Rizor, West Greene razor sharp in playoff debut

McMURRAY – The West Greene girls softball played the role of the underdog with much to prove to near-perfection last season, winning a WPIAL championship and placing second in the state.
This season, the Pioneers’ role has changed. West Greene is sneaking up on nobody as its No. 1 seed for the WPIAL Class A playoffs proves. The Pioneers have gone from the hunter to the hunted in a year, though it appears that nothing else has changed with this team.
West Greene, which received a first-round bye, made it postseason debut on a steamy Thursday afternoon at Peterswood Park and thumped Bishop Canevin 17-0 in only 2 ½ innings.
The win sends West Greene (19-1) to the semifinals Tuesday against Leechburg at a site and time to be determined.
“Somebody thinks we’re pretty good to be seeded No. 1,” West Greene coach Bill Simms said, “so we wanted to play like a No. 1 seed.”
One person who thinks West Greene is a deserving top seed is Bishop Canevin coach Karen Seitz-LaFianza. She watched her team, which was a 15-0 winner over Western Beaver in the first round, fall behind 10-0 in the first inning against West Greene.
“They’re pretty good. Give credit where credit is due,” she said. “Their whole lineup is tough. It doesn’t matter if it’s the ninth batter or the first batter.”
Each of those batters got to the plate at least once in the first inning. It was cleanup hitter Kaitlyn Rizor who did the most damage, belting a two-run homer to left field off a fastball and a two-run double to left centerfield before the inning would end.
“The whole regular season, everybody was aiming at for us,” Rizor said. “That put a lot of pressure on us. I think we were uptight at times. Last year, we were more relaxed. So we wanted to come out strong. We had usually struggled a bit the first time through the order.”
Not this time. Rizor’s home run made it 3-0, and a three-run double by Linzee Stover made it 6-0 only one out into the first inning. Madison Lampe’s two-run double made it 8-0 with two outs, and Rizor made it a 10-run lead with her double.
“For two years, Kaitlyn has been a little orphan in our lineup. She hit .400 as a freshman and .500 this year, yet sometimes she gets lost in the shuffle,” Simms said. “I love her work ethic. One day this year after she was 1-for-4, she went to the batting cage and was hitting until dark. The next game, she goes 3-for-3.”
That’s the kind of work ethic Simms tells his players they will need if they are to defend their WPIAL championship and take the next step, which is winning a state title.
“We all have a lot of weight and pressure on shoulders this year,” Rizor said, “but our goal is win it all… We have the potential to do it.”
The Pioneers scored seven runs on five hits in the second inning. Mackenzie Carpenter had a run-scoring single, Lampe drew a bases-loaded walk and Madison Renner had a two-run single that made the score 14-0. Lexie Mooney’s two-run single capped the scoring.
West Greene freshman pitcher Jade Renner threw a thre-hitter. She ran into some trouble int he second when Canevin loaded the bases wqith no outs on a walk and two singles. Renner, however, struck out the next three batters.
“We’ve played well in sports,” Simms said. “We had a good day today, but I always tell the kids to be in search of your best game.”