Seneca Valley Softball Team Goes Out Swinging in Loss to Latrobe

Although s varsity softball players settled for silver medals in the WPIAL Class AAAA Championship, at least the Raiders know they went out swinging in a 5-3 loss to Latrobe Thursday night at California University’s Lilly Field.

Latrobe winning pitcher Alexa Larkin, a Pitt recruit, struck out 15 batters and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

However, only one Seneca Valley batter looked at a called strike three. All the rest were retired on swinging third strikes.

And the ending was anything but predictable.

Seneca Valley’s Emily Watson broke up a potential no-hitter in the seventh inning with a single, and designated player Lauren Davies followed by drilling a home run over the center field fence.

“I wasn’t giving up,” Davies said. “She wasn’t going to get me out again, and that’s how I felt when I went into the batter’s box.”

Davies said she was expecting an outside fastball.

“And that’s what I got,” she said. “That’s what she had thrown me the last two at-bats.”

Davies’ third home run of the season cut the lead to 5-3, but Larkin got back into her pitching rhythm and struck out two of the last three batters by hitting the corners of the plate.

“Larkin kept us off-balance, and we swung at her pitches instead of ours,” Raiders softball coach George Trew said. “But we made it interesting. We got the tying run up to the plate in the seventh.”

Seneca Valley scored its first run when Larkin was called for an illegal pitch after walking two of the first three batters she faced.

Watson pitched a complete game for Seneca Valley, allowing eight hits and giving up four earned runs.

Despite the loss, Seneca Valley (13-6) qualified for the PIAA softball playoffs. The Raiders, who open the state tournament on Monday at a site and time to be determined, could face Latrobe again if they can advance to next Thursday’s quarterfinals.

“If that happens, we’re going to have to find a way to get more balls into play (against Larkin) than we did tonight,” Trew said.

Latrobe (15-4) won its third WPIAL softball title and first since taking back-to-back championships in 2007 and 2008.

Larkin retired 17 consecutive batters after allowing the first-inning run.

“We waited too long, and we swung at too many bad pitches,” Davies said. “But I think we showed a lot of character the way we came back late this season and we upset a lot of teams in the playoffs.”

Latrobe freshman Ashley Perillo hit a three-run homer to center field in the second inning to give the Wildcats a 3-1 lead.

No high school in the region had as as Seneca Valley.

The and girls teams claimed championship trophies, while the boys volleyball and softball team earned the runner-up awards.

Seneca Valley’s boys lacrosse team lost in the semifinals of the Division I playoffs.