Repeating as section champions is the goal, and the Mustangs took the first step towards that goal last week. Plum beat Penn Hills, 5-3, in the WPIAL Section 4-AAA opener for both teams on Friday.

Ace pitcher Jen Cardinale pitched six innings, striking out five, walking none and allowing just one hit.

It wasn't just a strong pitching performance that keyed the Plum attack, as the bats were also dangerous.

 Sheila Bigenho had two hits and scored two runs. Jess Hadley went two-for-three with a double, and Kristen Bradburn smacked a triple.

With the win, Plum is now 3-1 overall, and 1-0 in section play.

Earlier in the week, Plum roughed up Franklin Regional. The Mustangs beat the Panthers, 5-0, on Wednesday.

As usual, Cardinale was strong on the mound, striking out four and walking none to claim the win.

Jamie Clark, Erin McGrath and Bradburn had two hits each.

A section game against Woodland Hills scheduled for Monday was rained out. The game will be rescheduled for later in the season.

The team is scheduled to play host Oakland Catholic in a section game today (Wednesday), then travel to Fox Chapel for a section game Friday.

Those games, of course, are weather pending.