C-M’s Rush breaks out of slump in grand style in win over rival PT
Canon-McMillan’s Kirsten Rush gets a high-five from third-base coach Steve Moskal after hitting a fourth-inning grand slam Wednesday against Peters Township.
Canon-McMillan’s Kylah Kubiczki led the Big Macs last season with a .523 batting average. She also hit four doubles and had 12 RBI.
Peters Township’s Haley Cecere runs the bases Wednesday against Canon-McMillan.
CANONSBURG – Analytics and statistics matter just as much in softball as they do in baseball. Sure, the data might not be as readily available, but Canon-McMillan head coach Michele Moeller is using everything at her disposal this spring.
She charts the contact her pitchers are allowing, watches closely at every player’s at-bat, looks over the statistics regularly and her coaching staff is focusing on making minor adjustments to help players break out of slumps.
Moeller will utilize every metric and bit of information available to help her fill out the lineup card before a game.
When senior third baseman Kirsten Rush was disappointed after starting Wednesday’s game against Peters Township with two fly outs to the Indians’ pitcher, Moeller saw the discouragement. She told Rush that her defense was too valuable to allow the slump to impact her, so Moeller began warming up a replacement. Rush responded with three highlight-reel defensive plays and most importantly, the hit she had been waiting for.
Rush lifted the first pitch of her at-bat in the fourth inning over the left-field fence at North Strabane Intermediate School field for a grand slam, helping the Big Macs defeat Peters Township 9-2 in a Section 4-AAAA game.
“I was hard on her,” Moeller said. “I could tell it was bothering her the first two at-bats. I told her that we need you on defense. You can’t feel bad. I got a player warmed up to take her place if she was, and she made two great plays on defense then she hit the ball over the fence. She’s an incredible kid, so it was great to see her get that.”
Moeller has had to make several tough decisions each game and it starts in the circle. With both of her first-year starting pitchers excelling, she has to decide which one to start each game. This time, it was sophomore Abi Michelucci.
After walking two of the first three batters she faced, leading to an early 1-0 deficit, Michelucci struck out seven and allowed just four hits the rest of the game.
The pitching has progressed ahead of schedule for the first-place Big Macs (7-1, 12-2). Michelucci and senior Kaylee Gohring have an ERA of less than 3.00.
Moeller also moved senior shortstop Linda Rush, a Drexel recruit, out of the No. 3 spot and ahead of junior second baseman Brittney Crawford to bring lineup protection, and hopefully, avoid walks.
Linda Rush walked twice against the Indians (5-4, 7-4), but she belted a solo homer over the fence in center field for the 2-1 lead. Eight different players had at least one hit for C-M.
“It’s nice to see some people start to hit a bit,” Moeller said. “We still have some kids struggling. Every day will be different. We’re always constantly thinking if we should move someone or should we try something different. It’s the same way with Abi and Kaylee. It’s me constantly looking at stats, what’s going on and we have so much information now. You take a shot and see.”
Following Alex Bondi’s RBI single that gave Peters Township a 1-0 lead in the first, Canon-McMillan answered by loading the bases and first baseman Katelyn Greaves’ ground out scored Kayla Hopkins.
Rush’s home run gave the Big Macs the lead and Hopkins, who went 3-for-4, added an RBI-single in the fourth. Peters Township pitcher Kylie Hartbauer walked in a run and with the bases still loaded, Kirsten Rush saw her slump end with a grand slam that went inches over the fence.
After she was challenged by Moeller, Kirsten Rush caught a hard line drive to third, had a beautiful pick on a bunt attempt in the top of the fourth and started an inning-ending double play in the fifth.
“I feel better. I was more focused,” she said. “I wasn’t trying to kill it as much. It was more trying to let it happen. I didn’t think it was over (the fence), though. I thought it was in and they were going to catch it. I was going to be mad, but they didn’t, so it’s OK.”
Peters Township, which had its head coach resign after only three games, was on a five-game winning streak before back-to-back losses.
The latest was a concern to head coach Jessica Weigold, who took over following Jay Krull’s resignation. The Indians scored one run in the sixth when Jill Yeates, who went 2-for-2, scored as Kate Hondru was caught in a rundown between second and third. Both runners were safe, but Hondru was one of four runners the Indians stranded on base.
“We weren’t able to put the ball in play when we needed and we left runners in scoring position,” Weigold said. “We struggled a bit at the plate. We’re young, so we’re learning.”
The victory keeps Canon-McMillan atop the standings as its young pitcher took another step forward, but with success comes more difficult decisions for Moeller.
Moments such as Rush’s grand slam make it all worth it.
“She’s an incredible kid, so it was great to see her get that,” Moeller said.