6/17/2016 Holy Redeemer repeats as state softball champs Eric Shultz Citizens Voice

Transcription

1 6/17/2016 Holy Redeemer repeats as state softball champs Eric Shultz Citizens Voice Royals beat Moniteau 9-3 to win Class AA title STATE COLLEGE Holy Redeemer softball has won its second consecutive state title. Jumping out right away with a five-run first inning, the Royals defeated Moniteau, 9-3, to win the PIAA Class AA softball championship Thursday evening at Penn State's Beard Field. The District 9-champion Warriors entered the game on an 11-game shutout streak. Leadoff hitter Morgan Bienkowski led the way for the Royals at the plate, going 4 for 5 with a run and an RBI. She also pitched four innings in relief, striking out six while allowing two hits and a run. Tiana Wren, Brittany Hebda and Abby Shorts all scored two runs. The Royals scored all the runs they needed in the top of the first inning. Bienkowski singled to start and advanced to third on a pair of ground-outs; she scored on the second out after an error at third base. Two walks and a single then loaded the bases. Abby Shorts walked in a run, and Meghan Armstrong hit a single to left field that scored three runs thanks in part to a fielding error. Redeemer led 5-0 before Moniteau even got to the plate. This is the Royals' second consecutive state championship. They defeated Deer Lake 10-5 a year ago for their first state softball title in school history.

2 PIAA SOFTBALL: Bottom of lineup comes up big for Holy Redeemer Eric Schultz Citizens Voice STATE COLLEGE Holy Redeemer took a quick lead and suddenly had a chance to break the game open in the first inning. Catcher Abby Shorts helped the Royals do just that without even swinging the bat. Shorts walked home a run, the Royals second of the game, to keep their five-run first inning alive in what became a 9-3 victory over Moniteau in the PIAA Class AA state softball championship game Thursday at Penn State s Beard Field. It was the first plate appearance in what became a big day for the bottom-third of the back-to-back state champions lineup. We just knew we had to come in and play our softball, and watch the ball hit the bat, Shorts said. Shorts (1 for 3), first baseman Meghan Armstrong (1 for 2) and left fielder Sam Rajza (2 for 2) comprised that bottom-third, which reached base in each of their first three plate appearances. They also combined for four of the Royals nine walks, doing all the little things to help Redeemer build a substantial lead over the Warriors. We told them to be more disciplined. We knew (starting pitcher Kennedy DeMatteis) had quite a bit of walks throughout the season, Redeemer coach Jerry Paulukonis said. So I told them, make sure you re disciplined at the plate. Don t swing at that first strike all the time like a lot of people get stuck doing, and make her pitch to you. No trip through the lineup was more important than the first inning, when the Royals broke up Moniteau s 11-game shutout streak three batters in. Shorts stepped to the plate with a 1-0 lead, two outs and the bases loaded. DeMatteis got ahead 1-2, but Shorts worked to a full count. After fouling a pitch down the line, she walked to score Tiana Wren for a 2-0 lead. It was a rough count, it was more on the pitcher s side, Shorts said. But you just got to know there s bases loaded, and even a walk s a run coming in. That brought up No. 8 hitter Meghan Armstrong, who sent a single to left field that cleared the bases with the help of a fielding error. Moniteau suddenly trailed 5-0 before it even got to bat.

3 It s nice to have a 5-0 lead, but you always have to keep fighting, said leadoff hitter and relief pitcher Morgan Bienkowski, whose single scored Shorts in the fifth inning. The three came to the plate again in the third inning when Shorts singled to put runners on the corners. With one out, she gambled and started a steal, trying to send Brittany Hebda home; Moniteau caught her on the basepaths but didn t cover second base, and Shorts swiped the bag. The quick thinking allowed Armstrong to walk and load the bases. Rajza walked, too, and Hebda scored for a 6-1 lead. The little plays added up to a big lead that Moniteau couldn t take back. Our lineup, 1 through 9, I ll be honest, I can intermix them a hundred different ways and they would all do the same thing. They work really hard throughout the whole thing, Paulukonis said. Every one of them can hit the ball fantastic. So I have no doubt, no matter where we re at in a game and who s coming up, that we re going to get runners on.

4 PIAA softball: Crown still fits for Holy Redeemer CHRISTOPHER DOLAN / THE CITIZENS VOICE Holy Redeemer players celebrate with the PIAA Class AA softball championship trophy after beating Moniteau on Thursday at Penn State s Beard Field. STATE COLLEGE Holy Redeemer s biggest, and final, softball game of the year got off to a 145-minute late start. We hated the delay, said senior second baseman Olivia Mennig. We were all getting a little antsy and were getting irritated. So, coach Jerry Paulukonis took the Royals outside the left-field line at Penn State s Beard Field for warm-ups, which he said intensified as the game drew closer. The added time, it turns out, was beneficial in leading the Royals to a historic victory. Becoming the first back-to-back PIAA Class AA champion since , Redeemer defeated Moniteau, 9-3, in Thursday s title game. We were really able to stretch out, relax; we watched the game prior, which got us pumped up, Mennig said. So I think in the end (the rain delay) really helped. Before fans could even speculate about rust playing a factor, Redeemer (25-3) scored five runs in the top of the first inning. The game was underway with a first pitch at 5:25 p.m. Moments later, Morgan Bienkowski hit a leadoff single in the top of the first.

5 I was the first one ready to go, I think, said Bienkowski, the winning pitcher of the 2015 PIAA final. I was so excited. I was up by 8 o clock, ready and roaring to go. Back-to-back ground balls by Allyson Laiuvara and Mennig moved Bienkowski to third. But after Mennig was thrown out at first, an error by Moniteau (24-2) on a throw from first to third scored Bienkowski. Cleanup-hitting Tiana Wren and Brittany Hebda followed with back-to-back walks. Kristen Coffay followed with a single. With the bases loaded and two outs, Abby Shorts drew the third walk of the inning, fighting back from being down 0-2 in the count. Meghan Armstrong then followed with a bases-clearing single, as Moniteau left fielder Courtney Sowinski attempted to field it, but it went through her legs. Armstrong was thrown out on the play, trying to reach third base and ending the inning with a 5-0 lead. We knew we had to get up on them in the first inning, Bienkowski said. We knew they were a shutout team, and we knew if we jumped on them and they got down, we (could keep the lead). All this against Moniteau ace Kennedy DeMatteis, who entered with an active streak of 11 straight shutouts. According to Paulukonis, his team was aware DeMatteis had allowed quite a bit of walks this season, telling his players to be disciplined. Moniteau put together its own two-out rally in the bottom of the first, with Kennedy and Kristina DeMatteis stringing together back-to-back hits and scoring one. But having allowed more than five runs in only one game all season, Redeemer aces Coffay (winning pitcher, three innings) and Bienkowski (save, four innings) held Moniteau s offense in check. I knew I had to move the ball around, Coffay said. They were really good at hitting. They could hit the ball wherever I pitched it, so I tried to use my movement to get the ball around the zone. Moniteau added two more runs after the first inning, but Redeemer scored four at the same time. Brittany Hebda drew a team-high three walks, scoring twice. Coffay and Bienkowski were as excellent at the plate as they were in the circle, recording three and four hits each, respectively.

6 Sam Rajza went 2 for 2 with her first RBI of the PIAA playoffs. The win completes an exciting postseason for Redeemer, which went undefeated in winning three district and four state playoff games. It s unreal, said Mennig, one of two players who graduated earlier this month. I didn t know how this season would go from the start. But I think once district playoffs started, I really saw the team start to gel. I saw... we really had a chance to win it. And winning it is unbelievable.

7 Holy Redeemer wins second consecutive 2A state softball title Holy Redeemer s Allyson Laiuvara bunts against Montineau on Thursday. Sean McKeag Times Leader

8 Holy Redeemer celebrates its 9-3 victory over Moniteau for the PIAA Class 2A state softball title at Penn State University on Thursday. Sean McKeag Times Leader

9 Holy Redeemer first baseman Meghan Armstrong, left, celebrates with teammate Morgan Bienkowski after she scored the Royals first run against Moniteau in the first inning. Sean McKeag Times Leader STATE COLLEGE So much for that scoreless streak. Holy Redeemer not only ended Moniteau s run of 11 consecutive shutouts in the first inning, the Royals obliterated it. Redeemer scored five runs in its first trip to the plate as it went on to win its second consecutive PIAA Class 2A state softball title with a 9-3 victory at Penn State University. Redeemer (25-3) became only the fourth program in PIAA softball history to win consecutive softball titles. District 9 champion Moniteau, which was making its first appearance in a title game, finished at Morgan Bienkowski opened the game for Redeemer with a single and moved to second on a groundout. Olivia Mennig followed with a grounder to third baseman Sara Hull. Hull threw across the diamond to get Mennig, but the throw back to third hit Bienkowski, ricocheted into left field and allowed her to score. The last run against Moniteau came on April 30 when the Warriors lost 5-4 to Phillipsburg-Oceola. The Royals weren t done.

10 Redeemer then loaded the bases on walks to Tiana Wren and Brittany Hebda and a single by Kristen Coffay. Wren would have scored on Coffay s single if not for colliding with Moniteau shortstop Cortney Claypoole. No problem as Shorts walked to force in a run and Meghan Armstrong cleared the bases with a single to left that was booted for Moniteau s second error of the inning. Armstrong was thrown out at third on the play, but the damage was done. The Royals had scored five runs against a team which allowed only 13 all season. It gave us a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum going in, said Redeemer s Sam Rajza, the only Royal not to bat in the first inning. I feel like we were less nervous and if we kept playing defense we d be good. The first inning didn t help the confidence of Moniteau pitcher Kennedy DeMatteis. She came into the game with 227 strikeouts and a 0.75 ERA. She ended up surrendering six earned runs in all and recorded her only strikeout in the seventh inning. I tried the hit the corners, DeMatteis said. But he wasn t giving me the corners. Moniteau bounced back a little in the bottom of the first as DeMatteis singled and scored on a double by her sister Kristina. The run also gave Redeemer a bit of a flashback to last year when Deer Lakes blew an early 5-2 lead against the Royals in the championship game. In a way, yeah we did (warn them), Redeemer coach Jerry Paulukonis said. We said, Remember what happened to them last year. They let down and we came back on them. We told them don t let that happen. And they didn t. They kept pressing the whole game. To be honest with you, it was probably the first game where when we were up they kept pressing. They didn t let off. Kennedy DeMatteis continued to display control issues in the third, issuing walks to Hebda and Armstrong around a single by Shorts to load the bases. Rajza then worked a bases-loaded walk to make it 6-1. Moniteau cut the deficit to 6-2 on an RBI double by Kennedy DeMatteis in the bottom of the third. But the Warriors, who had six players hitting.500 or better, managed just two hits after that. Both came in the fifth as Gabby Stewart sliced a double down the left-field line and scored on Claypoole s single. Redeemer, though, answered with two more runs in the sixth. Mennig walked with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch. Wren followed with a single, moving Mennig to third. Then after Wren stole second, Moniteau tried to pick her off, but botched the play and Mennig scored. Wren made it 9-3 by scoring on Coffay s fielder s choice.

11 Moniteau went quietly in the seventh against Bienkowski, who pitched the last four innings. As right fielder Randie Kuhar squeezed the final out in her glove, it set off a celebration on the field. It was also a bittersweet moment for Mennig, the only senior in the starting lineup. I never want to get too excited because you never know what could happen in an inning, Mennig said of the seventh inning. When we had two outs, I started to cry a little bit because I knew it was my last game and we were going to win it. Mennig s last game nearly had to wait a day. Rain forced the postponement of the Class 4A contest, which was scheduled to be the final of four games at the stadium. The second game, the Class 3A contest, started about two hours late. Redeemer s game was scheduled to start at 3 p.m. PIAA officials met twice during the 3A game, checking the weather to see whether the 2A game should be rescheduled for Friday due to approaching rain. Instead, the game began at 5:15 p.m. and the rain started to fall shortly after the game ended just after 7:30. Coach (Joe) Coffay kept telling us to practice like you re going to play, said Mennig, who along with her teammates stayed loose practicing behind the left-field wall. No one backed off because you had the mindset that you were going to play today. Like Redeemer, Moniteau returns most of its starters in Only two will depart, leaving coach Dan Beebe with some optimism despite the loss. If we can get back here on this stage, hopefully we ll be better for it, Beebe said.

12 Morgan Bienkowski makes her mark on Holy Redeemer s second straight state championship psokoloski@timesleader.com Holy Redeemer s Morgan Bienkowski singles against Moniteau during the Class 2A state title game. She finished 4 for 5 with an RBI in the win. Sean McKeag Times Leader Source: Paul Sokoloski Times Leader STATE COLLEGE The door to Holy Redeemer s second straight state championship opened when Morgan Bienkowski stepped to the plate. Moniteau s hopes for a crown pretty much ended when Bienkowski took her familiar spot in the pitching circle. From start to finish, Bienkowski proved a Royal pain to Moniteau. With four hits Thursday and and four superb innings of relief, Bienkowski solidified her reputation as a big-game performer while picking up her second pitching victory in as many state

13 appearances while using her bat to trigger Redeemer s win in the PIAA Class 2A title game at Penn State s Beard Field. A lot of people have confidence in me, Bienkowski, a sophomore, said after Holy Redeemer s 9-3 state title victory. I have confidence in everyone else. It s easy to see why Bienkowski has blossomed into one of the Redeemer s most dependable players. With precision pitching and perfect timing, she messed up a Moniteau team that believed it was unbeatable and practically was. The District 9 champion Lady Warriors entered the state title game with a 24-1 record and hadn t allowed a single run since April 30. That changed the minute the Royals got to the plate. Bienkowski began the game by lacing a single to right field off Moniteau pitcher Kennedy DeMatteis. The Royals leadoff hitter moved to second base on a ground out and charged to third base on another grounder. When the throw to third base skipped away on the play, Bienkowski picked herself up from a hard slide and scooted home to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. We knew that girl pitched a bunch of shutouts, Holy Redeemer senior captain Olivia Mennig said. I talked to Morgan Bienkowski about it, getting up definitely was going to be important. I think we really flustered her. Bienkowski, the first batter of the game, followed through by scoring the first run against DeMatteis in more than six weeks. I didn t realize I would get home, Bienkowski said. I think it was important. It swung the momentum of the game. Did it ever. A frustrated DeMatteis, who later complained, I tried to hit the corners, but he (the home plate umpire) didn t give me any corners at all, gave up four more runs and issued three of her nine walks in the opening inning all after Bienkowski scored. But Bienkowski and the rest of the Royals were far from finished. Bienkowski lashed a single in the second inning, drilled a run-scoring single in the fifth and beat out a infield single in the seventh to finish 4 for 5.

14 After going 3 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI as a freshman in Redeemer s 2015 PIAA title victory over Deer Lakes, Bienkowski raised her batting average in state title games to.778 with a combined three runs scored and two RBI. Morgan s huge, Holy Redeemer coach Jerry Paulukonis said. Morgan does everything she needs to do to make sure we re successful in the game. Including closing it out. When Moniteau hitters began timing Royals starting pitcher Kristen Coffay in the third inning while creeping within 6-2, Paulukonis called on Bienkowski to seal the title a regular routine through Redeemer s Wyoming Valley Conference season and postseason. She responded by allowing two hits and one run over the final four frames, earning the victory with six strikeouts while retiring the final nine batters and setting down 12 of the 14 Moniteau hitters she faced. It matters to me, Bienkowski said while discussing whether or not she s affected by what inning she enters the game. But my mindset, when I go into the game, I like to joke around. If I think about it (the situation) too much, it s going to show up. I like closing a lot. My first year, I was a starter. But it (relieving) is not really that hard for me. I think now, it s just expected. My freshman and sophomore years, we won the state championship. It s no coincidence Bienkowski s arm and bat played crucial roles in both titles. She s a great pitcher, she s a great hitter, Paulukonis said. And for a second straight year, Bienkowski used both of those components to lead Holy Redeemer to a great finish with a state title. It s just an amazing feeling, Bienkowski said.