Mar 30, 2017 3 min read

MONESSEN – The Monessen softball team prepared for its showdown at West Greene Monday with a 14-1 win Thursday over its cross-river rival Charleroi.

That was quite a different outcome than last year, when Charleroi swept the series.

“We showed a little bit of a killer instinct today,” said Bo Teets. “We want to try and get better every time out there.”

The game left Charleroi coach Trey Tilghman impressed with the Greyhounds.

“We faced a buzz saw right off the bat,” he said. “We made some mistakes in the infield and it goes downhill from there. It snowballed on us, but they hit the ball.”

Monessen has won its first two games by a combined score of 24-1 and has not committed an error behind starter Dana Vatakis.

“We are playing well to start the season and hopefully it springboards us to the rest of the season,” said Teets. “We are playing well in the field, our defense controlled the game and having plate discipline right now is big.”

With the game scoreless after one, Monessen exploded for nine runs in the second inning on seven hits and three Charleroi errors.

Kelsey Bachinski drove in Mattie Telegraphis to start the inning, which saw Monessen send 14 batters to the plate. Maddie Guzzie followed with an RBI single and Destiny Habeck followed with a two-run single.

Vatakis was next with an RBI single and after two more runs scored on an error, Cara Wheeler closed the scoring in the inning with a two-run single.

Adrianna Gottheld drove in the lone Charleroi run with an RBI single in the third that scored Bre Painter.

Monessen added five more runs in the fourth on four hits, but again had help from two Charleroi errors.

Telegraphis had a two-run double in the inning and Paige Kerestecki and Sasha Kenney had RBI singles for Monessen.

Vatakis retired the side in the fifth to end the game via the 10-run rule. The junior, a Robert Morris commit, struck out five and gave up two hits. For the game, 41 of her 54 pitches were strikes. Losing pitcher Ashley Smith threw 58 of her 89 pitches for strikes.

Tilghman said his team will work to get better.

“We need to improve all around,” he said. “Coaching, pitching, hitting and fielding.”

Both teams are in section action Monday. Monessen heads to defending WPIAL Class A champion and PIAA runner-up West Greene for a Section 2-A game and Charleroi hosts South Park in Section 3-AAA action.