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NORTH ALLEGHENY
VARSITY SOFTBALL GAME SUMMARIES LADY TIGERS TO FACE FAMILIAR FOE IN FIRST ROUND FRAY The Lady Tigers Softball Team is prepared to face a familiar foe Monday when they take on Peters Township in the first round of the WPIAL AAAA Playoffs. The contest is scheduled for Fairhaven Park in Kennedy Township. Last Wednesday, NA traveled south and came away with an 11-2 rout of the Indians at Elm Grove Park. Mary Funderlich was the winning pitcher, raising her record to 11-4 during her impressive freshman year. Funderlich, along with freshman Sami Beining, has bolstered a Lady Tigers staff that was inexperienced coming into the season.
On offense, the Tigers feature a formidable lineup. Junior centerfielder Jordan Macey and senior second baseman Haley Wisniewski are the table setters at the top of the order. Kelsey Birsic led the team in batting average, while senior catcher Toni Miller, freshman shortstop Christine Scherer and senior left fielder Hannah Jones form a dangerous heart of the order. Ashley Briskey and Megan Lynskey have both seen time at first base this year. Finally, Matti Huckestein and Miranda Micire help turn the order on a team that hits top to bottom.
Opposing the Lady Tigers on the mound will be junior Tara Konopka. North Allegheny should be well acquainted with her, as Konopka was the losing pitcher last Wednesday. She is a dual threat for the Indians, typically hitting cleanup in addition to her pitching duties. Konopka is accompanied in the Peters Township lineup by versatile Morgan Matetic. She spent last season as the regular catcher, however, this year she moved from behind the dish to shortstop. Matetic has already committed to George Washington University, despite being just a junior.
Both teams enter the playoffs with recent stumbles in the last week of the regular season. North Allegheny tripped up against Seneca Valley last Tuesday, ultimately allowing the Raiders to clinch the final playoff spot from Section 3. The loss also hurt the Tigers in seeding, landing them on the 6-line in the postseason tournament. On the other side of the diamond, during the final week of the season, Peters Township was poised to capture the Section 4 title outright. However, back-to-back losses to Canon-McMillan swung the section crown to Baldwin, while the Indians fell all the way to an 11-seed.
Although Peters Township has been in the playoffs each of the last five years, it has not won a playoff game since 2007. That year, they defeated North Allegheny 5-1 in the first round, advancing to the WPIAL semifinals, before losing to eventual WPIAL champion and PIAA runner-up Latrobe. Likewise, this is North Allegheny’s fifth trip to the playoffs in the last five years. However, the Lady Tigers have also had minimal success recently, winning just one playoff game over that span.
The first round clash between North Allegheny and Peters Township will be broadcast live on the North Allegheny Sports Network. Pre-game will begin at approximately 3:50 pm, with first pitch scheduled for 4:00 pm. If you’d like to check out the Class Quad-A brackets, click here for Softball Brackets.
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LADY TIGERS TAKE DOWN PETERS TOWNSHIP, 11-2
On
Wednesday afternoon, the North Allegheny Tigers traveled to Peters
Township to take on a strong, playoff-bound Indians team in a
non-section contest. After a scoreless first inning, Peters Township
tallied one run in the bottom of the second. North Allegheny's first
hit, a solid single through the middle by junior catcher Erin
Funderlich, ignited what would prove to be a three-run third inning
rally for the Tigers, giving them a 3-1 lead. Funderlich's hit was
followed by a sacrifice by senior second baseman Haley Wisniewski,
which sent junior courtesy runner Miranda Micire to second, from
where she scored on a double to left center field by freshman pitcher
Mary Funderlich. Junior first baseman Megan Lynskey then
singled to drive in Micire, with Lynskey taking second on the throw to
the plate. Senior Kelsey Birsic then singled to right field to
score Lynsky with run number three.
GAME SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Mary Funderlich (11-4) LP - Tara Konopka * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
RAIDERS END LADY TIGERS WINNING STREAK
The
Seneca Valley Raiders snapped a six-game North Allegheny win streak by
defeating the Tigers at NASH Field, 6-2, behind the strong pitching of
Emily Watson, who limited the Tigers to seven hits and was able to
strand 9 North Allegheny base runners to preserve the win.
GAME SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Emily Watson LP - Mary Funderlich (10-4) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NA TEARS DOWN BRIDGERS, 5-3 North Allegheny struck quickly in the first inning to tally four runs against the Bridgers. Senior center fielder Erin Norwig opened with a walk. Senior second baseman Haley Wisniewski then singled to right, advancing Norwig to second. Following a fly out, senior catcher Toni Miller singled to right to score both Norwig and Wisniewski. Junior courtesy runner Miranda Micire ran for Miller. Freshman shortstop Christine Scherer then tripled to right to score Micire with run number three. Following a ground out with Scherer holding third, freshman designated player Mary Funderlich tripled to deep right center to score Scherer with the fourth run and give NA a 4-0 advantage after one. The Tigers scored their fifth run in the fifth inning on a single by senior third baseman Kelsey Birsic, a fielder’s choice / error which sent Miller to second following the play, Micire again ran for Miller, Scherer walked, and a misplayed fly ball hit by senior left fielder Hannah Jones allowed Micire to score the final Tiger run. Ambridge tallied single runs in the second, fifth, and seventh off freshman pitcher Sami Beining, who went 6 2/3 innings and scattered 10 hits in an effective performance. Funderlich came in for a one-pitch final out in the seventh, inducing a fly ball to center to seal the victory. With the non-section win, North Allegheny improves to 13-3 on the season. The Bridgers, a Class AAA power and Section-1 champions, drop to 12-2 for the year. The Tigers will host Seneca Valley on Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM at NASH Field.
GAME SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Sami Beining (2-0) LP - Kayla Haslett * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TIGERS TRIP TRIBE IN THRILLER
GAME SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Mary Funderlich (10-3) LP - Jess Rectenwald * * * * * * * * * * * * * * LADY TIGERS BEST PINE-RICHLAND 8-3
GAME ONE SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Mary Funderlich (9-3) LP - Hayley Morgan * * * * * * * * * * * * * * LADY TIGERS SWEEP EAGLES
GAME ONE SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Sami Beining (1-0)
LP - Marie Wilkinson
GAME TWO SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Mary Funderlich (8-3) LP - Marie Wilkinson * * * * * * * * * * * * * * LADY TIGERS POUNCE ON BUTLER, 5-1
Butler
opened the scoring in the first inning. A one-out double by Angie
Reddick brought home Tornado second baseman Sadie Marak, who led off the
game with a single to center. The Lady Tigers quickly responded to the
deficit in the bottom of the first, when third baseman Kelsey Birsic
rocketed an Amanda Skidmore offering over the center field fence.
Jordan Macey also scored on the play, giving North Allegheny a 2-1
lead they would never relinquish. They added to their lead in the
bottom of the fourth, when Micire knocked home Hannah Jones on a
one-out single to right. Although the game was tight throughout, Funderlich did a great job of limiting Butler baserunners, retiring eight in a row at one point, and even helped out her own cause with some stellar defense. In the sixth, with Butler still trailing 3-1, they loaded the bases with one out. Golden Tornado designated player Hannah Henry knocked a ball back through the box, destined for center field. However, Funderlich snagged it out of the air, and doubled off a runner at first base to spoil any potential rally.
North Allegheny grabbed two insurance runs in the top of the seventh, again courtesy of Micire and Birsic. Funderlich led off the inning with a hard hit single. After being replaced by courtesy runner Jenna Darrah, Megan Lynskey sacrificed her to second. Then, Micire hammered a double to right center field, scoring Darrah. Three batters later, Birsic drove home Micire with her second hit of the game, expanding the lead to 5-1. Butler went 1-2-3 in the seventh, as Funderlich finished off her complete game.
With the win, The Lady Tigers improved to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in Section-3. For her two-hit, two-RBI night, Miranda Micire was the Wright Automotive Player of the Game. North Allegheny will Oakland Catholic on Monday night, looking to expand their current win streak to two.
GAME SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Mary Funderlich
(6-4) LP - Amanda Skidmore * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
LADY TIGERS TOPPED BY FIRST PLACE SHALER, 6-1
Following two scoreless innings in which Shaler starter Smyers and North Allegheny’s freshman pitcher Mary Funderlich both worked out of threatening situations, North Allegheny opened the scoring with a run in the top of the third. Junior center fielder Jordan Macey opened the inning with a single. Macey moved to second base on a well-executed sacrifice bunt by senior second baseman Haley Wisniewski. Senior third baseman Kelsey Birsic then drove in Macey with a single to center field to give NA a 1-0 advantage. Birsic was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game by the North Allegheny Sports Network.
The lead would be short-lived, however, as Shaler broke through with a four-run bottom of the fourth. For the Titans, consecutive one-out singles by Morgan Russo, Lauren Hackett (who was run for by courtesy runner Sarah Geibel), and Jamie Roth loaded the bases. Nicole Daley’s RBI single scored Russo, and Julie Strackhouse’s infield single scored Geibel. Following a pop-up for out number two, Candace Tebrosky hit a flair to short left field that barely fell between freshman shortstop Christine Scherer and senior left fielder Hannah Jones to drive in run three and four and give Shaler a 4-1 lead after three innings.
A single by Jones, and one-out walks by Matti Huckestein and Erin Norwig loaded the bases for North Allegheny in the fourth. After Macey popped up to short, Wisniewski battled Smyers in an 11-pitch at-bat. However, the Shaler hurler induced a fly out to right, thwarting any chance of a rally.
With runners on base in the fifth and sixth, North Allegheny again appeared poised to score. However, the Shaler defense was up to the challenge, catching a pair of sharply hit line drives and doubling up Tiger runners in each inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Shaler added two more runs, punctuated by a home run from all-section catcher Lauren Hackett.
The defeat puts undefeated Shaler squarely in the driver's seat for the section title, while North Allegheny in still firmly entrenched in second place in Section 3. The Lady Tigers will look to return to the field Saturday night at home against conference foe Butler. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00.
To listen to Randy Gore's interview with Lady Tigers head coach Rick Meister prior to the game with Shaler, click here! You can find other player and coach interviews from NA athletics at the "audio vault" link at the top right of the web page.
GAME SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Sydney Smyers LP - Mary Funderlich (6-3) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * LADY TIGERS TOP TRIBE, 6-2 The North Allegheny Varsity Softball Team raised its overall mark to 7-2 and its Section-3, AAAA mark to 4-1 with a solid 6-2 victory over the visiting North Hills Indians on Monday night at NASH. Freshman pitcher Mary Funderlich raised her record to 6-2 by going the distance, scattering eight hits on the night. North Hills struck first in the top of the first on a leadoff double to deep left-center field by senior pitcher Jessica Rectenwald. A sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly got Rectenwald home to give North Hills a short-lived 1-0 advantage. In the bottom of the first, the Tigers struck back for three runs. Senior second baseman Haley Wisniewski worked a walk, and came around to score on senior third baseman Kelsey Birsic’s RBI double, with Birsic taking third on an errant throw. After a walk to freshman shortstop Christine Scherer and a stolen base, senior left fielder Hannah Jones doubled down the left field line to give NA a 3-1 lead after one inning. North Hills cut the margin to 3-2 in the top of the third on a double, a walk, and an RBI single, but once again the Tigers had a three-run answer. With one out, Birsic singled to right field. Senior catcher Toni Miller singled Birsic to second, and was run for by junior courtesy runner Miranda Micire. Following a ground out, Jones again came through with a triple to right field to drive in both Birsic and Micire. A double to deep left-center field by Funderlich scored Jones, and the Tigers had a 6-2 lead after three. Although both teams threatened, neither could plate a run, and the 6-2 score became the final. Once again the Tigers played stellar defense by both the infield, highlighted by a play by Wisniewski to pick a runner off third on a ground ball to second, and the outfield making several key plays helping to keep North Hills at bay, highlighted by a running catch of a line drive in right field by senior right fielder Nikki Olson in the final inning. North Allegheny will next compete at Shaler on Wednesday afternoon at Shaler’s Hilltop Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 pm.
GAME SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Mary Funderlich (6-2) LP - Jess Rectenwald * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TIGERS DEN-Y RAIDERS, 10-8 The North Allegheny Tigers Varsity Softball Team traveled to Seneca Valley on Friday and returned with a hard-fought 10-8 victory in eight innings. NA got on the board in the first when junior center fielder Jordan Macey opened the game with a double to left-center field. Senior second baseman Haley Wisniewski advanced Macey to third with a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt. With two outs, senior catcher Toni Miller hit a single up the middle to score Macey. Freshman shortstop Christine Scherer then doubled to allow senior courtesy runner Nikki Olson to come all the way around to score to give the Tigers a 2-0 advantage. Seneca Valley scored a run in the first on a leadoff triple and an RBI single to narrow the margin to 2-1 after one. In the top of the fifth, senior pinch hitter Ashley Briskey opened the inning with a single. Junior right fielder Miranda Micire re-entered as a runner, and Macey followed with another single. Following a strike out and a pop up, Miller drew a walk to load the bases. Scherer again came through with an RBI single to right to score Micire. In the bottom of the sixth, Seneca Valley struck for four runs to take a 5-3 lead, putting together three singles, a double, and an RBI ground out. NA responded when senior third baseman Kelsey Birsic led off with a single. Miller also singled, and Olson again ran for her. Scherer hit a single to load the bases. Senior left fielder Hannah Jones then lined an RBI single to right to drive in Birsic and narrow the gap to one. Following a pop-out, junior designated hitter Matti Huckestein singled to right to drive in Olsen with the tying run, with Scherer being cut down at the plate on a close play. Excellent defensive work by the Tigers in the bottom of the seventh caused Seneca Valley to leave the bases loaded, setting up a dramatic eighth inning. With no one on and two outs, Birsic reached on an error. Miller then singled to right, sending Birsic to third. Scherer reached on an error, allowing Birsic to score, giving The Tigers a 6-5 lead. On the play, courtesy runner Nikki Olson advanced to third. Jones followed with a deep home run to left-center field to make it a 9-5 game. Freshman pitcher Mary Funderlich singled, and was replaced by senior courtesy runner Erin Norwig. Huckestein and Micire both drew walks to load the bases, and a single by Macey completed the wild top of the 8th, with the Tigers holding a 10-5 advantage. The Raiders did not go quietly, opening the bottom of the eighth with a single, an error allowing the runner to third, and a walk. With runners on first and third, Funderlich was replaced by freshman pitcher Sami Beining, who walked one to load the bases, but then settled in to get the first out on a sacrifice fly. Following another single, Beining got the second out as another sacrifice fly narrowed the Tigers lead to 10-7, and an RBI double gave the Raiders run number 8. Funderlich re-entered to get the final out on an unassisted ground out to first to end the game. The victory gives the Tigers an overall record of 6-2, and a Section 3AAAA mark of 3-1. NA will next see action on Monday when they host North Hills in a 7:00 PM start.
GAME SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Mary Funderlich (5-2) LP - Emily Watson * * * * * * * * * * * * * * LADY TIGERS DEFUSE TORNADO, 6-1
The North Allegheny Tigers
took to the road on Thursday, traveling to Butler. The Tigers returned
with a 6-1 victory, behind the five-hit complete game pitching
performance of freshman Mary Funderlich supported by errorless
defensive work. NA struck for a run in the first on a leadoff single by
junior center fielder Jordan Macey, a double to right-center
field by senior second baseman Haley Wisniewski, and an RBI
single by senior third baseman Kelsey Birsic. Butler escaped the
first without further damage, stranding three Tiger runners. North
Allegheny strung five successive singles together, coupled with two
walks, to put four runs on the board. The Tigers added an insurance
run in the seventh, while Butler got its only tally in the bottom of the
seventh before Funderlich closed out the game.
GAME SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Mary Funderlich (4-2) LP - Angie Reddick (2-2) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * LADY TIGERS OUTSLUGGED BY SHALER
GAME SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Sydney Smyers (4-0) LP - Mary Funderlich (3-2) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * LADY TIGERS WIN
SECTION OPENER The Lady Tiger softball team earned their first section win of the season with a 4-3 victory over Pine-Richland on Thursday night. After several rain outs over the past week, North Allegheny was eager to get back on the field. The Lady Tigers came through to improve their record to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the section. Pine-Richland falls to 1-1 and 0-1 in section play. North Allegheny hopes to win their second straight section game with a big match-up against the Shaler Titans on Saturday afternoon. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * LADY TIGERS FALL IN PITCHER'S DUEL WITH HEMPFIELD Following a 3-0 road trip in Florida, the Lady Tigers returned home for a good old fashioned pitcher’s duel. North Allegheny starter Mary Funderlich matched Hempfield right-hander Hope Pehrson pitch for pitch throughout much of the game, but three late game runs led to a 3-0 victory for the Spartans on Tuesday afternoon. The game stayed scoreless until the sixth inning when Hempfield broke through for an unearned run against Funderlich. With runners at first and second, Kierston Ackinclose smacked a hard hit ground ball that found its way through short and brought home Alyssa Bates to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. Hempfield tacked on two more runs in the seventh inning, the first of which scoring when a Caitlin Tobin fly ball dropped in for an RBI single. On the play, Tigers right fielder Nikki Olson had a bead on the shallow fly ball but had the ball jarred loose on a vicious collision with second baseman Haley Wisniewski who was also trying to make the play. Both players shook off the hit and remained in the game. Moments later with runners at the corners and nobody out, Bates grounded into a double-play that scored Madi Mastro from third to up the Spartans advantage to 3-0. After one out in the bottom the seventh, Hannah Jones and Ashley Briskey followed with back-to-back hits, but Pehrson shut the door on the Tigers by striking out the last two batters of the game. Pehrson retired 13 consecutive batters from the second inning through the sixth. Pehrson notched 12 strikeouts in a complete game effort to earn the victory. Funderlich was also impressive, blanking the Spartans through the first five innings. Funderlich especially came through in the fifth inning when Hempfield built a bases loaded threat with just one out. The junior pitcher worked her way out of the jam by striking out Mastro and bouncing out pinch hitter Taylor Clayton to end the inning and keep the game tied at 0-0. The Lady Tigers also displayed sound defense, in particular second baseman Haley Wisniewski who helped start a pair of double-plays. In the second inning, Wisniewski fielded a soft pop fly ball hit by Justine Falbo behind the first base bag and quickly tossed to Briskey at first to double-up the base runner. Wisniewski turned another 4-3 double-play in the seventh inning. For her excellent defensive play, Wisniewski was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game. The non-section loss drops North Allegheny’s record to 3-1 on the season. The contest was Hempfield’s first action of the year, bringing their record to 1-0. The Lady Tigers have another tough test on Wednesday afternoon with a home game against the Latrobe Wildcats. First pitch is slated for 4:00 pm. You can hear all the action live via the internet on the North Allegheny Sports Network.
GAME SUMMARY (Unofficial)
WP - Hope Pehrson LP - Mary Funderlich (2-1) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * LADY TIGERS COMPLETE
PERFECT The North Allegheny Tiger Softball team tallied three victories to complete a southern sweep at Lake Buena Vista, Florida's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Following a successful scrimmage on Thursday vs. Indian Valley, NJ, the Tigers earned three wins in Friday and Saturday competition. On Friday, NA defeated the Mars Planets in a doubleheader by scores of 11-3 and 10-0. After falling behind in game one 2-0, NA rallied to earn the win thanks to freshman pitcher Mary Funderlich, who earned the decision, and freshman pitcher Sami Beining, who closed out the game with a scoreless seventh inning. In game two, sophomore pitcher Leah Laughlin threw a shutout in a game shortened to five innings by the ten-run rule. NA exploded for seven runs in the first inning and never looked back against a game Mars team. In Saturday action, the Tigers defeated Parkland High School (PA), the 2009 PIAA Quad-A champions in an exciting come-from behind victory, 4-3. After falling behind 3-1, NA rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and held Parkland's potential tying run at second base in the top of the seventh to preserve the victory. Outstanding pitching by both Sami Beining, who pitched three strong innings before tiring slightly in the fourth; and Mary Funderlich, who relieved Beining and got out of a fourth inning bases loaded situation without a run scoring. Funderlich went the rest of the way to notch the win. In the top of the sixth, an inning ending 8-2-5 double-play ended another Parkland threat, when, with runners on first and second and one out, junior centerfielder Jordan Macey fielded a line single and fired a perfect one hop throw to senior catcher Toni Miller, who applied the tag and then threw a glove-seeking dart to senior third baseman Kelsey Birsic, who took care of the remaining Parkland runner. The double-play not only ended the half-inning, but also fired up the Tiger offense for the pivotal bottom of the sixth. Senior second baseman Haley Wisniewski led off with a solid double down the left line. Birsic then followed with an RBI double to right center field. After a fly out, freshman DP Christine Scherer drove in Birsic with a line single to centerfield to tie the game at 3-3. Senior left fielder Hannah Jones also doubled to send Scherer to third, from where she scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by senior first baseman Ashley Briskey. It was an outstanding ending to a special road trip for the entire team and a solid start to the 2011 season. NA returns home for a contest against Hempfield on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm. You can catch all the action live via the internet on the North Allegheny Sports Network. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Any questions or comments should be
directed to Athletic Director Bob
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