Tigers Fall To No. 2-Ranked Spartans in Section Opener
by: Randy Gore
The North Allegheny softball team lost its Section 1-6A opener to second-ranked Hempfield on Tuesday afternoon, 20-3, in five innings.
UMBC commit Clair Mitchell jump-started the visiting Spartans with a leadoff homerun on the first pitch of the ballgame for an immediate 1-0 lead. The Mitchell long ball was a precursor for things to come as Hempfield piled up 20 runs on 21 hits. The Spartans bookended the game with home runs as University of Virginia commit Lauren Howard capped the scoring with a three-run shot in the fifth inning. Howard went 3-for-5 on the day with five RBIs and four runs scored.
Despite facing a large deficit, the Tigers continued to fight back and scored their first run of the game with an RBI single courtesy of sophomore Taylor Condiotte in the second inning. In the third inning, Drexel University commit McKenna Rowlands reached on a hit by pitch and later scored on a throwing error. Later in the third, sophomore Zoe Rychel delivered an RBI single that scored senior Sammy Plotsko for NA’s third run of the contest. Rychel went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored to earn Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors.
With the loss, North Allegheny falls to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in section play. Hempfield remains undefeated at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the section. The Tigers look to bounce back tomorrow with a visit to Canon-McMillan at 4:15 p.m.
Softball Summary vs. Hempfield, 3/25/25
| SCORE BY INNINGS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hempfield | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | X | X | 20 | 21 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | X | 3 | 6 | 1 |
LP - Sammy Plotsko
