Missed opportunities costly in Beth-Center’s 3-2 loss
FORWARD TWP. – Beth-Center made a hasty exit from the WPIAL softball playoffs Monday, thanks in large part to a failure to capitalize on a few prime scoring opportunities. South Park squeezed home the eventual winning run in the top of the ninth inning, and Eagles junior Lindsay Hawkins worked out of a couple of jams in a 3-2 first-round Class AA victory at William Penn Field.
The loss snapped a seven-game Beth-Center winning streak, and ended the Lady Bulldogs’ season much earlier than usual. Beth-Center (13-6) had advanced past the first round in each of the previous five seasons.
“We didn’t put the ball in play often enough and hard enough at the right times,” said B-C coach Frank Mazeppa.
South Park (18-3) advanced to the quarterfinals, where it will meet defending Class AA champion Sto-Rox. Last year, Sto-Rox edged South Park, 3-2, in the quarterfinals.
On Monday, Beth-Center stranded nine base runners, including six over the final four innings. With the score tied at 1, the Lady Bulldogs loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but came away with no runs.
Losing pitcher Geri Whitman drew a leadoff walk, and Amanda Higinbotham followed with a sacrifice single. Rachael Zane then attempted a sacrifice bunt, and she was safe as well when the ball rolled down the third base line and off Hawkins’ foot into foul territory.
But Hawkins came away unscathed when she got Megan Sowers to hit into a force out at home plate, struck out Jessica Schinkovec for the inning’s second out and got Tonya Carroll to bounce out to short to end the inning.
“We had the right people up with runners on, but we couldn’t get that key hit,” Mazeppa said. “She (Hawkins) mixed up her pitches well, and kept us off balance. She didn’t have a lot of speed, but she had good control.”
Hawkins (14-3) allowed five hits, including a pair to Sowers, and struck out 10.
Whitman pitched equally as well, allowing two earned runs on seven hits. She struck out 16, including nine straight at one point early in the game.
South Park took a 3-2 edge when Megan Hoffman singled to lead off the top of the ninth inning and eventually came around to score on Hawkins’ suicide squeeze.
With Angela Doyle batting, Hoffman advanced to second base on a wild pitch, and was sacrificed to third by Doyle. Nicole Doria then hit a weak chopper in front of home plate that Zane, the B-C catcher, held onto, as Hoffman held her ground at third.
Hawkins then dropped down a bunt that was fielded by Beth-Center third baseman Ashley Niefert, who elected to throw to first base instead of either trying to tag Hoffman or throwing home.
“That’s the first squeeze play we’ve had run against us this season,” Mazeppa said. “We talked about it just before it happened during a conference (on the mound). But we didn’t execute it.”
Hoffman singled with one out in the top of the fourth inning and advanced to second base when the ball was mishandled in centerfield. One out later, Doria gave South Park a 1-0 lead when she singled to left to score Hoffman.
Beth-Center tied the game in its half of the fourth when Sowers scored on Schinkovec’s two-out double.
Doyle led off the top of the seventh inning with a 215-foot shot over the centerfield fence to give the Lady Eagles a 2-1 lead. It was Doyle’s third home run of the season and 11th for South Park.
As it had done earlier, Beth-Center responded and tied the game. Tiffany Balog reached base on an error to lead off the bottom of the inning and was sacrificed to second by Lauren Snyder. After Wiefert struck out, Whitman helped her own cause by singling in Snyder with the tying run.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Sowers and Schinkovec reached base with one out, but were stranded after Hawkins retired the next two hitters.
“We made the most of our opportunities today,” said South Park coach Scott Shipley. “You have to be aggressive on the bases and make things happen. I have to give Beth-Center’s pitcher credit, though. That’s a tough kid. (We were in the ninth inning) and she was still bringing it.”