Lady Raiders advance to quarters with 7-3 win
WHITEHALL — The Waynesburg Central parlayed two big innings at the plate and excellent defense into its first postseason victory since 2014 after a 7-3 win over Freedom in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA softball playoffs at Baldwin High School on Tuesday afternoon.
“Our offense has carried us all season,” Waynesburg coach Jim Armstrong said. “We were down early on, but when we saw their pitcher for a second and third time we were able to read her pitches better. This team believed in themselves and hitting was contagious. We played some tough competition this year, and this win feels great.”
The win was Waynesburg’s first since a first round victory over Freeport four years ago. The Lady Raiders (10-7) will now play second-seeded Freeport (12-0) in the quarterfinals with the date, time and site to be determined.
Early word is that the quarterfinal match-up will be played early next week because some first round games might be delayed this week due to the weather.
Waynesburg’s Sydney Hare and Bailee Shimek had a pair of hits to lead the offense, while Jordan Sibert finished with a team-high three RBI.
“We are really excited to go to the second round,” Shimek said. “It’s been awhile since we won in the playoffs and this feels so great for our seniors. Freedom was a tough team and we knew we couldn’t take them lightly.”
Sibert pitched a complete game for the win, allowing three runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and three walks on 128 pitches. The Lady Raiders played error-free defense behind Sibert.
“I worked on the movement of my pitches,” Sibert said. “I had to get those high strikes, but also get some calls on some low, off-speed stuff. I just wanted to hit my spots. The defense played great behind me and we were just in sync on the field.”
Waynesburg trailed the Lady Bulldogs, 2-0, in the early stages of the game after a pair of solo home runs by lead-off hitter Trisha Speicher in the first and third innings.
Waynesburg, the No. 7 seed, exploded in the bottom of the third inning and captured the lead after Rachel Elsenheimer laced a two-run double, followed by a two-run single by Shimek that gave the Lady Raiders a 4-2 advantage.
“I was just looking for a pitch to drive,” Shimek said. “I knew I had to make contact and advance the runners. I was hoping not to hit it too hard because I wanted both runs to score. It’s really fun to be a part of this offense because we have no weak spots.”
After a scoreless fourth inning, tenth-seeded Freedom (8-7) mounted a rally in the top of the fifth and loaded the bases up with two outs after a pair of walks. Sibert and Waynesburg were able to get out of the jam with a ground out to third base.
“We were told by our coaches that we couldn’t come in here too tight,” Sibert said. “We had to play loose. In the fifth inning with the bases loaded, I just tried not to think about it. I had to take a deep breath and not get in my own head.”
The Lady Raiders collected three critical insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth. Shimek and Erin Fitch both had RBI singles in the frame, while Brooke Coss scored on an infield error to push the lead to 7-2.
“That fifth inning was the biggest inning of the day,” Armstrong said. “We got out of a jam and limited them to no runs. Then we responded with three big runs that gave us a cushion. Jordan buckled down and hit her spots today.”
Both teams were held scoreless in the sixth before the Lady Bulldogs tacked on a run in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Amber Baumiller that scored Speicher.
After the run-producing, two-out hit, Sibert was able to induce a pop out on the infield to secure the playoff victory.
The last time these two schools met in the playoffs was in the fall. Waynesburg girls soccer team prevailed, 4-2, over Freedom in the WPIAL Class AA championship at Highmark Stadium.