May 22, 2024 By Joe Smeltzer 3 min read

WEXFORD – Bentworth softball coach Jack Cramer knew his No. 2 hitter was due.

Sofia Gaussa was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts through the first six innings of Tuesday’s WPIAL Class AA semifinal softball game against Laurel at North Allegheny.

Cramer was confident that, if Gaussa got another chance, she’d deliver.

But another chance wasn’t a guarantee.

Bentworth went into the seventh inning down 1-0, on the wrong end of a spectacular performance by Laurel pitcher Autumn Boyd.

She entered the last inning with 12 strikeouts and only four hits and two walks allowed through six shutout innings.

With the bottom of Bentworth’s order due up, somebody had to get on for Gaussa to get a chance.

Pinch-hitter Jordyn Johnson struck out to lead off the inning.

Then, No. 8 hitter Aubrie Logan drew what proved to be a crucial walk.

Ninth-place hitter Kayla O’Dell sacrificed Logan to second, and Laurel decided to intentionally walk Bentworth pitcher and leadoff hitter Sydney Gonglik, putting the potential winning run on base.

So with Gonglik on first and Logan having advanced from second and third on a passed ball, the stage was set for Gaussa.

“She was due,” Cramer said.

He ended up being right.

Gaussa drove what Cramer described as “a perfect line drive” to left field.

It fell in, and Logan scored easily from third.

Gonglik, who was already running on the pitch, knew what her plan was.

“I wasn’t stopping,” she said.

Bentworth’s quest to win its first WPIAL title isn’t stopping, either. Gaussa’s hit turned a 1-0 loss into a thrilling 2-1 win.

So where does this rank on the greatest moments of Gaussa’s young life?

“It’s definitely up there,” a euphoric Gaussa said after the game.

It was fitting that Gonglik was the one who scored the winner.

After all, she was the one who kept Bentworth (17-2) in the game.

It took until the top of the fourth for somebody to score. Laurel (17-5) was the team to do it. To start the inning, Boyd helped her cause with a double. Riley Balcom then got her pitcher to third with a sacrifice. The next hitter, Hayden Seifert, bunted as well, but she reached base without a throw. Then, with Lexi Brua batting, a wild pitch brought Boyd home for the game’s first run.

That was all Gonglik allowed.

She ended the night with a fantastic 14 strikeouts over seven innings, allowing just three hits and two walks.

Cramer gave his star freshman hurler a big task before the game.

“I said ‘You’re going to have to carry us tonight,” Cramer said. “And she did.”

Gonglik’s arm and legs and Gaussa’s big hit led Bentworth to history.

Second-seeded Bentworth will play in its first district title game against top-seeded Neshannock, who beat No. 5 OLSH 5-1 Tuesday, next week at Penn West California’s Lilley Field, at a date and time to be determined.

“It’s really great making a name for the school,” Gonglik said. “I mean, they played their butts off. It was great.”

Cramer also finds it “great.”

“Now, the task in front of us is pretty good. But, there again, go in, give it what you got, and hope you can get a win.”

Bentworth would have gladly taken a semifinal win whether it was a mercy rule, a nail-biter or something in between.

“It’s just so amazing,” Gaussa said. “Doing that is just crazy.”