Facing one of the best pitchers and one of the top teams in the area, regardless of classification, Mount Pleasant Area needed to play nearly perfect to notch the upset in the WPIAL Class 3A Championship against South Park on Thursday. Instead, the Vikings were mistake-prone, as they fell to the top-seeded Eagles 10-1 at Lilley Field at California University of Pennsylvania.

The third seed Vikings were denied their third WPIAL crown, while South Park captured its second title, and first since 2003, after finishing as runner-up each of the past two seasons.

After the Vikings (15-5) were retired in order in the first inning by Eagles’ ace Sydney Sekely, South Park struck for a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. Sydney Dubyak led off by reaching on an error, and Emma Hays reached on a fielder’s choice in which both runners were safe. One out later, Grace Kempton delivered a two-run single to put the top seed ahead 2-0.

The Vikings left a pair of runners on in the second, but they broke through against Sekely in the third. Sadie Poole was hit by pitch with one out, and she moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Chloe Borelli. Jenna Whipkey then blooped a ball to shallow left-center, bringing in Poole and making the score 2-1.

Clinging to that narrow lead in the fourth, the Eagles (20-1) created some separation, scoring a pair of runs with two outs. The rally started when No. 9 hitter Addison O’Connor drew a walk, and moved to second on a wild pitch. Dubyak followed with an RBI single, and Hays crushed a double off the top of the fence in center, extending to a 4-1 advantage.

“When you walk the No. 9 and turn it over to the top of the order, that’s kind of where they started to separate themselves,” Mount Pleasant Area head coach Paul Reho lamented.

The Vikes threatened in the fifth, as Gracie Etling singled and Borelli drew a walk, but Whipkey popped out to end the frame.

In the bottom of the inning, the Eagles tacked on more insurance, scoring twice more on three hits, aided by a pair of Vikings’ errors.

“Uncharacteristic of our defense,” Reho said, as the Vikings committed five errors. “Some of the runs they scored were not on hard-hit balls.”

South Park erased any doubt of the outcome in the sixth, plating four runs on four hits, including a triple by Kempton and a double by Layla Pacifico.

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The Vikings offense, meanwhile, collected a hit and had a runner in scoring position in each the sixth and seventh frames, but Mount Pleasant was unable to cash in against Sekely.

“You have to be able to stack hits together against her. We got hits, but we didn’t stack them together,” Reho noted.

After posting two shutouts and racking up 34 combined strikeouts in the first two playoff games this year, Sekely was less dominant but still impressive. She earned the complete-game victory, permitting five hits and one run, issuing two walks while compiling seven punchouts. Kempton led the SP offense, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while Kaitlyn Polk had two hits and two runs batted in.

Dani Trainer took the loss in the circle for the Vikings, as she allowed 11 hits and 10 runs, five earned, in six innings. Kendra Brunson was the bright spot offensively, as she went 2-for-3.

While both the Eagles and Vikings will shift their focus to the PIAA Class 3A postseason, which commences on Monday, Mount Pleasant should benefit considerably from playing in a championship environment.

“It’s really good that we were able to get to this point and experience this,” Reho reflected. “I think this will motivate them. Hopefully they come back with a focus.”