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OLSH finds offense late, tops Steel Valley in first round of WPIAL Class 2A playoffs

ethan morrison, special to the times
·4 min read
Leann Walzer (7) rounds third base after hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the 4th inning during OLSH's first round matchup in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs against Steel Valley Tuesday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.
Leann Walzer (7) rounds third base after hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the 4th inning during OLSH's first round matchup in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs against Steel Valley Tuesday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.

WEXFORD — After a sluggish first few innings on the offensive side of the plate, Our Lady of Sacred Heart’s bats woke up in the bottom of the fourth inning to break the Chargers out of a slow slump to defeat Steel Valley 8-5 in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A softball playoffs.

Even in a back-and-forth affair that saw the Iron Women erase a four-run deficit after it seemed as if OLSH had the upper hand, Lady Chargers' head coach David Quinn was all for the excitement during the playoffs.

“It was fun,” Quinn told the Beaver County Times following the game. “This is why we work all year for these moments. I tell these girls all year, playoff softball is not regular season softball, it is a lot of emotions and a lot of nervous energy, but this is why we put in all the work during the season to live these moments so that you can carry them with you for the rest of your life.”

With OLSH holding a slim one-run lead in the bottom half of the sixth inning, the team looked for some crucial insurance runs heading into the top half of the seventh inning.

Leann Walzer (7) delivers a tag on Steel Valley's Abby Curran (10) during OLSH's first round matchup in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs against Steel Valley Tuesday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.
Leann Walzer (7) delivers a tag on Steel Valley's Abby Curran (10) during OLSH's first round matchup in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs against Steel Valley Tuesday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.

To begin OLSH’s sixth inning with the sticks, Camryn Hummel led the inning off with a solid single up the middle to put the Chargers in business.

Then, with two outs in the inning, Leann Walzer stepped up to the plate and, after striking out and flying out to center field in her three at-bats prior, cashed in when it mattered the most as she drove the ball deep over the right-center field fence to give OLSH two massive insurance runs to put the pressure on Steel Valley.

“After having a rough three at-bats before that, it felt nice to see the ball go over the fence,” Walzer said following the game. “I was able to get a good lead for the team, and it made me feel a lot better about myself.”

Even though the Chargers found success with the bats in the middle stages of the contest, OLSH struggled in the first two innings of action, not recording a hit with the first six batters going down in order.

Quinn was quick to commend Steel Valley pitcher Aubrey Guciardo for the reason behind the slow start with the bats as it took some time to adjust to the stellar pitching from the sophomore hurler.

Lilli Wamsley (12) focuses before stepping back on the rubber during OLSH's first round matchup in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs against Steel Valley Tuesday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.
Lilli Wamsley (12) focuses before stepping back on the rubber during OLSH's first round matchup in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs against Steel Valley Tuesday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.

“She [Guciardo] was mixing up her pitches well,” Quinn said. “She threw her change-up and other off-speed pitches well and did a good job changing speeds and because of that, it took us some time to adjust. After the fourth inning, we were able to finally settle in because of the adjustments that we made due to us being able to stay and sit back and hit our pitch rather than falling a swinging at her pitch.”

The Chargers have not been strangers to playing in games like Tuesday afternoon’s contest as they have made deep runs into the postseason before. But this year, it was a different feeling for Quinn’s group as he has just two seniors rostered on his team with many of his players not getting a chance to step out onto the field for a playoff matchup.

By being able to gain the experience in its first-round matchup, Quinn’s OLSH team is ready for the challenge awaiting them on Thursday afternoon.

Lilli Wamsley (12) throws the ball onto first base after making a play during OLSH's first round matchup in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs against Steel Valley Tuesday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.
Lilli Wamsley (12) throws the ball onto first base after making a play during OLSH's first round matchup in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs against Steel Valley Tuesday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.

“Experience in this game means a lot,” Quinn said. “This team has not had the experience of playing in a playoff game before with Morgan O’Brien being the only player this year that has played in the postseason before. This team has not played in the playoffs before so realizing that when the game counts and you lose, you don’t go on so there is a little bit of added pressure in this situation. Today, they let their emotions get to them a little bit but in the end, I have faith in this group and what they can accomplish because of how they have grown throughout the season. I will take this group to the wire any day of the week.”

With its victory over the Ironwomen, OLSH will now move on to the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals and will face off against fourth-seeded Serra Catholic or Beth-Center on Thursday afternoon at a time and location to be determined.

Chargers head coach David Quinn meets with his team during the top of the 4th inning during OLSH's first round matchup in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs against Steel Valley Tuesday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.
Chargers head coach David Quinn meets with his team during the top of the 4th inning during OLSH's first round matchup in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs against Steel Valley Tuesday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: OLSH finds offense late, tops Steel Valley in first round of WPIAL Class 2A playoffs