Fox Chapel’s Ava Walmsley didn’t get the opportunity to cap her high school softball career with a win. That’s OK with Walmsley, who was glad to be a part of the Western Pennsylvania Softball Showcase on June 16 at Plum.
Walmsley, who played on Team Black, which surrendered a two-run lead and lost 8-7, was happy the game saw its way to a conclusion.
Both teams were pulled off the field when a large rain cloud rolled in and delayed the contest by 15 minutes.
“It took a toll,” said Walmsley, who played catcher. “We thought the game might be canceled. We weren’t sure what was going to happen. We knew the ball and the bats were going to be wet.”
Team Black had a 5-1 advantage when the game was stopped due to the weather. Shaler’s Bria Bosiljevac got the game started with a solo home run.
Team Black continued to pile on. Jayla Antomachi (Shaler) followed with a single and after Torrie DeStefano (Penn-Trafford) reached on an error, Abbie Telli (Norwin) delivered a three-run home run to stretch the lead to four.
The game had a three-run rule in place for innings, so Team Black couldn’t pile on any more runs in the opening inning.
Team Black added another run in the second on a lead-off solo home run by Abby Sutton (North Hills).
“I knew we all had power going into it,” Walmsley said. “It was fun to see the home runs and the energy it brought.”
Julia Resnick (Elizabeth Forward) got Team Gold on the board in the bottom of the second when she reached on an error and later scored on a wild pitch.
Team Black coach Tom Sorce (Shaler) said he thought the weather delay later in the game seemed to shift the momentum.
“The kids had a lot of fun,” Sorce said. “The weather tamped it down a little bit. Maybe they lost some of their enthusiasm.”
Team Gold started putting pressure on in the seventh inning. Seneca Valley’s Paige Volz doubled and Neve Miller singled to drive in runs.
In the bottom of the eighth, Sutton got the first two batters out before Team Gold began to draw free passes. Lauren Rush (Chartiers-Houston), Addy Nigut (Elizabeth Forward) and Grace Kempton (South Park) drew walks to load the bases.
Bailey Barnyak (Carmichaels) and Carys McConnell (Carmichaels) then drew walks to tie the game.
Team Black then brought in Brooklyn Kemp (Upper St. Clair) to try to get Seanna Riggle (Chartiers-Houston) out. Riggle delivered a single to win the game.
Walmsley said she was thrilled to be involved in the game.
“It was an honor to be on the team chosen for this,” Walmsley said. “It was also fun playing with the girls I used to play against and trying to come together to get a win. It was weird and fun to get a different perspective.”