#4- Canon-McMillan softball wins state championship
Canon-McMillan became the first Washington County school to win a state softball championship in the PIAA’s largest classification when it defeated Neshaminy, 4-3, in a 12-inning thriller for the Class AAAA title on a sun-baked June day in State College.
The Big Macs, loaded with talented underclassmen, relied on the right arm of a senior, pitcher Alayna Astuto, and the bat of a freshman, shortstop Linda Rush, in the tension-filled final. Astuto carried a no-hitter into the 10th inning and finished with 18 strikeouts. Rush hit a dramatic, game-winning two-run homer to left centerfield in the top of the 12th inning.
It was a sweep of titles for Canon-McMillan (25-1), which also won the Section 4 and WPIAL championships. The Big Macs defeated North Allegheny, 5-2, in the title game, getting a three-run homer in the fourth inning from catcher Giorgiana Zeremenko. Astuto threw a rare seven-inning perfect game in the C-M’s victory over Hempfield in the WPIAL semifinals.