Guest Commentary for the ‘Foxhole’
Guest commentary by Herald-Standard sports writer Dave Stofcheck
The high school softball playoffs began earlier this week, and as usual, Carmichaels was one of several teams vying for a WPIAL title. This spring marks the 10th anniversary of the Lady Mikes’ perfect 1998 season, which culminated with a 5-2 victory over South Williamsport in the PIAA championship.
Carmichaels also captured the WPIAL title that year, on the way to a 26-0 mark. The Lady Mikes parlayed a potent offense and right-hander Nikki Gasti into a devastating 1-2 knockout punch.
Gasti is arguably one of the best pitchers the WPIAL has ever seen, if not the best indeed. She used power and pin-point location to baffle hitters, and during the magical run of 1998, she wasn’t just unbeatable; she was nearly unhittable
The Lady Mikes’ state championship team is also arguably one of the best all-around squads to ever come out of the WPIAL. Ten years ago, the PIAA was divided into just two classifications, Class AA and Class AAA, and Carmichaels was the top team in either class.
Offensively, Megan Bandish led off the Lady Mikes’ lineup, and had hitters behind her such as Dee Dee Watson, Heather Baker, Gasti, Daysha Grimes and Abby McMinn.
McMinn was just a freshman, but displayed the poise of a senior at shortstop and at the plate. Grimes, meanwhile, was a powerful hitter and third baseman, who also picked up a pair of victories on the mound during the title-winning season.
The 1998 team wasn’t just talented, it was balanced from top to bottom and everyone contributed. This was evident in the PIAA title game when Bandish came up with one of the game’s biggest hits, a run-scoring triple in the fifth inning that tied the game at 2.
Gasti allowed one hit and struck out eight against South Williamsport, which took advantage of a rare off day in the field by Carmichaels to take a 2-1 lead after four innings.
For the season, Gasti finished 24-0, struck out nearly 300 batters and tossed eight no-hitters.
Following the victory over South Williamsport, Carmichaels was given the royal treatment when it returned to Greene County, including a fire-truck escort and a banquet held in the team’s honor. The players even signed autographs.
Coach Rob Cole said, “This is the best team to come out of Greene County in any sport, and we have the trophy to prove it. We have our place in county history.”
Much like Gasti all year, Cole was right on the mark.
Dave Stofcheck can be reached at dstofcheck @heraldstandard.com.