West Chester East kicks off state tourney with rout of Waynesboro

WEST GROVE—After two straight district games where West Chester East had to fight and scratch just to manage a run and a win, the Vikings wasted no time showing they could still slug with the best of them, pushing across four runs in the first inning.

When all was said and done, the Vikings (23-2) had pounded out 14 hits, while Jess Gomez and Olivia Ronayne combined on a 3-hitter, and East cruised to an 11-1 win over Waynesboro in six innings in the opening round of the PIAA Class 5A softball tourney Monday at Avon Grove High School.

With the win, the Vikings move on to Thursday’s quarterfinals, where they will play the District 1 champ, Pittston Area, a winner over Upper Perkiomen Monday, at a site and time to be determined.

“It was great to see us get our bats going again,” said East coach Bobby Swier. “We had a tough game hitting (in a win) against Shanahan in the district final, so to get our offense going like we did was great. It was especially great to see it all up and down the line-up, and even from girls coming off the bench to pinch hit.”

Kinzie Thompson (3 for 3, 3B, 3R, RBI), Kayla MacLaughlin (2 for 3, HR, 3B, 2R, 2RBI) and Sam Gomez (3 for 3, 2B) paced the Vikings with multi hit games. All but two Vikings that stepped up to the plate got base hits, and those two, Amanda Gomez and Lexi Wilson, each knocked in a run.

East plated runs in each of the first three innings. In the first, Kinzie Thompson and Alex Douglass both beat out bunts, coming in to score when Paige Olson doubled. MacLaughlin brought home with a double of her own, and came into score on an error.

In the second, the Vikings added a pair on singles from Kate Douglass and Kelsey McLaughlin along with a double from Thompson, and another in the third on singles from Sam Gomez and Ronayne, with a sac fly from Wilson.

“Getting out quick like that kind of gave us the mojo for the rest of the game,” said Olson. “We’re playing really well right now as a team. We’re all so close on and off the field, it really helps us play together.”

The Vikings made it 9-0 in the fifth when MacLaughlin launched a one-out home run to right center, Sam Gomez doubled, and pinch hitter Allison Hill chipped in with an RBI single. Though Waynesboro finally got on the board with a solo home run from Maddie Miller in the sixth, East put it away with two more runs in the bottom half of the inning.

“I’m approaching each game as though it might be the last game I play in high school,” said MacLaughlin, a Fordham recruit. “I graduate tomorrow, but I want to keep playing with these girls for as long as we can. We’re all just trying to put our best foot forward and try to go as far as we can.”

In the circle, Gomez and Ronanyne were both on. Each threw three innings. Gomez (3IP, 0 R, 2 H, 6K 0BB) got the start, with Ronanyne (3IP, 1R, 1H, 6K, 0BB) coming in off the bench.

“Both girls pitched very well today,” said Swier. “And we played great defense. I think we’ve played great defense all year, so it was great to see our offense come through like they did.”