Mohawk upends Lady Mikes, 5-1
KENNEDY TWP. — Carmichaels managed only one hit against Mohawk pitcher Tristan Voss in Tuesday’s WPIAL Class AA quarterfinal softball game in a 5-1 defeat at Fairhaven Park.
Head coach Dave Briggs knew the competition would be tough in this year’s playoffs as the Lady Warriors entered the game undefeated.
“We were disappointed with the loss today because we wanted to (advance in the playoffs),” Briggs said. “There’s a lot of good teams in Double-A. We knew we had to play very, very good today if we wanted to win and we didn’t.”
Both seventh-seeded Carmichaels (15-3) and second-seeded Mohawk (15-0) were section champs. The Lady Mikes had no answer for Voss throughout the game, as the Warrior pitcher struck out 12 batters, including eight in a row after the first batter popped out.
“I was disappointed at our at-bats today. I don’t know if it was the jitters or what. That’s the most we struck out all year by far,” Briggs said. “We just didn’t do it at the plate today. One hit and 12 strikeouts isn’t going to do it. Give (Voss) come credit. She did a nice job.”
Both pitchers look strong early as Carmichaels starting pitcher Erica Burns pitched two scoreless innings against the Lady Warriors.
“Erica pitched her heart out. She did a great job,” Briggs said. “If we would have done anything offensively, she was pitching good enough to win the game.”
The Lady Warriors broke the ice in the bottom of the third and got two players on base without a hit. Haley Sainato drew a walk and Victoria Pezzulo reached first on an error by third baseman Megan Walker. A double steal put runners on second and third and Voss made the Lady Mikes pay by driving in both runners to give Mohawk a 2-0 lead.
The Lady Mikes responded in the top of the fourth with a run.
Voss slid into second hard in the bottom of the third and it may have thrown her off her game when she returned to the mound. Burns and Natalie McNett drew walks and Caroline Cree reached first on a fielder’s choice. Katie Mays then drew a walk to score Burns.
Voss regained her rhythm, though, and struck out the next two batters. Burns was caught in a rundown between third and home and was thrown out after the second strikeout to end the inning as well as the scoring for the Mikes.
They would not get a hit until the top of the sixth inning when Burns singled up the middle.
“When you’re not hitting the ball and you only score one run, you’re not going to win,” Briggs said. “We just didn’t get it done.”
The Lady Warriors blew the game open in the fifth inning by scoring three runs on four hits to take a 5-1 lead. Leah Woytik singled and stole second. Sainato singled her home and Pazzulo doubled home Sainato. Madison Shiderly singled home Pezzulo to finish the scoring in the game.
Although disappointed on being knocked out of the playoffs, Briggs was also disappointed for his three seniors — Burns, Cree, and Mays — but he thought the Lady Mikes had a good season.
“I’m disappointed for the seniors. I’m going to miss the way they played. They had great careers, lots of wins, lots of playoff wins,” Briggs said. “We moved up in classification. I didn’t know how we would handle that. To win another section title, that’s a terrific accomplishment.”