Flyers too much for SE

ATTICA – The tone was set early.Seneca East pitcher Myah Geary retired the first two Norwalk St. Paul batters with ease.She didn't get the third out until the Flyers had scored four runs.The sixth-seeded Tigers never got much going, falling 10-1 to seventh-seeded St. Paul in a Division IV sectional semifinal Monday."The first inning was a big, deciding factor," SE coach Steve Coppes said. "We just got in a hole early and were not able to string enough hits together to put any kind of a comeback together."Seneca East fell to 4-17. The Tigers still have a handful of regular-season games to go before the season wraps up."The times we hit it hard, it was right at somebody," Coppes said. "Right when we needed a big hit, it might've been hit hard, but it was right at a defender."With two outs in the first, Taegan Mansfield-Bush walked for St. Paul (4-18). Ella Kalizewski then singled and a walk to Layla Gardner loaded the bases.A wild pitch with Geralyn Mutchler at the plate opened the scoring. Mutchler was hit by a pitch to re-load the bases. Elaina Herrig then walked to bring in a run. With the bags still full, Kegney Stoll poked a single through the right side to score a pair of runs."We've been stressing the last couple of weeks of taking advantage of the counts," St. Paul coach Aaron Kalizewski said. "Even when we get down two strikes or even two outs, just choking up and putting the ball in play and putting pressure on the other team to make some mistakes."The Tigers responded in the bottom half of the frame, but Bella Guerra cut off what could have been a bigger inning. Madi Smith and Geary each singled before Guerra got the next two hitters. Brie Price smacked a run-scoring single to get Seneca East on the board.With runners at second and third, Guerra induced a groundout on the infield to keep St. Paul up 4-1."She does a great job just staying consistent," said Kalizewski of Guerra. "She hits her spots. That's exactly what we ask of her. The good thing was when they did put the ball in play, our defense was there to back her up."The Flyers added single runs in the second and third inning. In the second, Kaylee Altomare and Mansfield-Bush each singled before Kalizewski's sacrifice fly made it 5-1. In the third, Herrig walked and Stoll singled. Addy Rospert then laid down a bunt. The throw to first was wide, scoring Herrig.St. Paul added on in the fifth inning. Stoll led off with a single, getting to second on the play. She advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Rospert singled. After Altomare reached on an error, a wild pitch and throwing error brought in Rospert. Later, Kalizewski registered another sacrifice fly to boost the lead to 9-1.Seneca East threatened in the bottom half of the inning, but Guerra stood tall. Smith was hit by a pitch before two pinch-hit singles loaded the bases. But, Guerra induced a popout on the infield to avoid damage."For being a sophomore, she really commands the circle," Kalizewski said. "She does a great job. She has a lot of experience, even only being a sophomore. She does a real good job of putting the ball where we need it."The Tigers did themselves no favors, committing six errors on the night."We had a few miscues out in the field at crucial times. That didn't help us any," Coppes said. "We go over that stuff in practice."Geary was tagged for 10 runs on nine hits and seven walks for Seneca East."Myah is supposed to be our shortstop," Coppes said. "With both of our pitchers injured, she's come and battled. She used to pitch a long time ago. She's a trooper. She battles and won't give in."Geary, Morgan Cornwell, Abbi Drosky, Olivia Burkholder, Mia Holmes, and Hannah Chaffee are the seniors for Seneca East."They've been good leaders and set good examples," Coppes said. "They're good with the younger players. They're great kids. I'm really proud of them. They keep battling. They work hard every day."