Moniteau Rolls into Fourth Straight D9 2A Softball Title Game with 10-0 Win Over Redbank Valley

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published May 25, 2017 4:20 am
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WEST SUNBURY, Pa. (D9Sports) — The machine that is Moniteau softball continues to roll on.

(Photo: Co-Hager Paving Players of the Game Sara Hull (left) and Kennedy DeMatteis (right) of Moniteau)

The Lady Warriors won their 57th straight game against a District 9 opponent Wednesday afternoon thanks to a 10-0, five-inning defeat of visiting Redbank Valley in the D9 Class 2A semifinals.

Listen to the game:

The victory moves Moniteau into the District 9 title game for the fourth straight season, where the Lady Warriors will meet a familiar foe in Cranberry, a 7-6 winner over Johnsonburg in the other semifinal contest, at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Clarion-Limestone. Moniteau, which beat Cranberry 4-0 in last year’s championship game and 1-0 in the 2015 semifinals, is looking for its fourth consecutive D9 championship.

Wednesday’s victory was more of the same for Moniteau, which used another strong outing in the circle from senior Kennedy DeMatteis, who has never lost to a District 9 opponent, and a balanced offense that saw all nine hitters find a way to contribute to the 10-run outburst.

Kennedy DeMatteis got the five-inning, complete-game shutout allowing two hits, none after the second inning while striking out eight. She retired the final 10 Redbank Valley batters she faced and was named the co-Hager Paving Player of the Game.

Sharing the Hager Paving Player of the Game honors with Kennedy DeMatteis was her fellow senior, first baseman Sara Hull.

Hull on base in each of her three plate appearances going 2-for-3 — she also reached on an error — with a run scored and two RBIs.

Hull talked about the victory.

Hull’s offensive performance was pretty much in line with the rest of the Lady Warriors.

Kristina DeMatteis, Kennedy’s twin sister, and her catcher, was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs, while Megan Hepler, Amanda Dailey and Cortney Claypoole each had RBIs.

Claypoole’s bases-loaded single deep over the head of a drawn-in infield in the fifth inning finished the game off scoring Kristin Auvil from third to cap a five-run fifth inning that put the Mercy Rule into action for Moniteau.

Auvil was one of eight different Lady Warriors to cross home plate.

In addition to her run, the three by Kristina DeMatteis and the one by Hull, Claypoole, Kennedy DeMatteis, Breanne Noah, Megan Hepler and Dolcey Shunk also scored.

Meanwhile, the two players who didn’t cross the plate found their way on base nevertheless with Gabby Stewart going 1-for-3 with an intentional walk and Amanda Dailey going 1-for-3 with an RBI single in the fifth.

Moniteau had 11 hits off Redbank Valley starter Alyssa Burkett and took advantage of six Redbank Valley errors to score six unearned runs against the Lady Bulldog senior hurler, who finished the day allowing 10 runs, four earned, on the 11 hits. She walked two and struck out one in 4 ⅓ innings of work.

Redbank Valley’s best chance to score came in the first when Kaia Rearick doubled with one out, a rare extra-base hit off Kennedy DeMatteis, who entered the game with an earned run average of 0.57 in 98 innings of work and lowered it to 0.54 with the shutout.

But Kennedy DeMatteis struck out Kara Hicks looking and got Maycee Shumaker to pop out in foul territory to end the threat.

Moniteau then took advantage of a pair of Redbank Valley errors in the bottom of the inning to go up 3-0.

After Stewart started the inning with a bunt single, she was gunned down trying to steal second on a bullet of a throw by Lauren Rearick.

But Claypoole followed with a single, and Kennedy DeMatteis reached when Kaia Rearick couldn’t field a hard-hit grounder right to her putting runners at first and second for Kristina DeMatteis, who doubled down the left-field line scoring Claypoole and moving her sister to third. Sara Hull then hit a grounder to third, and the throw by third baseman Kristen Shaffer was low allowing Hull to reach and both DeMatteis to score.

After the trouble in the first, Burkett settled in and retired the next seven Moniteau hitters she faced.

It should have been eight in a row, but Shaffer again threw low on a ball hit to her by Kristina DeMatteis, who hustled it into a two-base error when no one covered second right away.

Hull followed with a single to left to make it 4-0.

The Lady Warriors added another run in the fourth thanks to another error by Redbank Valley.

With two outs, Shunk drew a walk, and Stewart followed with a comeback to the circle. But Burkett, needing to hurry because of Stewart’s speed, threw the ball over the head of the first baseman Shumaker with Shunk sprinting all the way around to make it 5-0. Stewart was thrown out going to second on the play.

Moniteau then put the game away with the five-run fifth.

A single by Kennedy DeMatteis found the left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing pitcher at second base after a misplay by center fielder Torlyne Nelson. Kristian DeMatteis followed with her 40th RBI of the season on a base hit up the middle making it 6-0. Hull and Hepler then had back-to-back singles to make it 7-0 before Auvil reached on an error by Kaia Rearick that saw Hull score and Hepler take third. Dailey then made it 9-0 with a single to center with Auvil going to third putting the winning run in prime scoring position.

After Shunk popped up for the first out, Redbank Valley elected to intentionally walk Stewart to load the bases. The Lady Bulldogs then brought everyone in, and Claypoole ripped one to deep center that would have scored the run regardless of the depth of the outfielders.

MONITEAU 10, REDBANK VALLEY 0, 5 INNINGS

Score by Innings

Redbank 000 00 — 0
Moniteau 301 15 — 10

REDBANK VALLEY — 0

Lexi Holt ss 2000, Kaia Rearick 2b 2010, Kara Hicks rf 2000, Maycee Shumaker 1b 2000, Kristen Shaffer 3b 2000, Lauren Rearick c 2000, Becca Kunselman lf 2010, Sami Leasure dp 2000, Torlyne Nelson cf 0000, Alyssa Burkett p 1000. Totals 17-0-2-0.

MONITEAU — 10

Gabby Stewart cf 3010, Cortney Claypoole ss 4121, Kennedy DeMatteis p 3110, Breanne Noah cr 0100, Kristina DeMatteis c 3322, Sara Hull 1b 3122, Megan Hepler 3b 3121, Kristin Auvil lf 2100, Amanda Dailey rf 3011, Dolcey Shunk 2b 2100. Totals 26-10-11-7.

LOB: Redbank Valley 2. Moniteau 6. Errors: Redbank Valley 6. Moniteau 0. 2B; Kaia Rearick, Kristina DeMatteis. SAC: Auvil. CS: Stewart.

PITCHING

Redbank Valley

Alyssa Burkett — 4.1 IP, 11 H, 10 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Moniteau

Kennedy DeMatteis — 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K

Winning pitcher: Kennedy DeMatteis
Losing pitcher: Alyssa Burkett

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