STRATTANVILLE, Pa. (D9Sports) – DuBois Central Catholic softball coach George Heigel said his team was squaring the ball up well Tuesday afternoon.
(Photo: DCC celebrates the win Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Michelyn Gulvas)
That’s an understatement.
Heigel’s Lady Cardinals, the District 9 champion, smashed 15 hits, including seven extra-base hits and only needed 3 ⅔ innings to score 18 runs rolling past WPIAL third-place finisher Carmichaels, 18-3 in four innings in the opening round of the PIAA Class 1A playoffs at the Clarion-Limestone Sports Complex.
“The whole lineup squared up on the ball,” Heigel said. “We spent a lot of time in the cages. Literally, we practiced four times in the last 24 hours because of the rain (that forced the postponement of the game Monday). Our kids are hitting the ball now.”
The game actually didn’t start out very well for DCC (23-1) as the Lady Cardinals uncharacteristically fell behind 3-0 after a half inning of play.
“Giving up three runs in the first inning surprised me,” Heigel said. “That hasn’t happened all year. It hasn’t happened in two years, frankly. That put us back on our heels a little bit.
“After the top of the first, I said there is no way three runs is going to beat us. I just said we don’t have to score all of them right now. But we ended up scoring three runs in the first inning and kept adding to it.”
DCC did just that in its first at bat getting back-to-back doubles from Macey Hanes and Jordy Frank to get on the board. Frank then went to third on an error on catcher Megan Walker before scoring on a wild pitch.
An out later, Ashley Wruble stole second and scored on another throwing error by Walker, the catcher to tie the game.
“Not really,” Hanes said when asked if the early deficit caused any worries on the DCC side. “It was only the first inning, and we are a team of really good hitter. So, I honestly had no nerves about that.”
Hanes did say that it was important for the Lady Cardinals to answer back right away.
“It was very important,” Hanes said. “Having a lead is very big in a game like that, so tying it up really helped us a lot.”
Watch Hanes’ full interview.
DCC took the lead in the second inning when it scored seven more times sending 11 batters to the plate while taking advantage of three more Carmichael errors – the Mighty Mikes committed eight in the game leading to 13 unearned runs.
“Granted, they helped,” Heigel said. “Their nerves got the best of them. That happens. I remember four years ago when we were here we gave up nine runs in the first round of our state playoffs. That happens when you have a real young team. That’s a good team. We scouted them. They are a good team. They just didn’t play very well today.”
A pair of errors started the inning for DCC giving the Lady Cardinals a 4-3 lead, and Hanes had an RBI double to make it 5-3 before a bases-loaded walk to Ashley Wruble made it 6-3, and a Shay Gulvas fielder’s choice 7-3. Then, following a strikeout, Heigel played a hunch and sent up sophomore Carly Semancik to pinch hitter for Alyssa Bittner.
Semancik made the veteran DCC coach look smart when she broke the game open with a two-run triple to right before scoring n a Maia Cogley single.
“I could tell,” Heigel said about Semanick being able to come through. “You throw 400, 500 pitches a night at batting practice, you can tell the kids that are hitting the ball square. I had an inkling Carly was going to square up one because she was killing it in batting practice. I thought I would give her a chance.”
The lead grew by three more in the third thanks to a Wruble run-scoring triple, a Gulvas RBI double and a Libby Maurer run-producing single that made it 13-3.
The Lady Cardinals then took advantage of two more Carmichael errors in the fourth to end the game with the 15-run Mercy Rule. Alyssa Bittner ended the contest with a long single to left-center that scored Gulvas with the 18th run.
Bittner’s base hit ended a strong day for the bottom third of the DCC batting order, which went 5-for-9 with four RBIs and five runs scored.
“The last seven, eight, 10 games, the bottom of our lineup has been very effective,” Heigel said.
While DCC was scoring in bunches, Assalone, who was hit hard in the first inning allowing a pair of doubles while giving up three runs – only one earned because of three DCC errors -settled in not only a hit while walking one in her final three innings of work.
“They hit her curveball in the first inning on the outside of the plate,” Heigel said. “So, she started moving the ball inside and outside, and a big addition tonight was her changeup. She threw about four or five really nice changeups. She doesn’t throw a lot of changeups. The changeup was a big key to her performance. If she can add the changeup into the mix, she is a good pitcher.”
DCC will take on District 10 champion Commodore Perry at 2 p.m. Thursday at Hickory High School. Commodore Perry beat WPIAL runner-up Monessen, who lost twice to Carmichaels in the regular season, 7-2.
“We will be ready to play Thursday,” Heigel, whose team advanced to the PIAA semifinals a year ago, said.
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC 18, CARMICHAELS 3, 4 INNINGS
Score by Inning
Carmichaels 300 0 – 3
DuBois CC 373 5 – 18
CARMICHAELS – 3
Megan Walker c 2110, Kylie Sinn p 2100, Natalie McNett 1001, Gina Ranieri 1b 2111, Morgan Faddis cf 2011, Kaitlyn Wilson 2b 2000, Maddi Ewart rf 2000, Shelbee McCann 3b 2000, Emily Menhart 1000. Totals 16-3-3-3.
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC – 18
Macey Hanes cf 4331, Jordy Frank c 3321, Riley Assalone p 3210, Ashley Wruble 2b 3312, Shay Gulvas 4312, Libby Maurer 3b 4022, Alyssa Bittner 1b 3021, Carly Semancik ph 1112, Maia Cogley dp 3121, Maddie Nasuti lf 0000, Sabrina Spencer rf 1100, Jordy Kosko 1100. Totals 30-18-15-12.
LOB: Carmichaels 2. DCC 5, Errors: Carmichaels 8. DCC 4. 2B: Walker, Faddis, Hanes (2), Frank, Gulvas, Bittner 3B: Wruble, Semancik. SAC: Spencer. SB: Wruble, Gulvas, Maurer. CS: McCann, Frank.
PITCHING
Carmichaels
Kylie Sinn – 3.2 IP, 15 H, 18 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 0 HP
Dubois Central Catholic
Riley Assalone – 4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HP
Winning pitcher: Riley Assalone
Losing pitcher: Kylie Sinn
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