Moniteau's Alex Guercio watches her game-winning hit that pushed the Warriors to a 6-5 win over Kane Wednesday and gave them the District 9 championship.
DAVE PRELOSKY/BUTLER EAGLE
STRATTANVILLE, Clarion County — It began and ended with Alex Guercio.
Through four innings of its District 9 Class AA title game against Kane Wednesday, the Moniteau softball team didn't have a hit against Wolves senior pitcher Kayla Swartz.
Guercio led off the fifth inning with a triple, sparking the Warriors to a three-run inning.
Then, with the game tied at 5 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the sophomore second baseman smacked a single to center field, driving in Maura McCaslin with the winning run as the Warriors took their second straight district championship with a 6-5 win at Clarion-Limestone High.
"I was feeling a lot of pressure there at the plate," Guercio said of the game's final at-bat. "I had two strikes on me and it was hard to concentrate."
Moniteau coach Dan Hindman's confidence in Guercio led to an adjustment in the batting order before the game.
"She usually bats third, but we moved her down to fifth for that exact reason," he said. "You couldn't have written a script better than this."
The Warriors trailed 5-4 entering the bottom of the seventh.
With one out, Autumn Neff doubled and moved to third on a throwing error.
McCaslin's two-base hit brought Neff home to tie the game.
Amber Neff walked and, two batters later, Guercio stepped to the plate and provided the dramatic finish.
But through the first four innings, Swartz was having her way with the Warriors' lineup.
In that span, the Warriors' lone baserunner came in the bottom of the first inning, when McCaslin reached on a fielding error.
Moniteau batters had struck out five times and were struggling to get the ball out of the infield against Swartz.
"We couldn't catch up to the speed of her pitches," said Guercio. "And she was pretty accurate, too."
And Swartz had a 5-0 lead —until Moniteau's half of the fifth.
Guercio's triple to lead off the frame was followed by an RBI-single by Ashley Lominski.
Michael Cousins' double to left-center scored another run, as did Autumn Neff's base hit.
"I told the other coaches before the game that it would take three to four innings for us to get going," said Hindman. "We knew Swartz was a good pitcher and it was going to take her going through the lineup once."
The breakout inning pulled Moniteau (13-2) to within 5-3.
The deficit became just a run in the sixth after Ashley Pisor doubled and scored on a fielding error.
Moniteau appeared to tie the game in the same inning when Guercio tagged from third base on a fly ball hit by Sarah Dittig.
But Kane appealed the play and the umpires ruled that Guercio left the base before the catch.
McCaslin was the beneficiary of Moniteau's late-game rally, striking out 14 and walking seven. She gave up the five runs on six hits.
Swartz surrendered 10 hits, striking out nine and walking one.
"She has pitched well all season," said Kane coach Judy Kessler. "She was hitting her spots today, but I think Moniteau's hitters made some adjustments later in the game."
The Wolves (12-5) scored two runs in the second inning, with Meghan Lindquist scoring on a fielding error and Brooke Martyna walking with the bases loaded, bringing home Kalie Walter.
Kane's lead grew to 5-0 in the top of the fifth when, with two runners on, Swartz singled in Trish Johnson.
On the same play, an errant throw down the left-field line allowed Natalie Kossack and Swartz to score.
"I knew Moniteau wasn't going to lay down," said Kessler. "No matter how many runs you score, you never feel it's going to be enough."
In a rematch of last year's state playoff game lost by the Warriors, Moniteau will face District 5 champion Everett in a PIAA Class AA contest Monday at a time and site to be determined.
Kane
020
030
0-5
6
3
Moniteau
000
031
2-6
10
2
Two outs when winning run scored
W: Maura McCaslin 7 IP (14 K, 7 BB). L: Kayla Swartz 6X\c IP (9 K, 1 BB). Kane (12-5): Brooke Martyna RBI, Trish Johnson R, Natalie Kossack 3-1B R, Meghan Lindquist R, Kayla Swartz 1B R RBI, Kalie Walter R, Brittany Peterson 2-1B Moniteau (13-2): Autumn Neff 1B 2B R RBI, Maura McCaslin 1B 2B R RBI, Ashley Pisor 2B R, Alex Guercio 1B 3B R RBI, Ashley Lominski 2-1B R RBI, Michael Cousins 2B R RBI Monday: Moniteau vs. Everett, PIAA Class AA first-round playoff, TBD
