Barnyak records 500th strikeout in Carmichaels鈥� win over West Greene
CARMICHAELS 鈥� Bailey Barnyak and Carys McConnell are quite the dynamic duo for the Carmichaels softball team.
Barnyak鈥檚 arm and McConnell鈥檚 bat were key in the Mikes鈥� 9-1 victory over West Greene on Friday in a Class A Section 2 showdown at Carmichaels.
McConnell hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning and had a run-scoring single in the third, and Barnyak allowed one unearned run with 14 strikeouts for the pitching victory.
鈥淚 thought Bailey was great today, and I really thought Carys鈥� home run kind of took the wind out of their sails,鈥� Carmichaels coach Dave Briggs said. 鈥淭hat is her (McConnell) fourth or fifth home run. We had chances earlier in the game to open it up, and we didn鈥檛 take advantage of that, but the girls kept plugging.鈥�
Barnyak yielded four hits over seven innings. Of her 14 strikeouts, 13 were swinging, as the junior鈥檚 changeup was key.
鈥淭he changeup was hot today, for sure,鈥� Barnyak said. 鈥淚t was one of the best games I鈥檝e had with it. It was a good game, and having my team behind me definitely helped.鈥�
Barnyak also recorded her 500th career strikeout in Friday鈥檚 game, as she entered with 496. Her mother, Nikki (Gasti) Onderko, had 850 strikeouts during her career at Carmichaels, which included a state championship in 1998.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even realize it,鈥� said Barnyak via text message regarding her 500th career strikeout. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty cool accomplishment, and I would like to one day beat my mom, but the ultimate is for the team to win.鈥�
The Lady Mikes (2-0, 6-0) scored the only runs Barnyak would need with two outs for a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
McConnell scored when Ali Jacobs reached on an error. Jacobs scored on Barnyak鈥檚 double to right field. Barnyak had multiple hits.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 give anybody extra outs,鈥� West Greene coach Bill Simms said. 鈥淭he first inning, we didn鈥檛 get off to a good start, defensively, and we let them get on the board ahead of us, 2-0.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that took the winds out of our sails, but you know that鈥檚 a big point in the game. I like the way we rebounded. We got the game to 3-1.鈥�
Carmichaels extended its lead to 3-0 in the third when Kaitlyn Waggett singled to right field, advanced to second when Ashton Batis bunted for a base hit and scored on McConnell鈥檚 single to left field. Batis had two hits.
The Lady Pioneers (2-1, 7-1) cut the deficit to 3-1 in the fourth when starting pitcher Payton Gilbert led off the frame with a double to center field and scored when Kylee Davis reached on an error.
Despite taking the loss in the pitching circle, Gilbert had a solid showing in allowing four earned runs on eight hits. She had three strikeouts and four walks.
鈥淚 thought my pitcher pitched a really good game,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 give her much help in a couple of spots, but we are a team. We are going to win as a team, lose as a team.鈥�
The Lady Mikes pushed their advantage to 5-1 on McConnell鈥檚 blast to center field that came on the first pitch she saw. Ashton Batis walked to set the stage for McConnell.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think at all when I go up to bat,鈥� McConnell said. 鈥淪he threw a fastball, and for me, it鈥檚 just see ball, hit ball, but it felt so good after I hit the home run. Having Bailey as our pitcher gives us so much confidence, especially when we have a lead.鈥�
Carmichaels scored four runs on two hits in the sixth to push its lead to 9-1. West Greene committed three errors in the inning.
鈥淭he inning that they blew up, it was a little bit self-destructive there, but I鈥檒l take my girls over a lot of other girls,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淲e are going to see them again, at least one more time, but then again, I think the latest rankings I saw said they were supposedly the No. 1 team in the state over there, and we battled them again. That鈥檚 the fourth or fifth time we鈥檝e played them in a couple of years.鈥�
The game was originally intended to be played at Center Township Park in Rogersville with the Lady Pioneers hosting, but the field was not playable due to inclement weather the past week.
The rematch will be played on April 25 at Center Township Park.
鈥淲e just wanted to get the game in if we could,鈥� Briggs said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to get games backed up where you are playing four of five games a week.鈥�
Sammi Zimmerman had two hits for West Greene.