Roosevelt tops Pine Plains in MHAL final
Presidents score winning run in bottom of seventh after Pine Plains ties game in top of inning for dramatic victory
RED HOOK, N.Y. » Roosevelt High’s softball team made this Mid-Hudson Athletic League championship indelibly memorable.
After rallying to beat Marlboro 3-2 in 10 innings in Wednesday’s semifinal, the Presidents took the title Thursday by defeating Pine Plains 5-4 with a run in the bottom of the seventh.
The Bombers had rallied for three runs in the top of the inning to tie at 4.
“We got to make it interesting,” remarked Madchen Knauss, who threw complete-game wins in both contests for the Presidents.
“It’s amazing. I won it my freshman year and to win it my last year of high school, too, is ... I have no words. I’m so excited.”
Roosevelt jumped on top early, scoring on Abby Lee’s sacrifice fly in the second and getting two more runs in the third. Aliya Feerick beat out a bunt single to start that rally. Liz Gross followed with an RBI double and Liz Miller then lined a runscoring single to center.
Knauss ran into trouble in the fourth. Sarah Carver flared an RBI single to right to cut the margin to 3-1. The Bombers had the bases loaded with one out, but Knauss coaxed a force out at the plate and a comebacker to squelch the rally. Pine Plains had runners on second and third with two out in the fifth, but shortstop Amanda Owens snared a low liner to kill the rally.
The Presidents got the run back in the fifth as Feerick drew a leadoff walk, went to third on wild pitches
from two different hurlers (Haley Strang relieved Alex McKenzie) and scored on Knauss’ single.
It stayed 4-1 until the seventh. Kris Wilson and Strang hit back-to-back doubles to start the comeback. One out later, Cat Simmons — who fell into an 0-2 count for the fourth straight at-bat — slugged a two-run homer to dead center to tie the game.
“I actually played on a travel team with her. We’ve known each other for a while. It’s hard to pitch to her,” Knauss admitted.
Roosevelt immediately responded. Amanda Owens drew a leadoff walk and Feerick beat out another bunt. The (12-5) Bombers got the force at third on the next batter, but a wild throw to first allowed the runners to move up. Strang pitched around Knauss, loading the bases, then got an infield fly for the second out. A wild first pitch to Katelynn Rose then scored Feerick for the winning run.
“We got to clean up some stuff pitching-wise, a lot of unearned runs,” Pine Plains coach Les Funk noted. “We play good teams at the end of the year, you can’t be doing this kind of stuff there.”
“This shows that my team never, ever ever stops,” Roosevelt coach Kristi Coughlin said. “I’m a coach that really takes things inning by inning and I want them to try every single inning and do everything they can. I really say every out, every touch of the ball, every swing, every pitch you make her pitch.
“Everything has a meaning and I think they really showed that today by not giving up.”
Knauss, who didn’t walk a batter and had 15 ground ball outs, praised her defense.
“I know if I miss a spot, if there’s a good hitter like Cat, I can trust my defense, know that they’ll be behind me,” she said. “I know I can pitch the way I pitch because of them”
Rain and a three-way tie in Division III pushed the MHAL tournament back four days. The league scrambled to get this game in. It was initially postponed and rescheduled for Friday because of wet grounds at Highland’s Tony Williams Park, but Roosevelt has its prom Friday and Pine Plains Saturday.
It was Thursday or else — or else it would have been the first time MHAL softball co-champions were declared. Red Hook was able to get its field at Recreation Park ready.
“After all this anticipation. We’ve been kind of pushing for this all year,” Coughlin said. “I have seniors on this team who have been here since they won it the last time. I think they really wanted it and it showed today.”