Latrobe headed back to WPIAL softball finals after shutting out Baldwin

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, May 23, 2018 | 5:54 PM

Members of the Latrobe coaching staff call junior catcher Makayla Munchinski “the Shepherd.”

“They are instructed by that shepherd's voice,” Wildcats softball coach Rick Kozusko said. “She speaks, she tells us what's going on; everybody hears it and follows her orders.”

In the top of the fourth inning of a scoreless WPIAL Class 6A semifinal game against No. 2-seeded Baldwin on Wednesday, Munchinski's words were heard loud and clear.

After the Cal (Pa.) recruit belted a leadoff double to right-center field, she bellowed “Yeah! Let's go!” loud enough for everyone in attendance at Boyce-Mayview Park to hear.

Senior designated player Aimee Siecinski listened and answered the request with an RBI single to center field that gave the No. 3 Wildcats all the runs they needed in a 2-0 victory.

“I knew I was scoring on that hit,” Munchinski said.

“I try to play with intensity all the time. As a team, we try to keep it up all the time. Playing with intensity keeps you up the whole game.”

Siecinski's hit was one of just five for the Wildcats, but it came at the perfect time.

“I actually felt my knee hit the ground, so it was a late swing but it worked, so that's all that matters,” she said.

That run-scoring sequence was all junior pitcher Kiley Myers needed. After throwing a no-hitter in Latrobe's 10-0 quarterfinal win over Peters Township, Myers held Baldwin (11-5) to two hits with eight strikeouts and zero walks.

“I was just hitting my corners,” said Myers, a Marist recruit. “I knew if I threw anything over the heart of the plate, they would take it because they're a good hitting team.”

Myers used her velocity and rise pitch to keep Baldwin off-balance.

“We were a little hesitant,” said Baldwin coach Vince Sortino, whose team will play Norwin in the consolation game next week. “We were behind on a lot of pitches, which usually isn't us. All credit goes to her. She pitched it where she wanted to pitch it, kept us off-balance.”

Latrobe (12-3) tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh, when freshman third baseman Jordan Novak singled home senior first baseman Becca Tatone, who had a two-out single.

After getting the final three outs, the Wildcats celebrated earning a trip back to the WPIAL title game. Latrobe lost to Section 2 rival Hempfield, 13-2, in last season's final.

They will get a rematch next week at Seton Hill University.

“We've been working towards this for a long time, since September,” Munchinski said. “If hard work pays off, we should be in for a very successful season from here on out. We expect to be playing for lot longer than just the WPIAL finals.”

Bill Hartlep is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bhartlep@tribweb.com.

Tags: Baldwin