McKeesport softball closes section play with win
There really wasn't much at stake when McKeesport and Gateway squared off Thursday night.
McKeesport had clinched a WPIAL Class AAAA playoff berth the day before with a victory over Woodland Hills, and the Gators had long been eliminated from postseason contention.
That was why, late in the game, the Tigers cleared their bench and put in several reserves to get some much-needed playing time against Section 2 competition.
Although it almost came back to haunt them — Gateway scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh and had the bases loaded with two outs — the Tigers came away with a 9-7 victory to close their section schedule.
That victory came in large part thanks to sophomore shortstop Courtney Patterson, who went 4 for 4 with a three-run homer and three runs. The Tigers got another boost later in the evening when Penn Hills, their scheduled opponent today, forfeited their section finale.
“The girls knew that they were in the playoffs, so they were just coming out and having fun,” McKeesport coach Melissa Conrad said. “This game still meant a lot to them because it was another section game, and they just came out and played their hardest.”
McKeesport (9-7, 8-4) was a little worried late in the game when, after a couple of errors, Gateway (4-15, 3-9) was able to slash a five-run lead to two against starting pitcher Jess Beitler. And the team certainly was concerned when, with the bases loaded and two outs, leadoff hitter Kayla Henderson hit a soft liner that appeared destined for right field to tie the score.
That was when freshman second baseman Gianna Krustra, who entered in the sixth inning as one of the Tigers' late replacements, came up with a game-saving play. She leaped straight up and snared the ball for the final out. Afterward, her teammates rewarded her by dumping a bucket of ice water on her back.
“She's not normally the second baseman,” Conrad said. “I'm sure she's going to have the best night of her life right now.”
Gateway also cleared its bench, taking out six of its seven seniors in the top of the fifth. With McKeesport leading, 9-3, Gators coach Chuck Myers sent his starting defense onto the field, then used his entire bench to pull six of the seniors off the field one at a time so they could be recognized in their final game.
In the middle of the fifth, after Gateway retired the Tigers, the lone senior in the game was livid over the players being pulled, so Myers re-entered all of his starters.
“I didn't have enough players to replace all my seniors, and I tried to do the best job I can. If I would have known that they would have reacted like that, I never would have thought of doing anything like that,” Myers said. “My intent was not to be hurtful or deceitful to anybody.”
While Gateway ended its season with a bit of controversy, McKeesport will have one more game — Wednesday vs. Yough — to gear up for the playoffs, which begin May 14. After this game, the Tigers' priorities will be cutting down on their errors and getting some rest for Beitler, who has been a workhorse.
“If we have fun and we play with our hearts,” Conrad said, “we're going to win the game.”
Keith Barnes is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at kbarnes@tribweb.com or 412-664-9161 Ext. 1977.
