West Greene, Carmichaels win to setup semifinal showdown
When the WPIAL released its softball pairings, pundits of the sport looked at the Class A field and realized that if chalk held serve, longtime rivals West Greene and Carmichaels would square off in the semifinals with a berth in the championship game at stake.
After both the Pioneers and Mikes won Monday night at Trinity Middle School, chalk has been served and the teams will square off Thursday.
In the opener, third-seeded West Greene (13-7) wasted no time in putting sixth-seeded South Side Beaver (10-8) away as it scored early and often to the tune of a 15-1 outcome.
Carmichaels edged Sewickley Academy 1-0 in the second game of the doubleheader.
A big key for the Pioneers, who finished with 18 hits, was the bottom three hitters in the lineup, Sammi Zimmerman (double triple, one RBI), Katie Brudnock (two singles and one RBI, and Rylee Yeager (three singles and four RBI) combined for seven hits and six RBI.
After the game, Yeager spoke about the offensive production.
“Today was a really good day and I was feeling good,” she said. “It was great t see us hit, and I am happy for everyone.”
Head coach Billy Simms spoke about the production from the bottom of the lineup.
“Whether you are at the major league level or at this level, if you get that kind of production from the bottom of the lineup, you are going to be in for a good offensive day, and they really came through,” he said. “We emphasized hitting the first strike they saw today, and we did a good job.”
The Pioneers scored once in the first, four times in the second, twice in the third and eight times in the fourth.
Every West Greene starter had at least once hit. Joining Zimmerman, Brudnock, and Yeager with multiple hits included Madelyn Roberts (three singles), Caitlin Whyte (three singles), and Emmaline Beazell ((two singles).
Shortstop Kendra Tharp had a productive day in the field as she was in on six plays.
“We just gritted down (in the field) and made plays,” the senior said. “Once you get in the playoffs, it is make or break, and we came together today.”
Carmichaels 1-0
In the nightcap, Carmichaels ace Bailey Barnyak struck out a career-high 19 batters and drove in the lone run of the game with an RBI triple in the bottom of the fifth to down seventh-seeded Sewickley Academy.
“It was the Bailey show tonight,” said Carmichaels coach Dave Briggs. “We were a little tight offensively, but she did it pitching and on offense.”
“It is a mind game,” the IUP commit said of driving the run in off of SA pitcher Sophie Crichton, who struck out 14 batters. “Whatever it takes. Anytime I step on this field, I do it for my teammates and not for me.”
With her second strikeout of the game, Barnyak broke the school record of 850 strikeouts and now sits at 868 and counting.
The 27-year old record she topped was held by her mother Nikki Gasti-Onderko.
“That was a great feeling,” Barnyak said while standing next to her mother, who is an assistant coach on the team.
The pair hugged, with Nikki adding with tears welled up in her eyes, “Is there anything better than this, your kid breaking your record?”
Now the Greene County rivals face off one more time, Thursday, with so much on the line.
“We played three times the last two years, and they have had our number a bit,” Simms said of Carmichaels, who won both meetings this season. “It will be nice to see two county teams go at it again.”
“They are definitely coming for us,” Barnyak said. “We have been battling them for four years, and it is going to be a good game.”
The location and time will be announced today.