Big Macs hold off Trinity to get win
Canon-McMillan catcher Julia Ciotti tags out Trinity’s Paige Galentine Tuesday.
Canon-McMillan’s Kirsten Rush hits an RBI single Tuesday during the first inning against Trinity.
Canon-McMillan’s Brittney Crawford tags Trinity’s Morgan Pacconi out at second base Tuesday.
Trinity’s Addison Barr pitches Tuesday against Canon-McMillan.
Canon-McMillan’s Abi Michelucci pitches Tuesday against Trinity.
With every hard-hit softball in the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday, Canon-McMillan head coach Michele Moeller had a bit of déjà vu.
The situation looked all-too-familiar to the Big Macs’ loss at South Fayette last week, when they allowed four runs in the seventh inning. Each season is filled with lessons learned – moments where players find clarity in the face of disappointment – but another dramatic walk-off loss would leave them with more questions entering a stretch of four consecutive section games.
It wasn’t pretty, but Canon-McMillan avoided another late-inning meltdown.
Trinity scored three runs in the seventh inning, but sophomore pitcher Abi Michelucci got a groundout to end the game and allow Canon-McMillan to secure a 9-7 non-section win on the turf at Hiller Field.
Canon-McMillan (4-1) scored five runs in the first inning, but was held scoreless with only two hits in the next four innings. It was Michelluci, who entered in the fourth inning, who helped prevent the Big Macs from losing back-to-back games to WPIAL teams for the first time since 2012. Senior pitcher Kaylee Gohring earned the win.
“I like how we started off. Sort of how we did against South Fayette, we sat around,” Moeller said. “I don’t know what their thought process was, but I think we were pushing it a little bit and not focusing where we need to be focused. I’m happy they pulled that win out being up and not giving it away.”
It was a balanced offense that helped Canon-McMillan grab the early lead.
Four different Big Macs had multiple hits and three drove in at least two runs.
Junior left fielder Kayla Hopkins, who went 2-for-5 with two RBI, led off the first with an inside-the-park home run and senior third baseman Kirsten Rush made it 2-0 by driving in Brittney Crawford with a single to center.
Canon-McMillan loaded the bases with a single and a walk before MaKenzie Hollie hit a three-run triple to right-center field for a quick 5-0 advantage.
“I’m really pleased with that,” Moeller said of the balanced offense. “We’re going to be in a lot (of games) like this. We’re going to give up runs. We know that, but we have to be able to outscore teams.”
Trinity (1-4) got one run in the second on an RBI single by senior first baseman Delaney Elling, who went 3-for-3 with three RBI, and the seventh-inning comeback was made possible by the Hillers’ big fourth inning.
Bailey Bell scored on a wild pitch, Sara Beecham on an illegal pitch and Elling hit a single that fell between the center fielder and second baseman to cut the deficit to two runs in the fourth.
The Hillers only have three players who had varsity experience prior to this season and came close to defeating a perennial Quad-A power, but they made simple baserunning mistakes that were costly, such as not advancing a base after a fly out and getting a runner thrown out at home in the first inning.
“We have to concentrate on our fundamentals,” Trinity head coach Shawn Gray said. “We have to get back to basic softball and do some of the things that got us here last year. We have some young players out there who didn’t’ get enough reps at the beginning of the season with baserunning. That was a big issue today. We have to improve on that big time.”
The Big Macs got two key insurance runs in the sixth when Kylah Kubiczki, the No. 9 hitter, laced an RBI triple to right-center field and Hopkins drove her in with a single to center. They added two more in the seventh on a two-run homer by sophomore first baseman Katelyn Greaves, who went 3-for-4 with two runs that seemed to put the game out of reach with a 9-4 lead.
Trinity made it interesting in the seventh when Mayli Bennett, Payton Barr and Bell drove in runs, but Michelucci got Sara Beecham to ground out to end the game.
“We’re going to have to practice seventh-inning situations because that’s twice it’s happened and it’s early in the season,” Moeller said. “We have to quit doing this in the seventh.”