BUTLER, Pa. (D9Sports) – A learning experience.
That is the way first-year Brookville head softball coach Carlie Cook looked at the Lady Raiders 4-1 loss to Karns City in the season opener Thursday at Kelly Automotive Park in Butler.
Cook believes her young team can learn from the aggressive style of baserunning employed by the Lady Gremlins throughout the game, a style that directly led to all four Karns City runs.
“We definitely need to practice more situational work and practice getting them use to coming off the bag, looking at the runner, looking the runner back,” Cook, a former star player for Brookville and Clarion University, said. “It’s really us understanding there are always going to be fast girls, but that we can be just as fast and do the same thing. It’s really just learning from that. Seeing it, and knowing we are capable of doing the same thing.”
Karns City stole six bases Thursday, legged out a couple of infield singles and scored three of its four runs on balls that didn’t leave the infield.
“I think (us not getting a lot of time outside) was a huge challenge,” Cook said. “And that was especially true on a this turf field and the fact we were playing with completely different baseball standards.”
Kelly Automotive Park is a baseball stadium that was set up for softball Thursday with the bases in the middle of the baseball diamond without dirt surrounding them and the baseball pitcher’s mound in the middle.
“We couldn’t get a feel for where the bases were, where we were standing” Cook said. “But with the nicer weather coming up, we will definitely be able to get on the field and run some more situational work which will help prepare us for future games.”
Cook was especially pleased with the outing of freshman pitcher Carlie McManigle.
McManigle, making her first high-school start, was solid allowing just two earned runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six.
“I think she really showed up tonight,” Cook said. “She showed us what she is really capable of. I think being a freshman and coming in there tonight, she had a lot of pressure. I think she handled it really well and really performed today.”
Watch Brookville play solid bunt defense
Brookville also got a solid day out of senior shortstop Elaina Powell, who was 2-for-3 at the plate including an inside-the-park home run in the sixth inning providing the only run of the game for the Lady Raiders.
Powell had two of Brookville’s three hits off of Karns City starter and winner Taylor Downs, who retired 12 in a row at one point and 16 of 19 in the game.
Karns City scored single runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings with the middle two runs being unearned thanks to Brookville miscues.
KARNS CITY 4, BROOKVILLE 1
Score by innings
Brookville 000 001 0 – 1
Karns City 001 111 x – 4
Brookville – 1
Hannah Kirkwood 3b 3000 Madison Gilbert lf 3000, Elaina Powell ss 3121, Laken Hergert c 2000, Elliette Park cf 3000, Abby Sunealitis 2b 3000, Jordan MacWilliams 1b 2000, Caitlyn Hill rf 2010, Natasha Stritzinger ph 1000, Carlie McManigle p 3000. Totals 23-1-3-1.
Karns City – 4
Alyssa Stitt c 4130, LeeAnn Gibson 3b 3100, Ashley Coon ss 3011, Taylor Downs p 3001, Makala Bailey 1b 3110, Taylor Ekas 2b 3120, Sam Graz rf/pr 1000, Mackanzie Shay ph 0000, Katie Neff lf 2000, Micaiah Matson 1001, Emily Wolff 3000. Totals 26-4-7-3.
LOB – Brookville 5. Karns City 6. 2B – Stitt, Ekas. HR – Powell. SB – Coon (3) Stitt, Gibson, Graz. E – Sunealitis (2), Hill, Powell, Coon. SAC – Graz.
PITCHING
Brookville – McManigle: 6 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 6 K.
Karns City – Downs: 7 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K.
Winning pitcher: Downs
Losing pitcher: McManigle
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