Win gives C-M share of section title; PT is playoff bound
Canon-McMillan’s pitcher Kaylee Gohring, left, celebrates the Big Macs’ win over Peters Township with her teammates, including Katelyn Greaves (9) at Peterswoods Park Tuesday.
Canon-McMillan’s Kylah Kubiczki slides safely into 2nd base as Peters Township’s Haley Cecere tries to make the tag during a game at Peterswood Park Tuesday.
McMURRAY – Canon-McMillan’s offensive struggling has been an anomaly during the softball program’s rise to prominence over the past six years.
When the Big Macs could not generate a clutch hit and struck out eight times against Baldwin last Saturday – costing them an outright section title – it wasn’t the offense that had head coach Michele Moeller concerned.
The defense struggled at backing up balls hit to the outfield, so that was the focus of Monday’s practice as Canon-McMillan prepared for its second try at clinching a fifth consecutive section title. In Moeller’s opinion, if the defense improved, the offense would take care of the rest.
The Big Macs proved her right Tuesday afternoon and it was the defense that helped secure the section championship.
Canon-McMillan scored four runs in the second inning and got three key insurance runs late to defeat Peters Township 9-4 at Peterswood Park and earn a share of the Section 4-AAAA title.
With Baldwin’s win over Bethel Park, the Big Macs (10-2, 15-3) shared the title with the Highlanders and Peters Township (7-5, 9-6) clinched a playoff spot by tying the Black Hawks for third place.
“It’s a good win. We needed to get the win and we got it,” Moeller said. “They did the little things in the field. I don’t want to look back, but that was the problem earlier (in the season). We’re honing in on it again and it showed today.”
It was the offense that helped the Big Macs overcome an early deficit. After Peters Township freshman third baseman Kate Hondru hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to make it 2-1, Canon-McMillan answered with four runs in the second.
Sophomore Makenzie Hollie hit a leadoff single and sophomore Kylah Kubiczki reached on a bunt single before junior Kayla Hopkins drove a run in with a base hit to left field. Senior shortstop Linda Rush, who has walked 17 times and struck out once in 68 plate appearances, followed with a two-run single to make it 4-2. Senior third baseman Kirsten Rush followed with an RBI-double.
After struggling against Baldwin, the Big Macs’ offense generated 15 hits and six different players had multiple hits. One of those was junior second baseman Brittney Crawford, who went 2-for-5 with an run-scoring single in the seventh inning.
“Coming off of Saturday, we were down, but today we came back and hit the ball,” Crawford said. “It’s definitely nice to get the section title. We were the underdogs going into the season, obviously. I don’t think anyone expected us to do this well, but it’s nice to do it.”
Canon-McMillan made it 6-2 in the third inning on an RBI single by Hopkins and added another run in the fifth inning when Kubiczki scored on a wild pitch. The Big Macs got a much-needed insurance run when sophomore Kaylee Thomas hit a pinch-hit solo home run.
The offense was outstanding against Peters Township, but it was the defense that was key. Kirsten Rush’s pick on a hard-hit ground ball in the first inning prevented Hondru’s home run from being a three-run shot. Rush turned a double play to end the second inning and junior right fielder Ashley Buggey made a nice over-the-shoulder catch on a line-drive to the fence in right field in the bottom of the seventh.
Each play helped senior pitcher Kaylee Gohring, who struck out seven, walked one and frustrated the Indians, but head coach Jessica Weigold found positives.
Peters Township cut the deficit to six in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore shortstop Haley Cecere reached on a bunt single and scored on a double by freshman Jill Yeates, who went 2-for-3 with two runs. Freshman Anna Zierden added an RBI single before Gohring got a groundout to end the inning.
“We’re a young team, so it’s nice to see us battle as much as possible,” Weigold said. “It’s obviously not the outcome we wanted, but we’re learning and growing. If they keep doing that, they’ll learn they can beat anyone. We haven’t put together a full game yet and I’m excited to see when that happens.”
Though the win gave Canon-McMillan, which will likely use two pitchers during the postseason, another section title, it doesn’t guarantee the Big Macs a top seed for the WPIAL playoffs. Moeller believes it’s unlikely they’ll receive a bye or a favorable first-round matchup after the loss to Baldwin, whose head coach and athletic director, Vince Sortino, is on the committe that will decide playoff seedings at Thursday’s meeting.
“Hempfield deserves a bye. North Allegheny, Shaler – those teams have proven it all year long and they do deserve it,” Moeller said. “You have to beat all the teams anyway, so at this point I could care less where we’re seeded, but we won’t be above them no matter what.”