McConnell’s walk-off double sends Carmichaels to state title game
McMURRAY – Carys McConnell, the talented sophomore shortstop on the Carmichaels High School softball team, walked toward the batter’s box in the bottom of the seventh inning Monday and never expected to see a pitch, at least not one that she could swing at and drive to the outfield.
McConnell had been in this situation before – though the stakes were not as high – and didn’t get anything to hit.
Four pitches later, McConnell was surprised by what she saw, and as a result, Carmichaels is celebrating its first trip to the state finals in 26 years.
McConnell hit a two-out double into the right-field corner – on a 3-0 pitch – to score Bailey Barnyak from first base and give Carmichaels a tension-filled 5-4 win over Chartiers-Houston in the PIAA Class A semifinals at Peterswood Park.
The win sends Carmichaels (18-3) to the state final Thursday (11 a.m.) against District 9 champion DuBois Central Catholic (22-2) at Penn State’s Beard Field.
“No, I did not think I’d see a pitch. I thought they would walk me,” said McConnell, who is Carmichaels’ most dangerous hitter.
“I think they were trying to unintentionally intentionally walk her,” Carmichaels coach Dave Briggs explained. “They walked her a ton this year.”
McConnell worked the count to 3-0 against Chartiers-Houston pitcher Meadow Ferri, who was spectacular, allowing only three hits with 13 strikeouts and three walks.
McConnell stepped back out of the batter’s box and glanced toward the third-base coach’s box.
“She looked at me, but I didn’t give her the take sign,” Briggs said.
Ferri then fired a pitch that was up and away. It was enticing enough for McConnell to swing at and she drove it deep down the right-field line. C-H right fielder Emily Swarrow sprinted toward the line but the ball carried a couple feet past her outstretched arm. The ball kicked off the outfield fence at the foul pole as Barnyak sprinted around the bases and scored uncontested.
“I thought she was going to catch it,” McConnell admitted. “When she didn’t, I knew Bailey was going to score.”
Chartiers-Houston coach Tricia Alderson said she didn’t consider intentionally walking McConnell.
“It was a good pitch,” Alderson said. “She hit a good pitch. I thought we had a shot out there in right field but the ball carried a bit. She’s a great hitter.”
The run capped a big comeback by Carmichaels and was an unexpected gut punch for C-H. The Mikes trailed 4-0 before scoring four times in the fifth inning on only one hit. Chartiers-Houston (20-2) had an uncharacteristic defensive meltdown, committing four errors in the inning.
“We gave them all of their runs, except maybe the last one,” Alderson said. “Our defense broke down and that was the game.”
C-H had forged a 2-0 lead by getting an RBI double in the first inning by Taryne Drilak that scored Lauren Rush, and a run-scoring single by Ferri in the second that drove home Ella Richey.
The Bucs’ lead went to 4-0 when Richey hit a long two-run homer to left field in the top of the fifth. C-H was close enough to the state title game that the Bucs could sense a win.
That changed in the bottom of the inning when the defense collapsed and swung the momentum. With one out, Avery Voithofer walked and was bunted to second base by Duski Staggers. Alayna Simon then put down a bunt but the throw to first base errant, allowing Voithofer to score the Mikes’ initial run.
Kaitlyn Waggett then singled to right field and advanced to second base on the throw back to the infield. Barnyak followed with a grounder to the usually sure-handed Rush at shortstop, but she bobbled the ball and had to hurry a throw to first base that got away, allowing Simon and Waggett to score and make it 4-3.
McConnell then hit a grounder and reached on another C-H error as Barnyak scored to tie the game.
“That’s the thing about this team, it doesn’t quit,” Briggs said. “I’ve been involved in some crazy games, but not one that meant this much.”
Both teams were retired in order in the sixth and had the Nos. 9, 1 and 2 hitters of their lineup up in the seventh. Carmichaels got out of the top of the seventh because of an alert hustle play by Voithofer, the Mikes’ right fielder.
With Richey on first base with one out, Rush hit a grounder to third base but the throw was wide of first and ended up going down the right-field line. Voithofer alertly backed up the play and fired the ball to home plate as Richey attempted to score. Waggett took the throw on a hop to the first-base side of the plate, then dove back to her left and made a lunging attempt to tag the sliding Richey, who was called out.
“That was a big out,” Briggs said.
The contest ended an epic four-game series between the Mikes and Bucs, with each team winning two times. Carmichaels had an edge in runs, 19-18.
“I expected another close game, but not one like this,” McConnell said. “I was expecting 0-0 for a long time or 1-1, not 4-0.”