'Exciting experience': West Suburban softball team captures 14-Under state title

Jake Oswalt, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·4 min read

Jul. 18—Just two years ago, a potential deep postseason run for the West Suburban Little League 12-Under softball team was wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Red Rage are making the most of their opportunity this summer. On Saturday, the 14-Under team claimed the Pennsylvania Junior League softball title by defeating Plymouth 15-5 in five innings.

"It feels great," said Zoey Lynch, a rising sophomore at Westmont Hilltop High School. "Most of my other teammates have already been to states before, but this is all of our first times winning."

West Suburban outscored its opponents by a 48-10 margin in a perfect 4-0 weekend. Three games were shortened because of the run rule as West Suburban captured what it believed to be the first state championship in league history, baseball or softball.

"It was just an exciting experience just to see the joy on the players' faces," West Suburban coach Dave Lynch said. "I had girls crying. I've been to a million softball tournaments before. I've never seen tears of joy after winning. It was really cool for the kids.

"It's a great group of girls, a great group of families. It was exhilarating. It was just a lot of fun."

The District 11 and Section 4 champions, who are 8-1 this summer, defeated Plymouth 11-1, Clinton County 7-2 and Downingtown East 15-2 in their first three contests.

Having their 2020 season knocked out, the team is motivated to advance as far as they can.

"It was a real bummer, especially for these kids because I know what a special group it is and how talented they are," Dave Lynch said of the 2020 season being canceled. "Now they are making up for it in the next division."

"We just really wanted to try our best and just win it," Zoey Lynch said.

"We did."

A prolific combination of hitting, pitching and defense has led the Red Rage to the East Region tournament on Thursday in Orange, Connecticut.

"We've got a solid pitcher and a really strong defense behind her all around the field at every position," Dave Lynch said. "We've got so many bats in the lineup. The way that they were hitting the ball this week was unbelievable. We had 19 hits one game, 16 hits in another. We're talking about games that were shortened because we run-ruled most of the teams. The way that our girls were hitting up there in Berwick was astounding."

Other team members include Taylor Hess, Sienna Kubic, Alea Ladika and Sophie Lamia. The close-knit bunch has been playing together for a few years, building chemistry along the journey.

"We're all just really close friends," Zoey Lynch said. "Playing together, it just really helps because we're so close."

"The one thing that sticks out is this group of girls have been together for a long time now," Dave Lynch said.

"These girls have been playing together at West Suburban for so long."

Despite the absence of starting catcher and cleanup hitter Katie Ledwich, the Red Rage displayed their potent lineup throughout the state tournament.

"Kristin Stiles, Katie Scott and Lizzy Veranese stepped in and played great in Katie Ledwich's absence," Dave Lynch said.

Ledwich helped the Conemaugh Valley softball team win another District 6 Class 1A title this past spring as a freshman.

Zoey Lynch, a key cog on the District 6 Class 3A runner-up squad at Westmont Hilltop this past spring, is a catalyst at the top of the lineup, which is followed by a dynamic middle of the order.

"She batted close to 1.000 the entire tournament," Dave Lynch said of his daughter, Zoey. "In all-stars, I think she's hitting .818. She really sets the tone. In the middle, we've got really big bats in Lizzy Veranese, LaMya Stephens, Kelsie Muto and Kristin Stiles.

"Lizzy had a three-run shot in one of the games."

West Suburban will compete in the Mid-Atlantic pool within the East Region. The Red Rage play New York at 3 p.m. Thursday, Delaware at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Maryland at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and New Jersey at 11 a.m. Sunday.

All 10 teams in the regional will advance to bracket play on Monday, with the champion advancing to play in the Junior League Softball World Series in Kirkland, Washington, from July 31 to Aug. 6.

Games in the regional can be viewed on ESPN+.

If local businesses are interested, the West Suburban Little League is accepting donations to help fund the trip to Connecticut.

Jake Oswalt is a copy editor for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TheWizOfOz11.