row.
When the dust settled, Hempfield had avenged its loss from a year ago, defeating Plum, 2-1, in the best-of-three series to claim the crown.
Plum bowled the best game of anyone in the stepladder round in a 216-171 win over Hempfield in Game 1 of the finals. The Spartans answered back with a 168-155 victory in Game 2 and a 203-172 win in a decisive Game 3.
Plum swept third-seeded Latrobe in two games in the semifinals, winning 188-168 and 201-127.
Hempfield’s Amelia Droste was the top bowler in qualifying with a 651 series. Spartans teammate Clara Carmichael was fifth (564).
Plum’s Addison Then was second in qualifying with a 607 series and led all bowlers with a 254 high game. Mustangs teammate Callie Schimmer was fourth (572).
Thomas Jefferson’s Annalise Williams (582) was third to round out the top five qualifiers.
Hempfield (2,717) and Plum (2,648) were separated by just 69 pins in qualifying. Latrobe (2,303), Freeport (2,300) and Deer Lakes (2,181) followed in the top five.
The WPIBL boys singles championships are set for next Wednesday at AMF Mt. Lebanon with the girls singles tournament to follow Thursday.