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Peters Township softball in thick of playoff hunt

3 min read

Though Peters Township suffered back-to-back losses to Canon-McMillan, 13-6, and Chartiers Valley, 4-1, the Lady Indians still found themselves in the thick of things at the halfway point in Section 4 softball action.

While the Lady Macs, who are the defending district and state champions, lead the league with a 5-1 slate followed by the 5-2 Lady Colts, Peters was locked in a tie for third place with Baldwin and Bethel Park. All have 4-2 records. While the Highlanders have beaten CM and CV, the Lady Indians defeated both Baldwin and BP in the first half of section action,

Peters came from behind to beat Baldwin, 11-8. The Highlanders had thumped Canon-Mac, 15-3, previously. Peters also blasted Mt. Lebanon, 16-1, and bested Bethel Park, 7-2, in its other league triumphs.

Carly Konopka and Kellyn Perich have been the forces on the mound for the Lady Indians. Konopka tossed a one-hitter against Lebo. She scattered three hits and struck out seven against BP. Perich struck out nine against Baldwin.

Emily Lusk doubled to score Lindsay McKnight with the game-winning run against the Highlanders.

McKnight reached base four times in the win. She tripled, singled, scored three runs and drove in one. She carried the big stick against BP, too, as she singled and tripled. In the win, Marissa Wickstrom collected three single and smacked a two-run double.

In addition to Konopka, Perich and McKnight, Meghan Bastyr, Molly Campbell and Tori Weida are veterans from last year’s 18-6 squad that reached the WPIAL Quad-A semifinals before falling to runner-up North Allegheny, 7-4.

But the Lady Indians discovered Canon-McMillan is not ready to vacate its crown, even after its disappointing defeat to Baldwin. In that loss, the Lady Macs committed five errors. Against PT, they also started slowly in the field, making four errors over the first four frames.

Power, however, again proved Canon-Mac’s strength. Olivia Lorusso and Abby McCartney combined for four home runs. They drove in seven runs. Georgiana Zeremenko and Tara Fowler also socked roundtrippers. McCartney and Zeremko also smashed run-scoring doubles.

“Canon-Mac is a very good team,” said PT skipper Bob Bowers.

But, by early May, Peters is hoping to be one of the teams good enough to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs. The top three teams in each section advance to the post-season, which is scheduled to begin May 11 with first-round action.

In addition to making up its play dates with Brashear, the Lady Indians host Baldwin (April 22), Chartiers Valley (April 29) and Canon-McMillan (May 5) at Elm Grove Field. Peters also pays visits to Mt. Lebanon (April 24) and Upper St. Clair (May 1).

May 1 is also a key date for the Lady Macs. They will host Baldwin at 4 p.m. at North Strabane Field.

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