Seneca upsets Sharpsville in 2A semifinal

May 26—HERMITAGE — Bases were loaded with two outs in a two-run ballgame.

But one last grounder and throw to first ended the Sharpsville softball season. The Blue Devils fell to Seneca 5-3 in a 2A District 10 semifinal on Wednesday at the Hermitage Athletic Complex.

The Blue Devils trailed 5-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. An RBI single by Izzie Candiotti got Sharpsville. But the next two batters were retired quickly.

"We just couldn't get the big hit," Sharpsville head coach Mark Piccirilli said. "Couldn't get the big hit. That's what it narrows down to. We had opportunities ... just couldn't come through."

Seneca will face Reynolds in the 2A D10 championship on Monday. Reynolds beat Union City, 9-0, in its semifinal.

Sharpsville's Breanna Hanley allowed five runs — two earned — on seven hits and four walks. She struck out nine in a complete game.

Hanley and Candiotti both went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Alli Davis was 2-for-4 with a double. Lily Palko was 1-for-3 with a run scored, and Paige Yarian and Bella Ritenour recorded hits for the Blue Devils.

The Bobcats, the fourth seed, took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. The Blue Devils cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom half of the inning, but Seneca got that run back in the second.

It turned into a scoreless affair from there. Neither team pushed a run across until Seneca scored two more in the top of the sixth. The Blue Devils got one back in the home half to make it a 5-2 game.

"I'm proud of the girls," Piccirilli said. "We'll miss the seniors — we had a good ride there for four years.

"The seniors have been through a lot. Getting shut down with COVID for a year, the weather this year — couldn't get into a rhythm. Took a while to get into a rhythm with cancellations.

The Blue Devils will graduate seven seniors from this year's roster. The senior class included Yarian, Davis, Kayleigh Stinedurfm, Haley White, Lexi Hast and Rylee Hartle.

"I made Alli and Paige captains, and they grew with that this year," Piccirilli said. "Did a really good job with the underclassmen."

After the game, the coaches talked the players behind the dugout. When that was finished the girls packed their bags, but the talks continued between the players. Yarian said that connection was what helped make the season special.

"The year has been amazing," Yarian said. "I'm gonna miss the freshmen, I'm gonna miss everybody, I'm gonna miss not being able to play with my friends. I've played with them every single year."

As the top seed, it wasn't the way the Blue Devils wanted to send off their seniors, but the returning players are young. and Yarian knows they could make a playoff push again in 2023.

"Losing all the seniors, it sucks but I know they're gonna get [the district title] next year," Yarian said. "I'm confident in them."