NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (D9Sports) – Alyssa Burkett said she didn’t have her best stuff Monday.
(Photo: Alyssa Burkett, Redbank Valley)
You sure could have fooled everyone watching.
Burkett tossed a two-hit shutout to lift Redbank Valley into the District 9 Class 2A semifinals for the second straight year thanks to a 4-0 win over visiting Brookville Monday afternoon at the New Bethlehem Elementary School. The Lady Bulldogs (12-6), the fourth seed, will take on top-seeded Moniteau, the three-time defending District 9 champions, at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Moniteau.
Burkett talked about her performance.
Burkett didn’t give up a hit until there was one out in the fifth inning, and she ended up allowing only three Brookville base runners on the day.
“She keeps us in every game,” Redbank Valley head coach John Sayers said. “In the second inning she struggled a little bit with something in her arm, but it seemed to go away in the third and she was fine and focused. She’s been here four years, and we’ll miss her when she leaves.”
Lauren Hergert broke up the no-hit bid with a solid single to left in the fifth, but other than a second-inning walk to Carlie McManigle and a sixth-inning single by Marcy Schindler, but the Lady Raiders (8-12) could muster next to nothing against the Redbank Valley senior, who didn’t allow a runner in scoring position on the afternoon.
“She hit her spots and moved the ball around,” Sayers said. “She’s been doing really well with that the last part of this season.”
It didn’t hurt that Burkett pitched nearly the entire game with the lead thanks to a first-inning run by her Lady Bulldog teammates, one of four innings that saw Redbank Valley score one run.
Kaia Rearick scored that run after some not-so-crisp defense from Brookville.
With one out in the first, Rearick popped a ball over the head of the second baseman Leah Kammerdeiner, who misjudged the shallow pop up into a base hit for Rearick.
Rearick then should have been doubled off first when Kara Hicks hit a soft liner back to the circle that McManigle, the Brookville pitcher, juggled at first before catching. She turned and fired to first to try to double off Rearick, but what could have been a bang-bang call turned into no harm, no foul for Rearick when Brookville first baseman Jordan MacWilliams couldn’t catch McManigle’s throw.
A stolen base by Rearick followed by a base hit to right on a sinking liner by Maycee Shumaker that hit off right fielder Schindler’s glove scored the game’s first run.
Redbank Valley added on runs in the fourth and fifth but missed opportunities in both innings to break the game wide open.
In the fourth, Hicks, Shumaker and Kristen Shaffer opened the inning with back-to-back-to-back singles with Shaffer’s scoring Hicks making it 2-0. But Lauren Rearick flew out to right, and when Becca Kunselman popped up to shortstop Hannah Kirkwood, Shumaker took off and was easily doubled off second, although an argument could have been made that the infield fly rule should have been called.
It was more of the same for the Lady Bulldogs in the fifth.
Back-to-back-to-back singles by Sami Leasure, Burkett and Lexi Holt loaded the bases with nobody out. Kaia Rearick then hit a grounder to Kirkwood at shortstop, but her only play was to third forcing courtesy runner Lauren Smith while Leasure scored making it 3-0.
But with runners on first and second and just one out and the top of the lineup at the plate, Redbank Valley couldn’t add on.
McManigle got Hicks to ground out to second before inducing a flyout to right by Shumaker with runners on second and third to end the inning.
“Lately, we’ve been struggling hitting,” Sayers said. “Ever since we prepared for Moniteau for our home game, we’ve struggled with slower pitching than we see with (Moniteau’s) Kennedy (DeMatteis). But we got through it, and we’ll go down to Moniteau Wednesday.”
Redbank did add a fourth run in the sixth when Shaffer singled to left and moved to second on a wild pitch before being replaced by a pinch runner, Tori Sayers, who scored on the game’s lone extra-base hit, a double to center by Lauren Rearick.
“I’m not disappointed in my team whatsoever this year,” Brookville head coach Carl McManigle said. “They battled for me, and I’m very, very proud of what they accomplished.
“We just couldn’t hit the ball (today) and when we did, it was right at them. There was nothing hard, and she moved the ball around, so hats off to Ms. Burkett. She pitched a fine game, their team played a fine game and they put the ball in play. But, again, I’m very proud of our girls.”
REDBANK VALLEY 4, BROOKVILLE 0
Score by Innings
Brookville 000 000 0 — 0
Redbank 100 111 x — 4
BROOKVILLE — 0
Hannah Kirkwood ss 3000, Marcy Schindler rf 3010, Kennedy Gilbert cf 3000, Jordan MacWilliams 1b 3000, Carlie McManigle p 2000, Madison Gilbert cr 0000, Lauren Hergert c 3010, Maggie Miller 3b 2000, Leah Kammerdeiner 2b 2000, Abby Sunealitis lf 2000. Totals 23-0-2-0.
REDBANK VALLEY — 4
Lexi Holt ss 3010, Kaia Rearick 2b 3111, Kara Hicks rf 3110, Maycee Shumaker 1b 3021, Kristen Shaffer 3b 3021, Tori Sayers cr 0100, Lauren Rearick c 3011, Becca Kunselman lf 3000, Sami Leasure dp 3110, Tori Nelson cf 0000, Alyssa Burkett p 3010, Lauren Smith cr 0000. Totals 27-4-10-4.
LOB: Brookville 3. Redbank Valley: 5. Errors: None. 2B: L. Rearick. SB: K. Rearick DP: Brookville 1.
PITCHING
Brookville
Carlie McManigle — 6 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Redbank Valley
Alyssa Burkett — 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Winning pitcher: Alyssa Burkett
Losing pitcher: Carlie McManigle
