Playoff shuffle
Sometimes numbers are over-rated in sports, but sometimes numbers just can鈥檛 lie.
In 2016, the West Greene softball squad has posted several eye-popping numbers and some incredible individual and team statistics that you just can鈥檛 ignore on the diamond.
As a team, the Lady Pioneers have scored 187 runs in 16 games this year after their game against Fort Cherry on Wednesday. West Greene has averaged 11.7 runs a game.
Before they defeated Greene County rival Jefferson-Morgan, 9-2, on Monday, the Lady Pioneers had five players with a batting average higher than .450.
McKenna Lampe leads the team in average, hits, stolen bases and runs scored with a .574 clip, 27 base knocks, 15 steals and 28 runs.
Madison Renner anchors the offense with a team-high 35 RBIs and has recorded 14 extra base hits (10 doubles, one triple and three home runs). She also has a batting average of .531.
Bailey Bennington, who leads the team with five homers, has an average at the plate of .528, while Mackenzie Carpenter (.500) and Kaitlyn Rizor (.460) are not too far behind her.
Madison Lampe (.364), Linzee Stover (.324) and Lexie Mooney (.311) are also having productive years on the diamond.
The offense may carry the load and get a lot of high praise, but it has been the pitching of Renner for the Lady Pioneers that is one of the main reasons why they are so successful.
Before she tossed a complete game victory over the Lady Rockets on Monday, Renner had an overall record of 10-1 with a 1.83 ERA. The sophomore has registered 64 strikeouts and only 13 walks.
West Greene will look to wrap up the Section 1-A title in the upcoming days. After facing Mapletown at home this week, the Lady Pioneers will travel to J-M on Tuesday and host Avella in the section finale on Thursday.
As of Tuesday, the Lady Rockets were currently 9-5 overall and 5-2 in section play. J-M is very much in the playoff hunt and is looking to defend its Class A title from a year ago.
J-M traveled to Chartiers-Houston on Thursday for a critical Section 1-A showdown and will finish off its section schedule at home versus West Greene on Tuesday and at Mapletown next Thursday.
The Lady Maples (4-7, 3-3) are on the outside of the playoff picture and will need to pull off a couple of upsets if they want to gain entrance into the postseason. Mapletown concludes its section schedule at Fort Cherry on Tuesday and hosts J-M Thursday.
As it relates to Section 2-AA softball, the only thing for sure is that nothing is for sure.
McGuffey and Bentworth are currently the top two teams in the section, and that third and final playoff spot is up for grabs between three teams.
Carmichaels (7-6, 6-3) and Waynesburg Central (5-9, 5-3) are two of those teams in the chase for that third playoff spot and that postseason berth might be determined in both teams鈥� section finale against each other on May 10.
After its 4-0 triumph over Frazier on Monday, the Waynesburg Central baseball squad is back in the thick of things in the postseason hunt out of Section 2-AA.
The Raiders (5-9, 4-6) were in fifth place in the section on Tuesday, but have several important games down the stretch. Following a loss at Charleroi on Wednesday, Waynesburg hosts Chartiers-Houston today and travels to Beth-Center on Monday.
Every baseball team out of Section 1-A has a loss in section play and it seems like it蘑菇视频 going to be a mad scramble to see how it all plays out the rest of the season.
After picking up perhaps the biggest win in recent program history with a 5-4 win over Bentworth last week, West Greene dropped a crucial game to Carmichaels, 12-1, on Monday.
The Pioneers (4-7, 3-5) lost to California on Wednesday. They end their section docket at J-M today and at home against Mapletown on Monday.
The Mikes (8-5, 4-4) and the Rockets (5-7, 2-5) are very much in the playoff picture as well. Carmichaels defeated Mapletown on Wednesday and travels to Bentworth today, while J-M suffered a tough 3-2 loss at Bentworth on Wednesday and hosts West Greene today.
The two rivals will play each other on Monday, and J-M will play Mapletown on Thursday to wrap-up its Section 1-A schedule. The Maples host California today.