May 4, 2017 4 min read

CARMICHAELS – The meeting on the mound of Carmichaels players and an assistant coach lasted about 30 seconds. The discussion centered around Madison Renner, West Greene’s best power hitter. The concern after the one-ball count on Renner was what to throw her in order not to make any of the three baserunners score in this tight game.

After a conclusion was reached, the Mikes’ Kylie Sinn sent a fastball through the heart of the plate.

Sometimes, the best-laid plans …

Renner sent a screamer to the fence in left-centerfield, clearing the bases and providing the key hit in West Greene’s 4-3 victory over these feisty Mikes in a Section 2-A game Thursday in Carmichaels.

The victory moved West Greene’s section record to 11-0, clinching the section title for the second consecutive year, a first in the program’s history. Carmichaels fell to 10-2 and no one in Rogersville will lose any sleep if the Mikes are in the opposite side of the bracket come WPIAL playoff time.

“These girls have a bunch of firsts,” said Simms. “First time to win the WPIAL, first time to be in the state tournament and make the finals, first time in the WPIAL basketball semifinals. This is the first time we won back-to-back section titles. So this is a team full of firsts.”

The Pioneers, defending WPIAL champions and PIAA runners-up last season, never trailed in the game but the Mikes were never that far away. West Greene led 1-0 after one inning and 4-1 after Renner’s double in the fifth inning.

But Carmichaels chipped away, cutting the lead to 4-2 on a Kaitlyn Wilson groundout that scored Gina Ranieri, who opened the inning with a double. It became 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh when Natalie McNett singled in Megan Walker, sparking a rally that began with two outs in the inning.

While some West Greene fans traded nervous glances at each other, Ranieri lifted a high fly ball to center field, where McKenna Lampe pocketed it in her glove for the final out.

“We went into this game saying we needed to be more like our old team,” said Renner. “We hadn’t been ourselves. We haven’t been listening to music on the bus, like we used to. Today, we listened to music and were loose.”

Renner had been battling what Simms called a “little slump.”

“Her slump is like 4-for-11 with a home run. I told her she was so terrible that she is hitting .468,” Simms joked. “I told her, ‘You’re fine.’ That was the spark we needed.”

Renner didn’t think she was going to get a good pitch.

“Then she threw me a meatball down the middle,” she said.

Not only did Renner damage the Mikes with her hitting, she and third baseman Madison Lampe made four sensational plays during the game on softballs ticketed for left field. Renner’s best came in the third inning, when she dove to her right to snag a shot hit by McNett and threw her out at first.

Madison Lampe did her best Brooks Robinson imitation – look him up on YouTube – when she snagged a zinger off the bat of Sinn and made the play at first base. It was the second out of the seventh, and no one knew the importance of the play until three batters later.

“There were two or three plays where they just flat out robbed us of hits in key situations,” said Briggs. “We had our chances but I told the girls we just had to play a little bit better. A bounce here and there and we win the game.”

Simms said team defense often gets overlooked because of the powerful hitting lineup and strong pitching.

“That gets lost in the shuffle a little bit, how well we can play defense,” said Simms.

The Mikes loaded the bases in the first inning and didn’t score and left six on base for the game. Carmichaels got a strong game from catcher Walker, who went 2-for-4 and scored a run. She also picked a runner off base for the final out in the fourth inning.