Apr 18, 2015 5 min read

BURGETTSTOWN – It was a little early in the day to be playing a high school softball game in which first place was on the line, but 15 minutes before the 11 a.m. scheduled start Saturday for Burgettstown’s Section 2-AA contest against South Side Beaver, Blue Devils shortstop Caley Ritts asked head coach Mark Deer if there was a rule against starting early.

Yes, Burgettstown was eager and ready to play. Perhaps that’s because Deer scheduled an 8:45 a.m. team breakfast at his house.

“They were all there by 8:30 a.m.,” Chef Deer confirmed.

The way Burgettstown played, maybe the Blue Devils should schedule a pregame meal of breakfast foods before every game.

Kate Tarr pitched a four-hit shutout, first baseman Cheyenne Winters reached base three times and Burgettstown’s defense was terrific in a 4-0 victory over the previously undefeated Rams.

“I wanted to make sure that everybody was up and moving early today, Deer explained. “It helped. We played a great game.”

The win was the 10th in a row for Burgettstown, which is 6-0 in the section. South Side Beaver fell to 4-1 in the section and 6-1 overall. The Rams, who like Burgettstown moved up from Class A this year, looked nothing like the team that defeated the Blue Devils 11-3 in a non-section game on the same diamond last year.

“We beat them last year with what was basically, with the exception of one girl, the same team as this one,” SSB’s first-year head coach Amy Pieto said. “I think we fully expected to win this game.”

That didn’t happen because the Rams committed three errors, hit two batters and had a runner caught stealing. And Burgettstown cashed in on almost every SSB miscue. The Blue Devils took advantage of a two-base error to take a 2-0 lead in the second inning, then turned a walk in the fourth and a hit batsman in the fifth into insurance runs.

“We’ve been playing good defense all year,” Deer said. “Today our hitters put the ball in play and let them make mistakes.”

In the second, Tarr hit a popup about 15 feet up along the foul line that Rams third baseman Toni Yacoviello charged and attempted to make a diving catch of along the chalk. She didn’t make the catch and the ball hit in fair territory, allowing Tarr to reach base with the Blue Devils’ first hit.

Shania Winters followed with a hard line drive that deflected off the end of left fielder Lena Pieto’s glove. Winters ended up on second base and Burgettstown had the only run it would need. After a sacrifice bunt by Paige Sherman advanced the runner to third base, Cheyenne Winters hit a ground-ball single up the middle to stake the Blue Devils to a 2-0 lead.

That was all the offense Tarr needed. The junior right-hander consistently pitched ahead in the count and kept the Rams’ hitters guessing. She struck out six and issued only one walk, that on a 3-2 count with two outs in the fifth inning.

“Kate was as solid as can be,” Deer said. “When she was missing, she wasn’t missing by much. When their hitters were looking outside, she would bury a pitch on the inside corner. She’s gaining confidence with every day.”

When SBB did mount some offense against Tarr, Burgettstown’s defense would be there to bail out its pitcher. In the fourth, the Rams had runners on first and third with one out but Shania Winters, the Burgettstown catcher, threw out Yacoviello trying to steal second base to end the threat. In the sixth, SSB’s Capri Sollinger led off with a single but slick-fielding Burgettstown third baseman Sami Scopel picked off a one-out line drive and alertly doubled Sollinger off first base for an inning-ending double play.

“Our defense really helped me,” said Tarr, who admitted she was pitching with revenge from last year’s loss to the Rams in mind.

“I had all my pitches working this time. Whatever pitch my coach called, I threw with confidence. One of the keys was my drop. I was able to get some flyball outs with it and some strikeouts.”

Burgettstown made it 3-0 in the fourth without the benefit of a hit. Sherman drew a two-out walk and Morgan Ellek was hit by a pitch. Cheyenne Winters then lofted a fly ball that right fielder Lacey Weible dropped, allowing Sherman to score.

Another hit batsman, this time Cassie Carnes leading off the sixth, led to Burgettstown’s final run. Carnes was bunted to second base by Scopel and came around to score when Ritts’ ground ball to shortstop was booted for an error.

“That wasn’t our A-game,” Amy Pieto said.

The Rams won’t have to wait long to get another shot at Burgettstown. The teams will meet in Hookstown April 30.

“I reminded our players that the loss to South Side was last year,” Deer said. “This is a whole new year.”