Ligonier Valley had to go a long way to play Chestnut Ridge in the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals.
Then the Rams had to go a little farther.
Ligonier Valley starter Maddie Griffin took a perfect game into the fifth and Bella Vargulish walked and scored the only run of the game on a Ruby Wallace double in the top of the fourth as the Rams moved into the state semifinals for the first time with a 1-0 victory in five innings.
Griffin struck out 11 and allowed only the one hit.
Though the game initially started at Mount Aloysius, inclement weather made the field unplayable. After a lengthy rain delay in the sixth, PIAA officials opted to move it to the turf field at Central Cambria.
Both teams took their players and equipment to Central Cambria, but the rain continued and they never took the field. Because the sixth inning had not been completed, the PIAA reverted the game back to the end of the fifth for the final result.
More Class 2A
Union City 6, Laurel 5 (10): Freshman Addie Deal hit a two-out, two-strike solo homer to right to tie the score in the bottom of the seventh for the Spartans, but their magic ended in the top of the 10th when Cathryn Reynolds scored on a wild pitch and Lucy Higley hit an RBI triple to extend the Bears’ advantage. Jordyn Brozelli then doubled in Higley with what turned out to be the winning run.
Class 6A
Canon-McMillan 5, Neshaminy 3 (10): Neshaminy put one across in the top of the 10th on the International Tiebreaker, but the Big Macs answered and Abby Allen broke the 3-3 tie with a two-run walk-off homer to put Canon-McMillan into the semifinals for the first time since winning the Class 4A state title in 2013.
Class 5A
North Hills 7, Bellefonte 1 (5): Melanie Taylor hit a two-run homer to get things started and Indians starting pitcher Sophia Roncone made it stand up in a game called after Bellefonte scored two runs in the sixth at Saint Francis, Pa. The game was reverted back to the fifth for the final score. It has been 21 years since North Hills was this deep in the PIAA playoffs. North Hills also made the semifinals in 1981 and 1980.
Armstrong 15, Exeter 4 (5): Jessica Pugh hit two homers and drove in four to propel a River Hawks offense that pounded out 20 hits against the District 3 fourth-place finisher. Armstrong, which had every starter get at least one hit in the game, is in the state semifinals for the first time and will get a WPIAL final rematch with North Hills.
Class 4A
Highlands 6, Bishop McDevitt 1: Abbie Deiseroth drove in the first run of the game on a second-inning groundout and Joie Beacom padded the lead with a two-run single in the fifth and Jess Cekada clinched it with a two-run shot in the sixth as the Rams set up a WPIAL final rematch Monday with Beaver. The game was originally slated to be played at Mount Aloysius, but was moved to Central Cambria and its start was delayed by more than four hours.
Class 3A
Mount Pleasant 3, Avonworth 0 (suspended): Abby Swank had the big hit for the Vikings with a two-run double in the second to open the scoring. Hannah Gnibus tripled to right in the top of the third to give WPIAL champion Mount Pleasant a three-run lead before rain at Norwin washed it out in the bottom of the fourth. The game is a rematch of the WPIAL semifinals, in which the Vikings handed the Antelopes an 8-0 loss. The game will resume at noon Friday at Fox Chapel.
Class 1A
West Greene 6, Cambridge Springs 5 (10): Winning pitcher Kiley Meek hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th for the Pioneers and allowed the runner to score from second in the bottom half thanks to the International Tiebreaker, but she didn’t give up the tying run. The win clinched West Greene’s fifth consecutive 20-win season.
Correction: North Hills has made the PIAA semifinals for the fourth time. Earlier editions of this story incorrectly stated the last time North Hills made the semifinals.
First Published: June 11, 2021, 4:00 a.m.