Frazier takes advantage of C-H miscues in win
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Happy Frazier players converge to celebrate their 4-1 victory over Chartiers-Houston in a WPIAL Class 2A softball quarterfinal game Monday at Peterswood Park.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Chartiers-Houston players rally before facing their final inning against Frazier in the WPIAL Class 2A softball quarterfinals Monday at Peterswood Park.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Chartiers-Houston’s Paige McAvoy applies the tag that catches Frazier’s Skylar Hone scrambling back to third base in the bottom of the fifth inning Monday at Peterswood Park.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Frazier's Rylee Evans races to first base in an effort to beat the throw to Chartiers-Houston's Hanna Richey. Evans was safe when the throw skipped past Richey, and scored on a double by Delaney Warnick.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Frazier pitcher Nicole Palmer allowed only one run in a WPIAL Class 2A playoff victory Monday over Chartiers-Houston at Peterswood Park.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Chartiers-Houston pitcher Nicolette Kloes winds up for a delivery to a Frazier batter Monday in a WPIAL Class 2A softball playoff game at Peterswood Park.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Chartiers-Houston's Nicolette Kloes (23) sets up to tag Frazier's Delaney Warnick in a rundown between second and third during a WPIAL Class 2A softball playoff game at Peterswood Park on Monday.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Frazier's Delaney Warnick is called out after trying to slide under the tag by Chartiers-Houston's Nicolette Kloesafter being aught between second and third.
McMURRAY – Charity is great at the holidays, not so great in softball playoff games.
It wasn’t hard to figure out why Chartiers-Houston was on the short end of a 4-1 score against Frazier in the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals at Peterswood Park Monday afternoon.
Chartiers-Houston saw a 2-1 game turned into a 3-run loss in a disastrous sixth inning when the Bucs were guilty of giving second chances to Frazier hitters.
Take Rylee Evans for example 1. She lined a single to left field and got to second base when Kaleigh Walton mishandled it. Evans eventually came around to score to make it 3-1 Frazier.
Take Delaney Warnick as example 2. Her foul pop should have been caught by first baseman Hanna Richey or catcher Maddie Smith. But signals got crossed and a last-second lunge by Richey saw the ball bounce out of glove and fall to the ground for an error.
Warnick then lashed the next offering for a double that drove in Evans.
Making those plays would have left no one on base with two outs. Instead, Maria Felsher’s double scored Warnick to give the Commodores a 4-1 lead.
“That always comes back to hurt you,” said Chartiers-Houston head coach Tricia Alderson of Warnick’s foul ball drop. “Quite honestly, we should have had her out a couple times. By then, she’s seen a lot of pitches and got a nice base hit.
“We needed to keep it close. We knew there were certain parts of our order where we were going to get some runs. So we did some things like bunt to put the ball into play to make them make plays. And they made plays.”
Another example: Jennsyn Hartman lashed a single to left field in the fifth and Walton tried to gun down Skylar Hone at third base. Hartman took second on the throw. The Bucs would eventually pick off Hone at third base. But Madison Bednar singled to center to drive in Hartman to give Frazier the lead 2-1.
Hartman hit a laser over the left field fence for a solo home run and a 1-0 lead for Frazier in the third.
Frazier starter Nicole Palmer struck out six and did not walk a batter, not a bad day for the freshman. Palmer, at one point, retired 12 batters in a row before Bella Hess tripled and scored on Smith’s sacrifice fly to make it 2-1.
“She does a nice job. She has a nice demeaner (in the circle),” Frazier coach Don Hartman said. “She’s never been in an environment like this. She plays a lot of travel ball but travel ball is not like this. We can’t defend the walk. My defense can play a little bit so if you don’t walk anybody and depend on your defense, then we’re going to win some games. And she bought into that.”
Chartiers-Houston put two runners on in the top of the seventh with singles by Lexie Brodnick and Richey. But Walton struck out and Emily Swarrow grounded out to end the threat.
“Unless you have real speedy outfielders, your not going to make that play,” Don Hartman said of the two C-H singles in the seventh. “That’s no-man’s land. We have good outfielders but they are two steps too slow. Luckily, we were able to get out of the inning before they could turn their lineup over to the top of their order because (leadoff hitter) Bella Hess is one of the best I’ve seen.”
Chartiers-Houston finishes the season with a 13-7 record and optimism toward the future after a runners-up spot in Section 1. There are only two senior starters so the bulk of the starting lineup returns. One of them is pitcher Nicolette Kloes, a junior who struck out three and walked one.
“We put our all out there,” said Kloes. “I did my best and played for the team. This was such a big experience, just being there for the team.”
Frazier (16-3) moves on to play 15-1 Laurel, a 7-0 winner over Burgettstown in another quarterfinal game. The game will be played Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.