Lady Mikes win ninth straight
Carmichaels’ Erica Burns is presented with a plaque and the ball honoring her 500th career strikeout on April 25, 2015. The milestone strikeout came in the Lady Mikes’ previous game against Beth-Center. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
Carmichaels' Erica Burns slides safely into second before the ball arrives in the glove of Waynesburg's Taylor Staley.
Holly Tonini
Waynesburg Central’s Hannah Gibbons applies the tag to Carmichaels’ Caroline Cree, who is out at third.
Waynesburg's Lexi Fuqua bunts the ball against Carmichaels.
CARMICHAELS — The Carmichaels softball squad pounded out 14 hits and was clicking on all cylinders winning its ninth consecutive game, 12-0, over Waynesburg Central Saturday afternoon in Section 2-AA action.
After scoring a single run in the bottom of the first, the Lady Mikes (9-2, 9-0) exploded for five runs in the third and six more in the fourth.
“I guess hitting was contagious for us today,” Carmichaels coach Dave Briggs said. “For some reason the last couple of games we have struggled with our first at-bats. But the second time through, we string together a couple of hits and the offense just jells. We hit the ball hard and had a lot of clutch hits in some key spots. Top to bottom, I really like our line-up.”
Erica Burns earned the win in the circle for Carmichaels and garnered three outs in the top of the fifth to end the game on the 10-run mercy rule.
Burns, who recorded her 500th strikeout with the Lady Mikes earlier in the week, only allowed two hits and recorded eight strikeouts with one free pass.
“With all these make-ups and rain outs, it does scare you a little to play on a Saturday,” Briggs said. “You always wonder how sharp the kids are going to be and whether they are going to bring that same level of intensity. The girls were ready to play and we are happy to get it in.”
Brooke Meek was tagged with the loss for the Lady Raiders (4-10, 3-6). Waynesburg’s offense only managed two hits, a one-out single by Tiffany Ross in the fourth and a two-out single by Alexis Fuqua in the fifth.
“Carmichaels is a good ball club with an excellent pitcher,” Waynesburg Central coach Jim Armstrong said. “We are a young team and we are just building off of every game, win or lose. We are rebuilding and we knew were we going to take our lumps this year. This is a great group of kids and we are just learning how to play together.”
Burns got into a jam to start the game, as Waynesburg had two runners on base courtesy of a walk and an infield error, but the senior ace ended the threat with back-to-back strikeouts.
In the bottom of the first frame, Burns led off with a single and scored on a RBI base knock by Caroline Cree. Burns collected a team-high three hits and scored three runs.
After a scoreless second inning, the Lady Mikes’ offense awoke with five runs in the third.
With the bases loaded, Emma Lowry laced a two-run single and Katie Mays continued the scoring with a double that plated two more runs. Lauren Walker added a RBI single to make it 6-0 through three innings.
The Lady Mikes doubled their lead in the fourth with six runs on seven straight hits.
Cree roped an RBI triple that scored Burns and crossed home plate on an RBI single by Natalie McNett. After a single by Lowry, Mays smacked a two-run triple to make it 10-0.
Lauren and Megan Walker ended the scoring onslaught with a RBI double and a run-producing single, respectively.
“Pitching trumps everything in high school softball,” Armstrong said. “Their pitcher was able to stifle our offense and mixed her pitches well. Sometimes it’s a mental thing when you know the opposing pitcher has your number. On the other hand, we have been throwing out some young pitchers this season and it takes time to build that confidence.”
Carmichaels hosts McGuffey on Monday in a critical Section 2-AA contest, while Waynesburg visits Brownsville on Tuesday.
“Erica has been a huge factor for our success this year with her consistency in the circle,” Briggs said. “Knowing that you have that really helps everybody else out on the field. I also think we had a lot of younger, first-year starters step up and filled in some voids. This is a big week for us with two games against McGuffey. We will start Monday and go from there.”