NEW PARIS - Chestnut Ridge opened the District 5 Class AA playoffs with a bang.
The Lady Lions needed slightly under an hour to 15-run rule Everett in four innings Thursday and move on to the district championship game.
Stefanie McCoy went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, and Tiffany Clingerman was 3-for-3 with three runs scored in a 15-0 win. Alana Weyant gave up just two hits and struck out seven.
"We hit the ball well and played good defense," Weyant said. "It's definitely good to start districts with a win like this. This is our senior year for six of us, and we don't want it to end anytime soon."
Chestnut Ridge goes for its third straight district crown Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. against the winner of Conemaugh Township/Windber at a site to be announced.
The Lady Lions jumped on Everett early and never let up. After Weyant struck out the side in the top of the first, Chestnut Ridge scored seven runs in the bottom of the first.
McCoy and Brittany Mock knocked in the first two runs with singles, and after Bridgie Yothers drove in a run on a fielder's choice play, Alexis Corle knocked in two more with a single to center.
Tiffani Finnegan followed with an RBI-single to cap the rally.
"The playoffs are very nerve-racking. A good start like that really helps you relax," Clingerman said.
Chestnut Ridge took advantage of three Everett errors in the third, scoring six more runs. McCoy drove in two runs with a single off the left field fence.
"We're a better team than that," Everett coach Junior Bennett said. "You can't get in that kind of hole against a team like this and dig out of it. It's been a year like that. We have a very young team."
The Lady Lions clinched the win with two runs in the fourth. Kayla Gates hit a leadoff double and came around to score on Stephane Deaner's single. McCoy ended the game with a single to center that drove in Clingerman.
"That's exactly what we needed to start the playoffs - a solid, well-played game," Ridge coach Chuck Corle said. "It's a whole new season, and this is where it starts."
EVERETT (0): Clark cf 200, Colledge 2b 200, Layton c 100, Whitfield ss-p 200, Brallier 3b-ss 201, Wilt 1b 200, Clark p-3b 100, Showalter lf 100, Brown rf 101. Totals - 14 0 2.
CHESTNUT RIDGE (15): Clingerman cf 333, Deaner rf 312, McCoy ss 424, Weyant p 220, Mock 3b 311, Yothers 2b 210, Corle lf 311, Finnegan c 322, Gates 1b 221. Totals - 25 15 14.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Everett000 0XX X- 0 2 3
Chestnut Ridge706 2XX X-15 14 0
2B-Gates. RBI-Deaner 2, McCoy 4, Corle 2, Mock, Yothers, Finnegan. WP-Weyant. LP-Clark. SO-Weyant 7. BB-Clark 1, Whitfield 2, Weyant 1.
Records: Everett (8-11); Chestnut Ridge (19-1).
