Vatakis shines as Lady Greyhounds avenge two losses to Carmichaels
Holly Tonini
Carmichaels catcher Megan Walker gets the out at home against Monessen鈥檚 Destiny Habeck, but the Lady Greyhounds held on to with the WPIAL Class A semifinal game, 6-2, over the Lady Mikes on Tuesday at Peterswood Park in Peters Township.
Holly Tonini
Monessen softball players celebrate after defeating Carmichaels, 6-2, in Tuesday鈥檚 WPIAL Class A softball playoff semifinal at Peterswood Park in Peters Township. The Lady Greyhounds qualified for their first trip to the WPIAL finals and will play section rival West Greene for the district title.
Holly Tonini
Monessen鈥檚 Janae Evans scores a run during Tuesday鈥檚 WPIAL Class A semifinal softball playoff game against Carmichaels at Peterswood Park in Peters Township.
PETERS TWP. 鈥� Monessen鈥檚 Dana Vatakis registered 10 strikeouts and kept Carmichaels鈥� offense off-balance, as the Lady Greyhounds avenged two earlier regular season losses and won, 6-2, on Tuesday in the Class A semifinals at Peterswood Park.
鈥淔or some reason my pitches were a little off the last two times we played Carmichaels,鈥� Vatakis said. 鈥淭oday, I had a good riser and I was hitting my spots. I was working the zone up and down, inside and outside.鈥�
The Lady Greyhounds (16-5) will face top seed and section rival West Greene in the championship game next week at California University of Pennsylvania鈥檚 Lilley Field.
鈥淲e played a more complete game today than the last two times we played them,鈥� Monessen coach Bo Teets said. 鈥淐armichaels is a really good team and are a tough match-up. We were strong defensively today and Dana was Dana for us. Give a lot of credit to the girls and to my coaching staff.鈥�
鈥淲e have been hitting the ball better these last couple of games. We are getting hot at the right time. We have made some tweaks to our lineup a couple of weeks ago and we are stressing a more aggressive attack at the plate.鈥�
Monessen started the scoring in the opening frame with three runs, as Mattie Telegraphs delivered a RBI single and Paige Kerestesi produced a two-out, two-run single for the Lady Greyhounds.
After a scoreless second inning, Monessen tacked on one more run to make it 4-0 when Tori Cooper鈥檚 RBI hit scored Vatakis.
Destiny Habeck laced a run-producing triple in the sixth inning and later scored on Maddie Guzzie鈥檚 RBI groundout.
The Lady Mikes (16-6) avoided the shutout in the bottom half of the sixth, courtesy of a two-out, two-run single by Kaitlyn Wilson that scored Natalie McNett and Gina Ranieri.
Carmichaels loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to bring the game-tying run to the plate, but Vatakis buckled down and induced a ground out to second base to secure the victory.
鈥淭hey outplayed us today and their pitcher was very sharp,鈥� Carmichaels coach Dave Briggs said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 hit the ball like we usually do. We knew this was going to be a dogfight and was going to be a close game. We never really put any constant pressure on their defense.鈥�
Vatakis scattered seven hits over seven innings with three walks. The junior pitcher had six of her 10 strikeouts over the first four innings.
鈥淥ur defense is really good,鈥� Vatakis said. 鈥淭hey have been backing me up all year and it鈥檚 huge for my confidence that I know they are behind me. I don鈥檛 really worry about our defense. I just focus on my pitches. It鈥檚 easy for me when I鈥檓 able to hit my spots.鈥�
Kylie Sinn took the loss, tossing seven inning and allowed six runs on eight hits with four walks.
Carmichaels plays Leechburg in the consolation game with site, date and time to be determined.
鈥淜ylie is a low-ball pitcher and unfortunately she was not getting those low calls today,鈥� Briggs said. 鈥淲e struggled in the first inning, but give Monessen a lot of credit today. They took advantage of our mistakes. We just have to refocus and get ready for the consolation game. It鈥檚 disappointing, but we have to regroup and remain hungry.鈥�
Monessen, who dropped its two meetings to West Greene in the regular season by scores of 6-2 and 1-0, will be looking for the school鈥檚 first ever softball crown next week.
鈥淒ana had really good stuff today,鈥� Teets said. 鈥淪he is a Division-I girl for a reason and when she takes the circle, she gives us a chance to win. It鈥檚 going to take a monumental effort to beat a team like West Greene. We have to click in all phases of the game. They don鈥檛 have a lot of weaknesses and we have to catch some breaks.鈥�