Chartiers-Houston outlasts Carmichaels in 12 innings
Chartiers-Houston’s Zach Southern pitched against Carmichaels
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Carmichaels’ Dylan Wilson is mobbed at home plate after hitting a two-run home run.
Carmichaels’ Matt Barrish pitches against Chartiers-Houston
Chartiers-Houston’s Zach Southern is safe at first against Carmichaels’ Steven Spehar at first
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Chartiers-Houston’s Collin Reynolds gets a hit against Carmichaels
Carmichaels’ Matt Barrish gets a hit against Chartiers-Houston
CARMICHAELS – After starting Section 1-AA play 10-1, Carmichaels needed only one more win to clinch its first section title since 2013.
Two games later and the Mikes are still searching for that win.
On the heels of a 15-7 win over the Mikes on Tuesday, Chartiers-Houston outlasted Carmichaels 7-6 in a 12-inning contest that nearly ended because of darkness.
“I was worried about a hangover effect from last night,” said Carmichaels head coach Richard Krause. “We had a lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, 7-3, and then it absolutely collapsed. … You could see it; we were hungover from last night’s game.”
For Chartiers-Houston (8-4, 9-6), the wins give the Bucs a much better chance at making the WPIAL playoffs and keeps them in the hunt for a section title.
“It’s pretty big, because this more than likely puts us in the playoffs,” said Zack Baird, who earned the win after throwing 6 2/3 scoreless innings in relief. “Now that we know we can beat the No. 1 team, we know we can beat any other team.”
Senior right fielder Noah Minney, who hit the game-winning sacrifice fly in the 12th inning, said the team knew it would have to stay sharp after beating Carmichaels Tuesday.
“We knew that since we got them (Tuesday) that they were going to come back harder,” Minney said. “We came with the mindset that (Tuesday) was enough but that we had to come back stronger today.”
Chartiers-Houston got on the scoreboard first when Roman Lombardi singled home Zach Southern, who reached on a single, in the first inning. Neither team scored again until the Bucs exploded for five runs on five hits in the third inning to take a 6-0 lead.
After the first two batters reached on errors, the next five Bucs singled, with Lombardi, Andrew Clark and Andrew Kowalski all tallying RBI singles.
Carmichaels (10-3, 10-4) didn’t take its time to respond, though, as the Mikes scored five runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Aided by three Chartiers-Houston errors, the rally was led by Matthew Barrish, who doubled in a run, and Dylan Wilson, who hit a two-run home run to bring Carmichaels within one run. The Mikes tied the game at 6-6 the next inning when Al Cree’s double scored Gavin Pratt, who led off the fourth with a walk.
“These kids have been resilient all year long,” Krause said. “They have found a way. We knew going in this year that we didn’t have the most talented group of kids, but we knew we had kids who would work hard for us.”
The next seven and a half innings were nothing like the first four, as each team’s starting and relief pitchers shut down the opposing team.
Southern, Chartiers-Houston’s starting pitcher, retired his final five batters after allowing the double to Cree. He allowed five hits and three walks while striking out five. Only two of his six runs allowed were earned.
After the Bucs’ big inning in the third, Barrish, Carmichaels’ starter, settled down to retire the next 14 batters in order. The lefty allowed six runs (three earned) and 10 hits in seven innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out three.
Neither relief pitcher allowed an earned run, with Baird allowing only two hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings. The righty struck out seven and allowed only one runner to reach second base.
“He was outstanding,” said C-H head coach Vince Capozza. “He is not overpowering, but he is very accurate. … He’s a very smart pitcher.”
Carmichaels relief pitcher Logan Mayhle threw the last five innings, allowing four hits and one unearned run.
Chartiers-Houston’s Destin Weiser, reached base on a one-out single in the 12th and moved to third base after a sacrifice bunt was not handled by the Mikes. Weiser then came home on the sacrifice fly by Minney.
With the sun setting at around 8:15 p.m.- about four hours after the game began – the Mikes weren’t able to tie the score in the bottom of the 12th.
“This game completely comes down to our lack of ability to generate any offense after the fourth inning,” Krause said. “How many times do you have five chances to walk off a baseball game? And we never did it. We deserve this fate.”
Capozza said his team’s three-game winning streak shows the Bucs are gaining confidence after a slow start to the season.
“I think the weather held us (back), so we’re starting to come into our own,” he said. “They’re starting to believe in themselves after we had a few bad games to start the season.”