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Carmichaels’ season ends in extra innings

5 min read
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SOMERSET – Softball, like most sports, is a game of inches, and Carmichaels came up on the short end of the measuring stick in a couple key instances Thursday.

Two balls hit down the left-field line late in the game, both by No. 9 hitters with two outs, landed close to the foul line. One went foul and one went fair, but both went against the Mikes and that led to a 5-4 eight-inning loss to Glendale in a PIAA Class A quarterfinal game at Somerset High School.

Ava Weld’s RBI double hooked but landed inside the foul line in the top of the eighth inning to give the Vikings a 5-4 lead that proved to be the winning run.

Carmichaels’ Payton Plavi, on the other hand, also hit a line drive down the left-field line in the bottom of the sixth inning with the potential go-ahead run on third base in Kendall Ellsworth but the ball hooked just outside the foul line. Winning pitcher Maddie Peterson then got an inning-ending strikeout.

“I told the girls the most frustrating thing is I thought we had a team good enough to win it all,” Mikes coach Dave Briggs said.

The Vikings (21-4), the third-place team out of District 6, advance to play Tri-Valley in the state semifinals Monday.

Carmichaels, the WPIAL runner-up, wraps up its season with a 19-2 mark and a Section 2 championship.

The Mikes came within inches of winning the game in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Sophia Zalar looped a leadoff double down the left-field line and Ashton Batis drilled a line drive that seemed headed to center field, perhaps as a game-winning hit with the speedy Zalar at second. Glendale shortstop Jillian Taylot snagged the ball and, with her momentum taking her towards second base, easily doubled off Zalar for a double play and Peterson retired the next hitter to force extra innings.

“We were set up there in the bottom of the seventh,” Briggs said. “We had speed at second base and we had our two, three, four batters coming. It was right there. The worst thing that could’ve happened there, she hit it right on the nose, just right at the girl.”

There was plenty of controversy in the game as well.

With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Mikes freshman Bailey Barnyak hit slow roller down the line. Glendale third baseman Ally Buterbaugh charged in, despite calls from her coaches to let the ball roll foul, and appeared to field the ball in fair territory and Barnyak easily beat the throw to first.

The home plate umpire inexplicably called the ball foul, however, to the dismay of the Carmichaels coaching staff and players. Barnyak was ruled out on a check-swing appeal moments later and Peterson then fielded a come-backer to the mound for the final out.

“I couldn’t believe that one,” Briggs said. “They were saying let it foul, let it foul, she went up and grabbed it. It was clearly a fair ball.”

In the top of the inning, before Weld delivered her clutch hit, she tried to check her swing at an offering that was ruled a ball by the home plate umpire, as well as the first base umpire upon appeal, which the Mikes coaching staff vocally disagreed with.

Soon after Weld took a close two-strike pitch that was also called a ball and had the Carmichaels coaching staff up in arms with one being given a warning by the umpire. Weld then delivered her winning hit.

“The ninth batter, we had her struck out twice,” Briggs said. “The catcher didn’t even move her glove. I don’t understand. It’s just frustrating.”

Both Petersen and losing pitcher Barnyak struggled in the first inning but settled down afterwards.

The Vikings combined three walks, one hit batter, one single and one error into three runs off Barnyak in the top of the first inning.

Carmichaels answered in the bottom of the inning with three runs to tie it.

Zalar led off with a bunt single, Batis was hit by a pitch and Carys McConnell hit a fly ball to left field that resulted in a sacrifice fly that was dropped for an error to allow a second run to score. One out later, Barnyak singled McConnell to third and took second and the throw home. Ellsworth followed with a run-scoring ground out to make it 3-3.

Glendale went up 4-3 in the top of the third on Taylor’s solo home run to center.

The Mikes tied it again in the bottom of the inning. Batis reached on an infield single, stole second, took third on Jacobs’ ground out and scored when Ellsworth laced an infield single off of Peterson’s leg.

“I thought both pitchers settled in after the first inning,” Briggs said. “Both did a good job.”

Barnyak gave up four earned runs with seven walks, one hit batter and eight strikeouts.

“We made some great defensive plays behind her,” Briggs said. “Ashton at second, Kendall at third, and Duski (Staggers, left fielder) did a great job, couple of real nice plays.”

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