Henderson’s homer lifts Southmoreland past No. 3 South Allegheny in slugfest

By: Jeremy Tepper
Thursday, April 18, 2019 | 9:12 PM

As South Allegheny and Southmoreland went back and forth, trading run for run, it become apparent the slightest miscue would likely make the difference.

That miscue came in the form of a Taylor Lucas pitch left high the zone, a ball promptly pounded over the fence by Charity Henderson for a three-run homer, giving Southmoreland a 11-9 lead in the top of the sixth.

That score would stick, as Jess Matheny quelled South Allegheny’s hot bats for the remaining two innings, in turn securing a victory for the reigning WPIAL champs against what should be one of its better competitors in Section 3-3A.

“We have swagger, they have swagger. Someone’s got to win, and someone’s got to lose,” South Allegheny coach Hal Minford said. “I wish we were on the other end of it, but we weren’t.”

Minford lamented the decision to pitch to Henderson in that spot. With an open base and a one-run lead, Minford and Lucas debated whether or not to walk Henderson, ultimately deciding not to.

While that sort of hands-off, leave-it-to-the-players mentality failed for No. 3-ranked South Allegheny, it worked for Southmoreland.

Scotties coach Todd Bunner was at a loss midway through the game. With the teams trading shots, and South Allegheny pulling ahead in the fifth inning, Bunner found all of his advice and decisions failing.

So Bunner intervened only with some quick words to Henderson before her at-bat, telling her to trust herself and be opportunistic if a good pitch comes her way.

“Was I down in that game? Absolutely. The girls picked me up because I was at a point where I didn’t know what to do. We talked and talked and talked and we weren’t getting results. So I let them do it,” Bunner said.

“They know where they’ve been. That’s experience, when you’re playing tough games like that. Coming into a place like this, you lean on that experience.”

Coming off a WPIAL championship with eight starters returning, Bunner said his team has felt pressure all season, pressure they had struggled to deal with at times. A matchup against an experienced South Allegheny (11-2, 5-2) gunning for a section title provided another pressure-packed matchup, one Southmoreland handled well.

Two high-scoring offenses lived up to their billing to this point, as South Allegheny stacked 10 hits, while Southmoreland had 12. Cortney Woytovich got the start for South Allegheny, lasting four innings, and giving up eight runs before ceding to Lucas.

Matheny, after giving up runs in each of the first five innings, found her stride in the final two. Minford had mixed feelings about his team’s offensive performance despite the relative large number of runs.

“There were some spots where we need to hit better, where we’ve hit better in the past. And we’re just not getting it done right now,” Minford said. “We should hit one through nine. There’s no reason one through nine shouldn’t hit.”

One of those aforementioned spots was in the first innings, when South Allegheny plated just one run despite loading the bases. The run tied up the score, as Matheny led off the game with a solo homer.

After Southmoreland (6-3, 5-3) added another in the second off of a throwing error, the Gladiators responded with a two-run homer by Christina Pasinki, who led all hitters with three hits. South Allegheny added another in the third to stretch the lead to two runs, but Southmoreland, as was customary in this game, came right back in the next inning, as Tyson Martin hit a two-run homer, only to be one-upped by Lexi Klatt, who jacked a grand slam.

“Normally one time through the lineup, they’re able to figure things out, and they’re really good at making adjustments,” Bunner said of his hitters. “And that’s what happened. We made some adjustments on (Woytovich) after the second or third inning.”

South Allegheny, of course, would not go down easy after that onslaught, tying it up with four runs in the fourth by way of RBI singles by Pasinski and Aliyah Rotharmel, and a two-run double by Olivia Stetz. A sac fly in fifth gave the Gladiators the lead, but alas, Henderson’s home run made the difference.

Tags: South Allegheny, Southmoreland