Troy edges Bethlehem
Flying Horses hold on through tense seventh to top AA Suburban foe
Two outs, two on and one run was required to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. A dramatic stage certainly was set for the conclusion of Wednesday’s Suburban Council softball game between visiting Troy and homestanding Bethlehem. Troy junior pitcher Olivia Decitise faced a difficult task dealing with Bethlehem senior catcher Ella Traynor, the team’s No. 3 batter.
The count reached 2-2. Decitise’s next pitch was popped going toward short right field. Troy second baseman Olivia
Ashline worked her way left and had the ball hit her glove. It briefly came out, but she secured the ball for the third out as the potential tying run raced toward the plate. The final play clinched a 2-1 victory for the Flying Horses for their 10th straight league win since opening up at 1-2 in Suburban Council play.
“She made a great play. That is what softball is all about and it is what you want to see,” Bethlehem coach Piera Mcgaughan said of Ashline. “Unfortunately, we weren’t on the winning side of it.”
The Eagles (11-4 overall, 9-4 league) figure to be among the top seeds next week for the Section II Class AA Tournament. Troy (16-2, 11-2) landing a win Wednesday adds to its list of impressive victories as a
Class A program that also includes a 2-1 verdict over overall league champion Shenendehowa. The Flying Horses are ranked No. 5 in the state.
“This is a great win,” said Decitise, who finished with a five-hitter and 11 strikeouts. “This really helps us for sectionals. We have showed we can come out and beat a Suburban Council team that is AA. We have a chip on our shoulders. We can’t expect to win every game, but we put everything we had into it.”
“I am proud of the team so far. We still have a lot of work to do and work to improve every day,” Troy coach Sean Geisel said. “They have done a lot of growing up this year. We are proud of where we are and we want to keep working hard.”
Troy scored twice with two outs in the third inning against Bethlehem senior pitcher Anna Cleary, including consecutive triples from Ashline and Katie Pryor.
Last month, Decitise struck out a career-best 27 batters in a 2-1 loss against Burnt Hills in 12 innings. Troy also dropped a decision against Averill Park, but the team bounced back to defeat every Class AA league foe in its path.
“I think we definitely realized that it is more than just the fielding. It has to be the hitting too,” Decitise said. “That is going to help us. We reflected on ourselves (after the Burnt Hills loss). We put
in the work and we’ve showed that.”
“They work together and have one common goal: they want to get better,” Geisel said.
Decitise ran into trouble in the fifth inning when she allowed four straight singles, the last coming from Cleary to cut the Eagles’ deficit in half on Senior Day honoring Bethlehem’s battery along with second baseman Abby Nautel.
Cleary, who threw 27 first-pitch strikes and finished with 14 strikeouts, stranded the bases loaded in the top of the seventh to set the stage for the climactic conclusion.
“Anna is a great player and they have a great program at Bethlehem,” Geisel said. “We were able to put the ball in play a couple of times with two outs. It was a great high school softball game and we found a way to come out on top.”
Abby Proper walked to open the bottom of the seventh. Decitise fought back to record two outs and Mackenzie Kawczak kept the Eagles’ hopes alive with a single to center. The junior lefty leaped in the air upon seeing Ashline make the game-clinching catch.
“She was in her zone today and was hitting her spots,” Mcgaughan said of Decitise. “She did a great job. Kudos to her.
“It was a really good battle. We knew every game we would see in the last two weeks would be a battle. Troy played well. We’ll be ready for sectionals. We’re looking forward to it.”