After a tough loss to Valley in the WPIAL finals, the Burrell softball team bounced back to defeat St. Marys, 3-1, on Monday in a PIAA Class AA opening-round game at Brockway High School.
Junior Casey Moses struck out a career-high 17, and Burrell scored twice on wild pitches to earn the victory.
The game ended with the potential tying run at second base when Moses recorded the final out of the game via strikeout. She yielded just three hits, including two in the final inning.
The Bucs (18-3) will enter the quarterfinals Thursday against Philipsburg-Osceola, which defeated Waynesburg, 7-1, at a site and time to be determined.
The loss ended the season at 10-13 for St. Marys. The Flying Dutch had won five in a row going into yesterday's encounter.
"That (Valley) game was a heartbreaker, but you have to move on," Moses said. "It's a new season now; it's the state tournament, we came in 0-0."
Moses retired the first 13 batters she faced, 12 on strikeouts.
"They couldn't catch up to anything she was throwing," Burrell coach Mike Spagnolo said. "They started to time her a little better later in the game, and I was concerned about that. I told her to mix her pitches a little more, and that seemed to hold them off."
Burrell scored in the top of the third. Katie Uzelac led off with a single off Lady Dutch freshman Rachel Ginther and took second on a bobble in right field. Claire Fisher sacrificed Napierkowski to third. That was a key, because Napierkowski scored on a wild pitch.
The Flying Dutch finally broke through in the fifth. Chelsea Walker became the first person to reach base, on an error at third. With two outs, Cassie Wonderly slammed a double to deep left field to score Walker.
Burrell went ahead for good in the top of the sixth. Kaitlyn Sweeney led off with a single and took second on a delayed steal. Moses sacrificed Sweeney to third, and Sweeney came home on a wild pitch.
The Bucs added an insurance run when Bridget Fisher doubled after Courtney Reed singled.
"We've been hitting the ball well, but we've been stranding a lot of runners on base," Spagnolo said. "We've been working the last few days on our baserunning and taking advantage of anything we can."
In the St. Marys seventh, Angie Gradizzi led off with a single. Two outs later, Wonderly singled and the baserunners pulled off a double steal.
Moses went 3-0 on Savannah Krivonyak, but came back to strike out the St. Marys' third baseman to end the game.
