May 18, 2022 5 min read

WASHINGTON – Charleroi softball head coach Trey Tilghman called it, as if to add flair to the dramatic

One swing of the bat was all it took for Charleroi sophomore Sofia Celaschi to drill a Madison Zigarovich fastball deep over the right-field fence Wednesday night to give Charleroi a 5-3 walkoff win over Serra Catholic in a WPIAL Class 2A first-round game as well as give the Cougars their first softball postseason win since 1998.

And as Celaschi, the third hitter in the inning, was getting ready before the inning, Cougars coach Trey Tilghman told her she would win the game.

“I told her that she was going to win this,” said Tilghman. “To cap this off with a towering home run, this is amazing.”

Up 3-2 going into the seventh, Celaschi, Charleroi’s pitcher, threw a bases-loaded wild pitch that allowed Serra to tie the game at 3-3.

However, the sophomore lefty stepped to the plate in the bottom of the inning looking for a fastball, and that was what she connected on. Earlier in the game, she hit a ball that was foul by inches or she could have had two homers on the night.

“There was a lot of pressure, so I was thinking see ball, hit ball, trying to simplify it as much as I could,” she said without trying to hide her smile. “Coach did call it.

“It was my favorite pitch – a fastball inside.”

Tilghman sensed something was coming.

“She hit the one just foul up on the hill,” he said. “It was timing.”

Charleroi (11-5) scored in the first inning when leadoff hitter McKenna DeUnger singled, stole second and moved to third on an error. Once she realized no one was covering home plate, she raced in and scored.

“Boots is so smart,” said Tilghman of the sophomore, calling her by her nickname. “She went to third, and when she realized they weren’t paying attention, she took off for home.”

In the third, sophomore Riley Jones singled in classmate Ella Sypolt to give Charleroi a 2-0 lead.

Serra (13-7) tied the score in the top of the fourth, but the Cougars regained the lead in the bottom of the inning. After sophomore Maddie Lancy doubled, she was singled home by junior Rece Eddy.

The lead held until the seventh when Serra tied it to set up Celaschi’s shot.

The game was a pitchers dual between Celaschi and Zigarovich, with both pitchers striking out 11 batters. Celaschi allowed only two hits, although the weather hurt her control as she had three walks and hit three batters.

“She pitched great,” Tilghman said of Celaschi. “She was zeroed in.”

Jones, who had three singles, was the lone player in the game with more than one hit.

Next up for the eighth-seeded Cougars is top-seeded Neshannock. Tilghman said the team will be ready while also sharing that the future is bright as the Cougars started seven sophomores and three juniors between the nine positions and the flex player.

“This is the best team I have coached,” said Tilghman, who is in his 12th year as Charleroi’s head coach. “Holy smokes, we have a special team.

“We are (almost) all sophomores and have a good thing going here.”

Seton LaSalle, 5-1

Seton LaSalle pitcher Casey Barton limited Carmichaels to a pair of singles and retired 16 of the last 17 Mikes batters, including the last 11, to lead the Rebels to a 5-1 win over the Mikes in a WPIAL Class 2A first-round game at Trinity.

Carmichaels coach Dave Briggs said his team’s loss came down to one thing.

“It was a lack of hitting, and that was the issue,” he said. “You can’t win with one run. We just didn’t do enough at the plate and I don’t know why. I am disappointed with our performance at the plate.”

Carmichaels (10-6) took the lead in the top of the first inning, but unfortunately for the 10th-seeded Mikes, it was their lone run.

Junior Sophia Zalar walked to lead off the game and she stole both second and third. Three batters later, she scored when junior Carlee Roberts put the ball in play and the Rebels could not get Roberts out at first.

“We got off to a fast start and were in the game the whole time,” said Briggs. “We just couldn’t break out and we couldn’t put hits together.”

Seton LaSalle (13-4), the No. 7 seed, tied the score in the first and added a run in both the third and fourth innings before putting the game away with two runs in the home-half of the sixth.

Barton finished with 10 strikeouts and only sophomore Megan Voithofer and senior Grace Brown were able to record hits.

After leaving a runner on base in the first inning and two in the second, Carmichaels had only one baserunner the rest of the game.