Lady Pioneers claim section title
Carmichaels third baseman Shelbee McCann (10) ducks to avoid the throw to shortstop Natalie McNett (22), but it was not in time to stop West Greene蘑菇视频 McKenna Lampe (16) from stealing third during a Section 2-A game at Carmichaels High School, May 4, 2017. The Lady Pioneers won, 4-3. (Photo by John F. Brothers)
Carmichaels third baseman Shelbee McCann (10) hauls in an infield fly for an out against West Greene in Thursday's Section 2-A match-up with Carmichaels at Carmichaels High School.
Carmichaels second baseman Laura Walker (9) makes the force out against West Greene's Madison Lampe (4) and then fires the ball to first in time to complete a double play in the first inning of Section 2-A softball action Thursday at Carmichaels High School.
John F. Brothers | 蘑菇视频
West Greene pitcher Jade Renner (10) delivers a pitch to a Carmichaels batter during Thursday蘑菇视频 game at Carmichaels. Renner pitched the Lady Pioneers to a 4-3 win over the Lady Mikes in Section 2-A play.
The Lady Mikes' Kaitlyn Wilson (5) scores in fourth inning during Thursday's Section 2-A game with West Greene at Carmichaels High School.
Carmichaels catcher Megan Walker (4) watches as West Greene蘑菇视频 McKenna Lampe scores a run in their Section 2-A game at Carmichaels High School on May 4. Both players were named to the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association All-State Softball Team.
CARMICHAELS 鈥� In an instant classic on the softball diamond between two of the top teams in Class A, West Greene was able to edge by Carmichaels, 4-3, on a windy, Thursday afternoon to claim its second straight section title.
With the victory, the Lady Pioneers (17-1, 11-0) swept the season series with its Greene County rival and have won 22 consecutive section games.
鈥淲e brought our gloves today and I am so proud of our defense,鈥� West Greene coach Billy Simms said. 鈥淪ometimes that gets lost in the shuffle for us. We knew this wasn鈥檛 going to be easy and there蘑菇视频 a reason why Carmichaels has won so many section titles. We hung in there in the seventh and I am happy to get out of here with a win.鈥�
Madison Renner had the key hit in the contest, as she was able to rip a bases-clearing double in the top of the fifth inning that broke a 1-1 tie.
Mackenzie Carpenter started the rally in the fifth with a one-out single, and was followed by a walk to McKenna Lampe. Madison Lampe reached first on an infield error to load the bases.
After a brief meeting in the Carmichaels pitching circle, Renner smashed a 1-0 pitch to center field beyond the outfielder蘑菇视频 grasp for the clutch hit.
鈥淎t first I thought they were going to work around me,鈥� Madison Renner said. 鈥淭hen the next pitch she threw was a meatball down the middle and I just swung as hard as I could. With this wind, you couldn鈥檛 tell what the ball was going to do. I thought I hit it over the outfielder and I was so pumped when all three runners scored for us.鈥�
The Lady Mikes (13-5, 9-2) cut the deficit to 4-2 in the sixth inning. Gina Ranieri started the frame with a double and later scored on a RBI groundout by Kaitlyn Wilson.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Carmichaels started to rally when Megan Walker reached base with a single and Laura Walker drew a free pass.
Natalie McNett smacked an RBI single that made it 4-3, but West Greene蘑菇视频 starter Jade Renner was able to get out of the jam with a fly out to center field.
鈥淲e knew this was going to be a tough game,鈥� Madison Renner said. 鈥淚 think the last couple of weeks, we have been more relaxed and a lot looser. We just were not acting like ourselves at the beginning of the season. We started to sing more on the bus rides and we started to play better. It feels great to win the section again.鈥�
Jade Renner picked up the win for the Lady Pioneers, allowing three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk.
Carmichaels鈥� Kylie Sinn threw an equally solid game and was the hard-luck loser, going all seven innings, allowing four runs on nine hits with a strikeout and a walk.
鈥淜ylie was so solid in the circle for us,鈥� Carmichaels coach Dave Briggs said. 鈥淪he avoided given up the big inning and limited the damage. She threw a lot of off-speed stuff and got some pop outs. We got nothing to be ashamed of. If a couple plays went our way, we would have won.鈥�
In the top of the first, West Greene struck when leadoff hitter McKenna Lampe crushed a double to begin the game and scored on a RBI single by Madison Lampe.
No further damage was allowed in the inning after Carmichaels turned a beautiful 6-4-3 double play to slow down the visitors.
Carmichaels loaded the bases in the bottom half of the opening inning, but Jade Renner was able to escape the jam with a strikeout.
鈥淭his was a well-played ball game by both teams and we didn鈥檛 take full advantage of all of our opportunities,鈥� Briggs said. 鈥淚f we could have just got another hit and hit better with runners on base, it could have changed the outcome. It was a game of 鈥榓lmost鈥� for us.鈥�
The Lady Pioneers鈥� defense also recorded some web gems on the field, as Madison Lampe and Madison Renner had some stellar plays in the infield and leftfielder Linzee Stover had a nice sliding catch in the fifth inning.
The Lady Mikes deadlocked things at 1-1 in the fourth, when Wilson scored off a two-out single by Shelbee McCann.
Both teams will conclude section play on Tuesday, as Carmichaels visits Mapletown and West Greene welcomes in Jefferson-Morgan.
鈥淲e hit in bunches and we had a lot of clutch hits,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淔or her standards, Madison (Renner) has been in a little bit of a slump and to get that big hit today was huge for her confidence. We are getting everyone蘑菇视频 best shot, and it蘑菇视频 been a little different for the girls and for myself this season. Now it蘑菇视频 the playoffs, and it蘑菇视频 one-and-done.鈥�