No clutch hits for Trinity in PIAA final
Steve Manuel/For the Observer-Reporter Trinity falls 2-0 to District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic in the PIAA Class AAA softball championship at Penn State Friday night. It was the Hillers girls’ first appearance in the state finals, as they were trying to become the first WPIAL team to win the Class AAA title since Valley in 2011.
Trinity’s Sara Beecham wipes away tears following Friday’s 2-0 loss to Bethlehem Catholic High School in the PIAA Class AAA softball championships at Beard Field in State College.
Trinity infielder Madison Hornack throws to first base after forcing Bethlehem Catholic’s Yaneska Rodriguez out at second base during Friday’s PIAA Softball Championships at Beard Field in State College.
Trinity shortstop Olivia Gray makes a diving catch, one of several outstanding defensive plays the Pitt recruit made.
Trinity left fielder Brooke Beck makes a lunging catch of a fly ball against Bethlehem Catholic.
UNIVERSITY PARK – Trinity High School pitcher Paige Galentine did her usual Harry Houdini act and escaped several full-blown jams. The Hillers’ infield defense was stellar again, throwing out yet another runner at home plate and taking away several potential hits. And the top of Trinity’s batting order spent much of game on base.
The only part of Trinity’s winning formula that was missing Friday was the clutch two-out hitting that was so instrumental in the Hillers’ postseason success. And it proved to be the difference between gold and silver.
Bethlehem Catholic scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, and senior left-handed pitcher Elyse Cuttic threw a five-hit shutout, as the Golden Hawks edged Trinity, 2-0, in a rain-plagued PIAA Class AAA softball championship game at Nittany Lions Softball Park’s Beard Field.
The game began almost an hour later than its original scheduled start time, then was delayed 96 minutes in the middle of the sixth inning because of rain.
Bethlehem Catholic (19-7) won its first state championship in its third trip to the finals. The Golden Hawks lost in last year’s title game.
Trinity (20-6), making its first appearance in the finals, was trying to become the first team in school history to win an outright PIAA title. The Hillers, however, were shut out for the first time all season and couldn’t generate enough offense. They had eight baserunners but only one reached base before two outs.
“We were getting runners on, but it was always with two outs. It was just too little, too late,” explained Trinity senior shortstop Olivia Gray, who played a fine overall game and was 2-for-3 with a double.
Trinity’s best chances to score came in the first and fifth innings but the Hillers were unable to generate a clutch two-out hit – something that plagued them in a WPIAL semifinal loss to Yough – and left baserunners on third each time.
“I’m shocked that we were shut out,” Trinity coach Shawn Gray said. “Their pitcher is very good. She kept us off balance. Take nothing away from them, that’s a very good team.”
Trinity’s Madison Hornack led off the bottom of the first by drawing a walk. She advanced to second on Gray’s sacrifice bunt and moved to third on Delaney Elling’s hard line-drive flyout to right field. Hornack, however, was stranded to third when Hali Justice popped out to second base.
In the fifth, Hornack started another Trinity threat with a two-out infield single. Gray followed with another infield single on a grounder to first base. Cuttic, as she had done two innings earlier, pitched around Elling and walked her on five pitches to load the bases.
Cuttic, however, ended the inning when Justice, who seemed to be surprised by the call of the home-plate umpire, took a called third strike. It was one of six strikeouts by Cuttic, who missed part of the season with an asthma-related issue and then had her appendix removed May 1. She had pitched in relief in the Golden Hawks’ PIAA opener and didn’t start a game at the position until the semifinals Tuesday.
“She has the perfect mentality for a pitcher,” Bethlehem Catholic coach Rich Mazza said. “She’s pretty tough but she’s also calm. She never gets rattled.”
Trinity also produced two baserunners in the third but failed to score. Gray hit a double to the gap in left centerfield before Cuttic pitched around Elling.
Bethlehem Catholic scored the game’s first run in the fourth. Courtney Shupp hit a one-out double that went to the wall in right field and was replaced by courtesy runner Bailey Deshler. Galentine’s next pitch went to the backstop and Deshler moved to third base. She scored when Bethanne Brandstetter patiently waited on an offspeed pitch from Galentine and blooped it up the middle for an RBI single.
The Golden Hawks could have had a bigger inning but Elling, Trinity’s first baseman, snagged a line drive that led to an unassisted inning-ending double play.
The Golden Hawks made it 2-0 in the fifth, scoring after having two outs and nobody on base. Freshman Jess Indelicato, BC’s leadoff hitter, tripled to left centerfield, just beating the relay throw to third base by Gray. Pint-sized second baseman Angelys Cotto followed with a line-drive single just inside the right-field line to make it 2-0.
“They got some timely hits,” Shawn Gray said. “That hit that landed on the right-field line, any coach would hope to get that one.”
Galentine scattered seven hits. Walks had been an issue for the junior right-hander in some postseason games but Galentine issued only one free passes and struck out two in the biggest game of her career.
“She pitched a good game,” Shawn Gray confirmed.
“We had opportunities. They were just a better team than we were today. We played a good game and you can’t be upset about that. We had opportunities, but they’re a very good team. We have nothing to be ashamed about.”