Lady Mikes suffer 1st-round state playoff exit
BERLIN 鈥� With Bailey Barnyak in the pitching circle, Carmichaels is never out of a game.
Unfortunately for the Lady Mikes and head coach Dave Briggs, the offense wasn鈥檛 there in a 3-0 setback to Berlin Brothersvalley in the first round of the PIAA Class A softball playoffs Monday afternoon at Berlin Brothersvalley High School.
鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 barrel anything up really,鈥� Briggs said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really know what it was. We just couldn鈥檛 get anything going offensively the last two games. It was just one of those day where we couldn鈥檛 get a clutch hit or a rally.鈥�
Carmichaels鈥� season comes to an end at 16-2. The Lady Mountaineers (20-3) will play Cambridge Springs (16-2) on Thursday in the quarterfinals at a site and time to be determined.
Berlin Brothersvalley entered the game as the District 5 champion, which was a first for the program. The Lady Mountaineers also won their first state softball playoff game.
鈥淎t this point, they are all going to be tough games,鈥� Berlin Brothersvalley coach Brian Slope said. 鈥淭his has been a season of firsts for our team. We had to fight through injuries and weather, as everyone has. This is a very special group. We will celebrate tonight, but get back to work tomorrow.鈥�
The Lady Mikes, who advanced to the state title game a year ago, won the Class A Section 2 championship this season and entered last Thursday鈥檚 WPIAL championship game against Union undefeated, but the bats were quiet, as Briggs鈥� team lost both contests.
鈥淲e were wanting more this year,鈥� Briggs said. 鈥淚t is tough to get to the state final. We did it last year, but it is not easy to get back there. We will have to replace some people, but the cupboard isn鈥檛 bare. We have some girls coming back and some freshman coming up.鈥�
Barnyak allowed one earned run on six hits over six innings. She struck out 11 and walked four (two intentional).
Freshman Sam Walker pitched a two-hit shutout over seven frames. She had six strikeouts and walked one.
鈥淪he is just a freshman and did a great job today against a solid team,鈥� Slope said. 鈥淚 am super proud of my girls for their effort.鈥�
Berlin Brothersvalley took the only lead Walker would need in the third inning, as Walker doubled, and Coral Prosser scored on an error on the play for a 1-0 lead.
The Lady Mountaineers added a run without a hit in the fifth, which started with Cayley Poorbaugh drawing a walk to lead off the inning.
Carmichaels attempted to force Poorbaugh out at second on Haylee Speicher鈥檚 ground ball, but the throw went into right field and Poorbaugh raced to third base.
Poorbaugh scored when the throw from right field to third was off target. The Lady Mikes had an opportunity to gun down Poorbaugh at home plate, but she was safe for a 2-0 advantage.
鈥淎nother focus for this team all year has to be get on base and making the other team feel the pressure,鈥� Slope said. 鈥淐armichaels is a great team, so we knew we were in for a challenge.鈥�
Berlin Brothersvalley thought it had a 4-0 lead in the sixth when Bryn Prosser bunted for a base hit and trotted home on Sydney Walker鈥檚 home run to left field, but Prosser was ruled out at home for not stepping on the plate, but the homer counted for a 3-0 lead.
鈥淢y mantra all year to the girls has been to let the bad go, get it out of your system, focus on the good and the things that you can control,鈥� Slope said. 鈥淲e have a young team and have to develop poise, and it鈥檚 starting to come along.鈥�
Carmichaels had a strong start to the seventh when Carys McConnell lead off with a single to right field and advanced to second on an error.
Following a ground out that moved McConnell to third, Barnyak smacked a line drive, but Lady Mountaineers first baseman Bena Barna snagged the ball for the second out before a groundout closed the game for the home team.
Kaitlyn Waggett had a base hit for the Lady Mikes in the third inning with two outs. She stole second and advanced to third on an error, but Sam Walker recorded a strikeout to end the threat.