Trinity’s Ray of hope: Pitcher blanks South Fayette in WPIAL playoff opener
McMURRAY – Trinity starter Maddie Ray has a routine after every pitch.
She gets the ball back from her catcher Alexa Zawacki and walks in a straight line out of the circle toward second base before getting back on the rubber.
“In intense games I do that,” Ray said. “It gets me ready for the next pitch.”
What else was routine for Ray on Monday was retiring South Fayette hitters.
Ray pitched a two-hit shutout and No. 10 Trinity beat No. 7 South Fayette, 7-0, in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A softball playoffs at Pleasant Valley Elementary School.
In the second game of the doubleheader, No. 6 Beaver beat No. 11 Belle Vernon, 8-1 in a Class 4A first round game.
Trinity (12-9) advanced to play No. 2 Shaler in the quarterfinals at a site and time to be announced.
Ray allowed only four baserunners all game and was helped by a stout Hillers defense that did not record an error. She also had an RBI double in the third inning.
“My curveball and hitting my spots were key,” Ray said. “I had a lot of confidence going into it. I knew a couple of the girls (on South Fayette) and I felt like I could beat them, so I just tried my best.”
South Fayette starter Emma Earley was equally impressive early on. She retired the first eight batters she faced, but a dropped fly ball in right field opened the door for Trinity in the third.
Ally Krenzelak singled to put two runners on. Then Ray ripped a double to right field to score Earley and Krenzelak to make it 2-0.
“It felt good,” Ray said. “I just kind of stuck my bat out there and turned my hips and it worked out.”
Hanna Suhoski followed with a double to left center, which scored Ray.
All three runs in the inning came with two outs and were unearned.
Julia Munkittrick was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the third for South Fayette and made it to third on a sac bunt and a groundout. Brenna Dunn hit a sinking liner to left, but Riley Venick made a diving catch to end the inning.
“That was an amazing catch,” Ray said. “I was so proud of her for that.”
The Hillers added another run in the fifth when Krenzelak smacked an RBI double, which scored Venick from second.
Krenzelak finished 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI and scored two runs
“We had an idea what (Earley) threw, so I was just looking for my pitch and capitalizing on it,” Krenzelak said.
South Fayette had a glimmer of a rally in the sixth. Liv Bonacci led off with a double and Cam Valentino appeared to lay down a bunt that was thrown into right field, but Valentino was out of the batter’s box when she made contact and was ruled out.
Ray got a groundout and a flyout to stand Bonacci at second base.
Trinity scored three runs in the seventh to put the game away.
Venick reached on an infield single and pinch hitter Ava Montgomery laid down a sacrifice bunt and was safe at first after a throwing error. Jonna Hartley brought in Venick with a single and Krenzelak followed with an RBI single. Krenzelak later scored on a wild pitch.
It was the first playoff win for Ray and Krenzelak and they hope they can get another one in the next round.
“I’m excited to keep going,” Krenzelak said. “I want to keep going further.”
Beaver, 8-1
As the 11th seeded underdog, Belle Vernon hung around for a while, but a two-run fifth and four-run sixth helped No. 6 Beaver pull away.
“It’s been that way this whole year,” Leopards coach Tom Rodriguez said. “We stay close for four or five and fall apart I guess you could say. Earlier when it was 4-1, we gave them two unearned runs, so that hurt too. We only have three seniors and I have a lot of good eighth graders coming up, so we have something to look forward to.”
Beaver (14-5) scored first in the bottom of the first, but Belle Vernon (9-12) knotted the game up in the fourth when Lauren VanDivner singled to left center field, scoring Kaylee Sypolt.
The Bobcats took the lead back on an RBI single by Bella Marino.
Light rain had been falling for most of the game, but when it intensified in the late innings, Belle Vernon starter Lily Crawford struggled with her command.
Beaver scored a run on a wild pitch and a hit by pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth and had an RBI walk and hit by pitch in the sixth.
Prior to the fifth, Crawford walked only one batter.
“She works hard and (relief pitcher Maddie Grisnik) works hard too, so I can’t complain,” Rodriguez said. “They do the best they can with the abilities that they have.”