DuBois CC’s Kulbatsky stymies Mikes in PIAA final
UNIVERSITY PARK — Bailey Barnyak pitched well enough for Carmichaels to win Thursday’s game for the PIAA Class A softball championship at Penn State University’s Beard Field.
Unfortunately for the Mikes, DuBois Central Catholic’s Rylee Kulbatsky was nearly unhittable in the Cardinals’ 2-0 victory. It was DCC’s first state title in three trips to the finals.
Kulbatsky yielded three hits over seven innings with 15 strikeouts and no walks.
“Bailey pitched well enough to win the game,” Carmichaels coach Dave Briggs said. “Their pitcher was tough today, and that was pretty much the story of the game. We couldn’t get to her, and I don’t know if it was nerves or the way she was moving the ball. I think it was a little bit of both.
“It was definitely a cool experience for the girls. The field, atmosphere and the support we had from the fans was great. I’m hoping this result is fuel for us next year and some incentive to work hard in the offseason, but it’s really hard to get here. I’m proud of our girls. There are over 100 schools in Class A and to get here is a big accomplishment.”
The Mikes (19-4) defeated three district champions to reach Thursday’s final, but couldn’t find their groove against Kulbatsky.
“We had two solid sophomores pitching in this game, so we hope to meet them again for the state title,” DuBois Central Catholic coach George Heigel said. “We had two solid senior pitchers that understood we needed to pitch Rylee (Kulbatsky) because I think she is the best pitcher in the state. Those seniors didn’t mind taking a step back for the team and that speaks very highly of their character.”
Barnyak allowed two earned runs on seven hits over seven innings. She had eight strikeouts and no walks.
“We were in the game and everything, but she (Kulbatsky) was an amazing pitcher,” Barnyak said. “We could not touch her. We had our chances, but it seemed like every time we got something going, she made another great pitch.”
DuBois scored what would be the winning run in the fifth inning with two outs when No. 9 hitter Lexi Berta hit a ball that was too long for the Carmichaels infielders and too shallow for its outfielders to catch.
Berta hustled into second with a double and scored on Marina Hanes’ base hit to left field. Hanes was thrown out at third to end the inning, but the Cardinals had a 1-0 lead.
Ali Jacobs broke up Kulbatsky’s perfect game in the bottom of the fifth with a single to left. She advanced to second on Megan Voithofer’s bunt before two strikeouts ended the threat.
“After giving up that first, I just focused on the next batter,” Kulbatsky said. “I just wanted to win the game. I wasn’t really worried about a perfect game or no-hitter. My rise ball is definitely my favorite pitch.”
DuBois scored an insurance run in the sixth when Jessy Frank doubled and crossed home plate on Melia Mitskavich’s triple to right field.
The Mikes had runners on first and second with one out in their half of the sixth when Alayna Simon reached on an error and Kaitlyn Waggett beat out a bunt for an infield single. Kulbatsky recorded a strikeout and forced a foulout to Frank at catcher to end the inning.
“We have been able to generate a clutch hit and do some stuff with runners on base this season,” Briggs said. “We started to make some things happen in the last couple of innings, but we couldn’t get that one clutch hit to put us over the top.”
Jacobs led off the seventh with a double, but Kulbatsky forced a popup to second base followed by back-to-back strikeouts for the championship.
Jacobs had two of Carmichaels’ three hits, but admitted to the difficulty in facing a pitcher like Kulbatsky.
“As a team, we definitely saw that she had this pitch where it would come in and it had like a clear dot in the center of the bubble and it would almost shake,” Jacobs said. “We could notice that it was breaking early, and even though we were up in the box, everyone was still ahead of it because it was breaking so early. I don’t know if it curved or dropped, but it had some kind of spin on it that threw all of us off.
“It was great to be here and I don’t think anyone expected us to get this far because we come from a small, little Single-A team. We have a young team and we hope to get back here next year.”
Megan Voithofer and Simon are the Mikes’ two seniors, but the Cardinals have a young lineup as well and Kulbatsky is a sophomore.
“I feel like she (Kulbatsky) after we played them last year,” Voithofer said. “We really hit the crap out of the ball last year and we beat them 7-0. We had a few innings where we got some things going, but just couldn’t get that big hit.”