Lady Tide To Play Unbeaten Riverside In PIAA Class AA First Round

CURWENSVILLE – As the only representative from District IX in the PIAA Class AA Championship Tournament, the Curwensville Area High School softball team will certainly have the opportunity to turn heads in the first round.  The Lady Tide grabbed the first “AA” district title in school history on Friday and won the opportunity to face undefeated Riverside of Ellwood City on Monday in the first round of the PIAA Championships.

The Tide moved through its two-game district title effort by not surrendering a run in a 12-0 semifinal win over Moniteau and a 2-0 ousting of Redbank Valley to earn victory’s medals.

Riverside (19-0) rolled through the WPIAL bracket with four wins including a 5-1 final over Deer Lakes.  Both teams held 18-0 records going into the finals, and Deer Lakes was the defending champ.   Both Curwensville and Riverside were the third seeds in their respective district playoffs.

The Panthers of Riverside have surrendered just seven runs all season, and shut out 16 of 19 opponents to date.  Mowhawk scored in both its games against Riverside for a total of six while Deer Lakes claimed the only other tally in the finals.   Mohawk was bounced from the quarterfinals of the WPIAL championship by Chartiers-Houston 8-4.  Riverside then sidelined Chartiers-Houston 4-0 in the semifinal match-up.

Before Deer Lakes was able to push a run across in the championship game, the Panthers had posted 11-straight shutouts.  In the WPIAL tournament alone, they outscored their opponents 25-1.

Riverside came into this season with eight returning starters from a 16-4 squad in 2012.  However, the biggest threat for the Lady Tide may well come in the form of senior pitcher Kirsten Wilson.  Wilson recorded 11 strikeouts against the Deer Lakes’ batters in the title game and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.  She finished by giving up three hits and three walks on the day.  Wilson came into the D-7 tourney batting .571 on the season.  Against Steel Valley in the quarterfinals, Wilson pounded two towering home runs to give her four on the season.  Wilson’s catcher, Nicole Mansfield,  has also shown power this year with two round-trippers.

“We just have to keep them off the board,” said Curwensville head coach Allen Leigey of Riverside.  “The longer you keep a good pitcher on the hook, the more pressure you put on them.”

While it may be obvious that the defense relies mainly on the arm of Wilson in the circle, the offense can be called in question.  Riverside collected just five hits in the game, and all five runs the Panthers scored to win the title came as a result of Deer Lakes’ errors.  Also, Deer Lakes was one outstanding play away from tying the game in the sixth inning as Panther right fielder Andrea Lippman robbed Sierra Sarver of a home run with two on base.  Morgan McElwain was the lone hitter on the team with a pair of hits.  McElwain came to the plate in the first with two outs and the bases loaded to deliver a bloop single to right that led to three runs with the help of a throwing error to the plate.

Inexperience may play to Curwensville’s favor as the Panthers start seven underclassmen on their team.  The Lady Tide shows five seniors to lead off their batting order.

“We just want to go out and play hard and play fast,” Leigey said.  “There’s probably no one who expects us to win except us and our fans, and that may be to our advantage.”

Curwensville’s hitting in the championship game was less than par as well with the Tide putting up just six hits in their bid for gold.  Sophomore Alaina Stiles collected two hits to pace the champs into the next level.  To stay alive in the post-season, the Lady Tide will need to find more production from the “big dogs” at the top of the order.

Taylor Goodman, who leads the team in hitting with a .527 average, has settled into the lead-off spot in the playoffs.  She is followed by fellow seniors Sarah Wriglesworth at .380, Cheyenne pentz at .437, Tiffany Carter at .509 and Abby Johnson with a .469 batting mark.  The Tide underclassmen have been clutch so far in the post-season.  Junior Abby Dugo (.456) posted four RBI in the semifinal game, sophomore Alaina Stiles drove in the first run of the title game with a double, sophomore Nikki Harker (.250) has bunted and fielded well thus far and junior pitcher Tierra Shope was 3-for-4 against Moniteau as well as controlling the circle in both games.

Curwensville will look to their senior leaders to keep their season alive.  The first step to securing their place in the team’s history is complete.  The rest of the document has yet to be written.  Hopefully, Monday’s opening round game doesn’t hold the final chapter.

The Lady Tide will begin the PIAA quest at North Allegany High School in a 2:00 p.m. game against Riverside.

Other games in Curwensville’s bracket played on Monday include:  Deer Lakes vs. Fairview, Philipsburg-Osceola vs. Chartiers-Houston (at Penn State University), and Chestnut Ridge vs. Ligonier Valley.    Two wins for each team would put Curwensville and P-O on a collision course in the semifinal game.

The eastern bracket finds Brandywine Heights vs. Philadelphia Academy Charter, Christopher Dock vs. Pen Agryl, Conwell Egan vs. Pequea Valley, and Holy Redeemer vs. Warrior Run.

The PIAA State Champion is simply four wins away from the crown, and only one team can go 4-and-o to stand alone at the top.