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STUDENT ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

For the first time in the five-year history of the Greenesports.net Student-Athlete of the Year program, there are two very deserving winners. Considering they are twins who have both put together arguably the most successful athletic careers in recent county history, it wouldn’t have been fair to pick one over the other.

West Greene stars Madison and McKenna Lampe were recently honored as the 2019 Greenesports.net Student-Athletes of the Year following four years of unmatched success over 12 seasons. Both sisters were honored in a ceremony at West Greene High School and presented with a plaque and a pair of $500 scholarships.

“It’s really remarkable what the Lampes have done for not only their respective teams, but the West Greene athletic program as a whole,” said Greenesports.net co-founder, operations manager and announcer Jason Tennant. “We knew from the start they were something special and to reach the heights they have, it was a really easy decision to make these two our athletes of the year.”

The duo has collected a combined 12 letters in cross country, basketball and softball and that is just the start of their milelong list of accomplishments. The Lampes were part of a senior class that has piled up a total of eight section titles (four in softball, three in basketball and one in cross country), three WPIAL softball championships and back-to-back PIAA Class 1-A softball crowns. Their combined efforts also led to the Pioneers becoming the first team from Greene country to run at a PIAA cross country championship meet. The duo also spearheaded back-to-back WPIAL runnerup efforts in basketball and three-straight PIAA tournament qualifications.

All of those wins in the fall and winter campaigns were just the lead-up to what has been three-plus dominant years on the softball diamond. The Pioneers come into the 2019 postseason looking for a fourth-straight trip to the PIAA championship game and are heavy favorites to do so. They are also the overwhelming pick for a fourthstraight district title.“This group of girls has been together for years and accomplished a lot,” said Madison Lampe. “We’re ready for this last playoff run and we are looking forward to it.”

As impressive as the team accomplishments are, Madison and McKenna have accomplished some phenomenal individual accolades. Both sisters were individual state qualifiers in cross country, are members of the West Greene 1,000-point scorers club and are multi-time all-district picks in basketball and softball. Much like their team honors, their most impressive individual applause has come on the diamond, where they are both three-time all-state picks heading into their senior season. In 2017, they were selected as PASBCA Class A Softball Co-Players of the Year.

“If you look at the Lampes and only knew them in basketball, cross country or softball, that would be enough to be picked as our athletes of the year,” said Greenesports.net co-founder and announcer Lanfer Simpson. “In a day and age when you have so many kids wanting to specialize in one sport, it makes what these two sisters have done in three sports so remarkable. They show what a true athlete is. They’ve lifted up a school and a community and what they and their teammates have done in three-plus years is truly special. It won’t be forgotten for a long time. It’s really special.”

After graduation, both Madison and McKenna will be heading to Pittsburgh to study nursing and compete for the Carlow University softball team. They will also be heavily involved with their United States Army ROTC training and commitments. Four years of the sort of time management, physical exertion and mental steadiness to balance that sort of schedule would be too much for many individuals. For the two talented and dedicated siblings, it’s just become a way of life.

“The life that we have had forever has always been busy and we’ve always had a busy schedule,” said McKenna Lampe. “We just want to thank our parents, family, friends, coaches and community who have been with us through the year to get us here.”

(L-R): Jason Tennant (GreeneSports), McKenna Lampe, Madison Lampe, Lanfer Simpson (GreeneSports)

The WPIAL National office released the pairings for the 2019 Softball playoffs and four Greene County teams will be starting their road to the WPIAL Championships. Two of the four teams are top five seeds and three come in as top 10 teams in this year’s field of competitors.

Four Area Softball Teams Earn Spot in WPIAL Playoffs

Leading the group is the defending WPI- AL Class A Champions the West Greene Pioneers sitting as the #1 seed in Class A. They received a first-round bye after finishing the season 16-4 while going 10-0 section 2-1A play and head into the tournament having won nine of their last ten games.

The Jefferson-Morgan Rockets (9-6, 7-3) follow as the #5 seed in Class A and have a first-round match-up with #12 Rochester at Trinity high school and the Mapletown Maples (10-5, 6-4) come in as the #7 seed and will battle #10 Jeanette at Peters Township high school.

In Class 2A Carmichaels (13-5, 8-4) is the lone Greene County representative grabbing the #11 seed as they take on #6 Seton LaSalle at Peters Township. Good Luck to all of our Greene County teams and congrats on your hard work.

Five Teams Span 3 Classes in WPIAL Baseball Playoffs

After a long season, Greene County baseball teams are well represented spanning three different classifications as the WPIAL National Office released their pairings for the 2019 Baseball playoffs. With two Class 3A teams, two Class A teams, and one Class 2A team in the field, the road to Wild Things Park for the WPIAL Championship is underway.

In Class 3A, the Waynesburg Red Raiders lead the pack grabbing the #5 seed with a record of 11-5 and 9-3 in Section 3 3A play. Waynesburg has won six straight games and finished their season with a 6-1 win over Albert Gallatin. Beth-Center (7-9, 7-5) also snuck in as the #11 seed and have a first-round match-up with #4 seeded New Brighton.

In Class 2A, the Carmichaels Mighty Mikes (15-2, 10-2) serve as the lone Greene County Representative picking up the #2 seed and earning a first-round bye. Carmichaels is looking to get back on track after falling to Brownsville in their season finale.

In Class A, West Greene (11-7, 7-5) leads the way as the #8 seed as they play host to #9 Eden Christian, while Jefferson-Morgan (7-9, 7-5) grabbed the #13 seed and will take on #4 Greensburg Central Catholic.

West Greene Looking for More After Three Straight WPIAL Championships

In each of the last three seasons, the end of the WPIAL Playoffs have featured the West Greene Pioneers having their hands raised as Class A Champions. The Pioneers are once again back in the Class A playoffs and hungry for more success powered by a veteran team featuring seven senior players.

The key to this season’s success for head coach Bill Simms and his team was a strong out of conference schedule that saw them take on seven WPIAL Playoff qualifiers. Simms says it was a chance for his girls to see some tough competition and get them ready for what they will experience in the playoffs.

“We want to play a very competitive and tough non-section schedule even if it means a loss,” said Simms. “We play (a tough schedule) to see good pitching and I thought my girls had a good approach. They weren’t afraid to go deep in counts against good pitching and when you do that you will get some great at bats.”

West Greene will get a first-round bye week and will await the winner of the #8 Bishop Canevin vs. #9 Greensburg Central Catholic game to see who their first-round opponent will be.

PSU-Fayette Early Exit from PSUAC Playoffs Dashes USCAA Hopes

Entering the 2019 Penn State University Athletic Conference playoffs, Penn State Fayette’s softball team was riding a 14-game winning streak and had high hopes of making the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Tournament. However, an early exit in the first-round of the PSUAC playoffs dashed those hopes sending the Roaring Lions packing.

Fayette entered the PSUAC tournament as the #2 seed but were upset by PSU-DuBois 3-1 in the first round eliminating them from playoff contention. After falling behind 3-0 early, Chanel Porter picked up an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough as PSU- Fayette ended their playoff run.

PSU-Fayette has made the PSUAC playoff tournament in each of the last three seasons and under head coach John Miller have turned into a powerhouse team in the PSUAC West Division. As for the future of the program,

Athletic Director Lou Zedecky says that the team looks to continue to grow and improve as the year goes on.

“I think with the young core of studentathletes we have I feel the program is just going to keep growing,” said Zedecky. “We had three girls leave the program one was a 2+2 player and one was a star on the team. I feel with coach John Miller’s hard work bringing in athletes that will fit the mold of the program we have nowhere to go but up.”

3 Waynesburg Softball Players Named to PAC All-Conference Team

As the Waynesburg University Softball season came to an end, the Presidents’ Athletic Conference released it’s annual All-Conference team and three different Yellow Jackets received honors after a season that saw them go 8-26 and 4-12 in PAC play.

Heading the list of honorees were First- Team All-Conference players senior first baseman Alex Lawrence and junior catcher Rachel Skon. Lawrence had a huge year in her senior season leading the team in batting average (.389) and home runs (4) while finishing second on her team with 13 RBI.

Skon led the team in that category driving in 13 runs on the season while also leading the way with 12 doubles. Skon was second on the team hitting .380 this season while slugging .491 and reaching base at a .404 clip in her 33 games played this season.

Rounding out the Yellow Jacket honorees was senior pitcher Courtney Messenger who earned PAC Honorable Mention Honors. Messenger led the Waynesburg Pitching staff going 5-12 with a 2.92 ERA while walking eight and striking out a team high 38 batters in 112.2 innings worked.

Waynesburg finished their season getting swept in a doubleheader against Bethany where they dropped the first game 8-0 before falling in game two 9-5.