The Belle Vernon High School softball team is the defending WPIAL Class AAA champion, but the Leopards won’t get a chance to defend their title because they forfeited three regula-season victories.
Belle Vernon had qualified for the WPIAL playoffs, but the three forfeits knocked the Leopards out and put Trinity into the postseason.
Belle Vernon had to forfeit the games for using two ineligible players. The players are ninth-graders and were ineligible because they played on the freshman (junior high) team for part of the season and then moved up to the varsity. Under PIAA and WPIAL rules, once an athlete starts the season on a freshman team, they can’t move up to the varsity or junior varsity the rest of the season.
The rule also works the other way. If a ninth-grader starts the season on a junior varsity or varsity team, they can’t move back down to the freshman team. Under PIAA rules, a school must forfeit any game in which an ineligible player participates.
Belle Vernon’s season came to an abrupt end Wednesday morning when school principal Jason Boone informed the team of the forfeits. Before the forfeits, the Leopards were 15-5 overall and finished second in WPIAL Class AAA Section 3 with a 9-3 mark. The forfeits were to Trinity, Ringgold and West Mifflin and dropped the Leopards to fourth place with a 6-6 mark. With the forfeit win, Trinity moved into the playoffs with a 7-5 section record.
“In my mind, it doesn’t matter if we were undefeated this season or didn’t have any wins,” said Boone. “Looking at those girls this morning was like talking to 17 of my own daughters. When you see how upset and distraught they are about something, it’s a tough pill to swallow.”
Belle Vernon was not aware of the players possibly being ineligible until Tuesday when WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley called Boone. An athletic administrator from another school alerted the WPIAL of the possible ineligibilities. Boone investigated and informed the WPIAL the team would forfeit three games.
Boone didn’t say who was at fault in the case and Belle Vernon coach Tom Rodriguez would not comment except to say, “I met with all the girls and families [Tuesday night] because the school alerted me ahead of time that something could be coming. I just wanted to assure all the parents and players that nobody here did anything wrong.”
Belle Vernon features sophomore Bailey Parshall, a Penn State recruit who is one of the top pitchers in the WPIAL and had 204 strikeouts in 19 games this season.
Rodriguez has been coaching the Belle Vernon program since 1990, including the past 15 as head coach.
“I do understand a lot of people don’t know the rule,” said Boone. “But it’s a rule the PIAA writes, and we’re responsible for knowing the rule and conducting business by it. A rule was broken, and we accept the consequences.”
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh.
First Published: May 12, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
