CENTRAL WINS A PAIR TO CLOSE POOL PLAY
KIRKLAND WA – The Steel Valley All Stars (SVAS), a 14U softball team with players from Boardman, Canfield, Poland, and Struthers, representing Ohio as the Central Region Champions, dominated today to move to 3-1 in their pool play bracket.
In their first game, they blanked the Latin America team 6-0, thanks to Gia Vrona’s stellar pitching. Vrona threw seven shutout innings, giving up just one hit and striking out 12. She also set the tone offensively, smashing a leadoff home run on the second pitch of the game.
SVAS racked up 10 hits, with Emma Boccieri and Sydney MacDonald each contributing two hits and an RBI. Brooklyn Kosco added a double to the offensive effort.
In the nightcap, SVAS crushed the Southeast Region Champions from West Virginia 15-5. They exploded for 12 hits, led by Mackenzie Moore, who went perfect at the plate with three hits, including a double. Ali Blinsky had two hits, a double, and a triple, driving in two runs. Gianna Zuppo chipped in with two singles.
Justice Paris had a big game with two doubles and picked up the win on the mound. Paris went six innings, allowing five hits and striking out 11.
With these wins, SVAS secured the #2 seed in their bracket and will start elimination play against the West Region Champions from Arizona at 6:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, Aug 1st, live on ESPN+.