Softball News

Senior Meghan McDonough‘s walk-off base hit in the bottom of the seventh propelled North Allegheny to a 3-2 section win over Canon-McMillan on Friday afternoon. McDonough went 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBI’s, one run scored and a stolen base to earn Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors.

Scoreless through two innings, the Tigers struck first in the bottom of the third when Rachel Rusnica led off with a double a scored on McDonough’s RBI single for a 1-0 lead. McDonough stole second and advanced to third on a base hit by junior Carlyn Vaupel. An out later, junior Anne Melle plated McDonough with an RBI groundout and the Tigers led, 2-0.

Canon-McMillan answered back quickly in the top of the fourth on a two-out, two-run single by Hailey Swope to knot the score at 2-2. The game remained deadlocked until North Allegheny’s clutch hitting in the bottom of the seventh.

With two outs in the seventh, junior Julia Drazga delivered a pinch-hit triple off the right field fence to set the stage for McDonough’s heroics. With Rusnica back in the game to run for Drazga at third base, McDonough lined a pitch over Canon-McMillan left fielder Samantha Merkle for an RBI single and the game-winning run in a 3-2 walk-off win.

Sophomore Sammy Plotsko was the winning pitcher, tossing a complete game. Plotsko struck out seven, walked three and allowed only two runs to improve to 8-3 on the season. Canon-McMillan right-hander Brooke Bumer suffered the loss, going 6.2 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and no walks.

Following the victory, North Allegheny leaps to 10-4 overall and 7-3 in Section 1-6A. Canon-McMillan dips to 4-7 on the season and 3-6 in section play. The Tigers return to action with a visit to Butler next week.

Line Score - Softball vs. Canon-McMillan - 04/21/2023

Score by Innings	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Canon-McMillan	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	6	3
North Allegheny	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	3	7	0

WP - Sammy Plotsko (8-3) LP - Brooke Bumer (3-7)