May 13, 2015 3 min read

WEXFORD – Maybe there is a way for Burgettstown High School’s softball team to avoid playing Neshannock in the WPIAL playoffs.

Hacking into the WPIAL website and changing the brackets might work.

Slipping a $20 bill to members of the WPIAL softball steering committee could be an option.

The Blue Devils have to find a way to avoid playing these Lancers because nothing but bad things have happened when they do.

Neshannock has defeated Burgettstown three times in the past two years, each time knocking the Blue Devils from the playoff bracket.

The latest came on a raw Wednesday afternoon at North Allegheny High School. Madison Shaffer, a tall, right-hander for Neshannock, held the Blue Devils without a run and to just three hits in a 5-0 Neshannock victory in the Class AA first round.

The loss ends Burgettstown’s season with a 17-4 record.

Neshannock defeated Burgettstown twice last season, 11-0 in the WPIAL semifinals and 6-1 in the state quarterfinals. In the last three matchups, Burgettstown has been outscored 22-1.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Burgettstown head coach Mark Deer. “It was like we didn’t have any fight out there. We haven’t played well since the first South Side (Beaver) game.”

That was a 4-0 shutout victory. But South Side Beaver won the rematch 12-2 and Burgettstown came into the playoffs losing two of the final three games of the season.

“Yeah, that’s three times now,” said Neshannock head coach Tracy Kimmel. “But hey, it’s hard to beat these teams. It just comes down to playing the game. You hit well, you pitch well, you catch the ball and you’re probably going to come out on top.”

Neshannock excelled in each of those facets, playing better than Burgettstown. The Lancers took advantage of a costly error by second baseman Morgan Ellek that allowed two runs to cross the plate. Getting a 2-0 lead in the first inning was a huge confident boost for the Lancers.

Shaffer lined a single to right field with one out, and Crista Nativio followed with a single to right to push Shaffer to third. Cassie Burrelli then hit a grounder to Ellek that ricochetted off her and into the grass of the outfield.

“It was big for us because we are very young this year,” Kimmel said. “We have a lot of ninth graders in there and it’s good to get a jump on them.”

A second error by Burgettstown allowed Neshannock to stretch the lead to 3-0 in the second inning. This one stung more because it came with two out and no runners on base. Morgan Lash hit a line drive to left field that Tori Carnes first came in on, then had it sail just over her glove to allow Lash to reach third. Lash scored on an infield dribbler by Shaffer that went for a single.

“You can’t play like that and expect to win,” Deer said. “Early in the year, our defense was outstanding, but it’s fallen apart.”

Neshannock added two insurance runs in the top of the sixth when Burrelli doubled to start the inning, and scored on a single by Gina Zingaro, who later came home on an error by first baseman Cheyenne Winters.