Plum softball rallies to stun Kiski Area in 8 innings

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, April 21, 2018 | 10:48 PM

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Not enough can be said about a player who goes out and does exactly what the coach says to do.

With score tied in the bottom of the eighth inning and runners on first and second, Plum coach Jim McGrath offered some words of wisdom to leadoff hitter Olivia Wendell before she stepped inside the batter's box.

“My coach told me to relax, have fun, and if anything, just hit the ball towards right field,” Wendell said.

Wendell did exactly that, as the junior sent a 0-1 pitch down the right-field line to score sophomore Lindsey Suprano from second base and cap off a gutsy win as the Mustangs rallied past Section 1-5A rival Kiski Area, 7-6, in eight innings Saturday afternoon.

Plum had tied the score 6-6 with four runs in the bottom of the seventh.

“We keep telling the girls to keep battling, keep battling and you never know until it's the end of the seventh inning,” McGrath said. “Kiski is a good team. We enjoy playing them, and it's always a good rivalry.”

With Kiski Area (3-5, 3-5) and Plum (6-4, 5-4) coming off tough losses Friday, both teams were looking to get back into the win column, position themselves for fourth place in the section and grab the final postseason spot. The win puts Plum in fourth place, while Kiski Area drops to fifth, two games behind the Mustangs.

“I know that Plum is a resilient team, and I give Plum a lot of credit for not giving up,” Kiski Area coach Maggie Jones said. “These are great games, and I just appreciate the efforts (of both teams) all the way around.”

The Cavaliers held the momentum for most of the game and carried a 4-2 lead into the top of the seventh.

Courtney Moyer extended Kiski Area's lead to 6-2 with a two-run homer over the towering left-field fence, scoring Alexa Nagy. It was a score Jones thought might put the game away for her Cavaliers. Moyer finished 3 for 4 at the plate.

“It was a roller-coaster (game),” Jones said.

The Mustangs started to get to Kiski starting pitcher Megan Andree in the bottom of the seventh.

Makinzie DeRiggi hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to score Francesca Beighley, who went 4 for 5, and cut the deficit to 6-3.

Wendell popped out to left field but not before Alyssa Scholfield scored to bring the score to 6-4. Sidney Young doubled to left to score Lindsey Suprano, and Abbey Froehlich doubled to left field to tie the score 6-6, and send the Plum dugout into a frenzy.

“We're a battling team and we don't want to give up and you see the result,” McGrath said.

It certainly was a battle, and an uphill one at that.

The Cavaliers put up three runs in first to take the early lead. Plum starting pitcher Melanie Mienke settled down and gave up just one more run, in the fifth inning on a Kasandra Cessna single, to bring the score to 4-1. Meinke lasted until the sixth before being replaced by Froehlich.

Wendell put the first run on the board for the Mustangs in the fourth when she singled just over Andree's glove to score Beighley. Wendell also scored in the sixth when Froehlich was hit by an Andree pitch and close Kiski's lead to 4-2.

“This (win) makes us want to work harder,” Wendell said. “We can beat anyone, but we have to play as a team and that's what we did.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Kiski School, Plum