'Big three' lead Triway to third straight district title

CRESTON — The smiles gleaming across the faces of each player wearing the purple and white said more than words could. The number of hugs going around put into perspective just how special this win was for Triway.

At the outset of the season, the big three of Carter Wachtel, Hanna Massaro and Emma Flinner — the three returning starters from the 2022 state championship team — led the Titans. The rest of the roster had question marks, but suffice to say, those question marks have been replaced by answers.

On Thursday, the big three set the table early and the Titans came out quickly in the rubber match against Manchester. After splitting the season series, there was no holding back as Triway jumped on the Panthers early, smacking three homers, playing solid defense and riding the right arm of Wachtel back to regionals with a 9-2 win to clinch the Div. III Norwayne District championship.

“Emma, Carter and Hanna have led by example,” said Triway coach Ron Rock. “The kids feed off of that and they don't want to let those kids down. They’ve been there twice now, know what is expected and these kids feed off of that, so that's a really good thing to see as coaches.”

The Titans will now play South Range at 5 p.m. on Wednesday at the Willig Softball Complex in Canton.

“This is really special,” smiled Flinner. “It’s been one of my goals the whole season just to go out with a great ending.”

And to get redemption on the only team to beat them in conference action.

“It means a ton, they are a PAC team, so there is always competition,” Flinner said of Manchester, who became the first PAC-7 team to beat Triway since 2019 earlier this year. “I feel that we knew what we did wrong last game. We didn't show up to play, we weren't doing the basic things that we know that we can do and today, we just came back playing our own game and this is how it goes.”

“It's such a great feeling,” said Wachtel. “We left that game back in April and just worked really hard, went through every scenario that we could have, came out to play and to compete against a team like them, it was a great feeling.”

That feeling started quickly with two outs in the first inning, Massaro singled to leftfield and Flinner knocked her home with an RBI double. Flinner scored five pitches later when an infield fly was dropped behind second base to give them the early 2-0 lead.

In the third inning, Wachtel led off with a solo homer to left and then again Massaro reached, this time with a walk to bring up Flinner. The senior deposited Rachel Baker’s 1-1 pitch over the fence in left for a two-run shot, extending the lead to 5-0. Flinner would cap her huge primetime performance by going 3-for-3, with two doubles and four RBIs.

“That felt good,” she said. “I've needed that after the past couple of games that I've had.”

Adding more superlatives was Wachtel about her teammates' big day.

“It was great, Emma was doing what she does,” said Wachtel. “That one shot she hit was so hard, it was like a laser, but that's Emma for you. She comes up clutch when she needs to, she did it in a big game today and it was great.”

As for why she has had this recent stretch of fiery swinging that has seen her go 6-of-10 with four doubles, a homer and nine RBIs:

“I’m really at a relaxed state with my girls,” said Flinner. “Carter helps a ton in the field, I feel like there is no pressure on just me and that all my girls have my back, so I just need to do my thing.”

Inside the circle, it was all Wachtel, who buckled down and delivered pitch after pitch. She finished with nine strikeouts, scattered seven hits and went the distance for the win against a team that was seeing her for the third time this year.

“It’s definitely difficult and it isn’t often you see a team in the district championship game that you’ve seen twice before,” said Wachtel. “You have to tone up on everything that you've done before. I definitely went back and restudied the hitters, how we were going to approach them in this game versus how we did in the two games before. It really is difficult.”

That was the consensus.

“It’s tough to see a team for a third time, especially when they are that good,” said Manchester coach Jim Morehart. “There is a reason that they won the Division II state title last year. It's a good softball team, but we have a good team too. It's just that today was their day.”

Wachtel finished up her huge day with a two-out solo home run in the fifth as she continued her torrid hitting. For Wachtel, the power is a bonus as she just wants to get on base.

“I am just doing what I can to help my team out really,” she said. “In the box I was just looking for something low, especially off a pitcher like that. I am just looking for base hits really, but when they go out, that's great too.”

Also contributing for Triway were Alyssa Hochstetler and Myah Lester with two hits apiece as its young squad continues to flourish on the diamond.

“We are feeding off of each other and just as much as us older girls are teaching the younger girls things, they are teaching us daily what everything is about,” said Flinner. ”They are hanging in there with us, because they know just as well as we do, what they can do.”

“It's so great that they get to experience something that they have worked so hard for,” said Wachtel. “They've really come up, filled our seniors' shoes and we haven't missed a beat. We are back at districts and going on to the regional semis. It's really great and they are getting the experience that they deserve to have.”

For a young Panthers squad, it turned out to be a great year, even if it came to an end against the Titans. Baker, a sophomore pitcher, finished with four strikeouts and went the distance as Kyia Rankin paced them with two hits and Amanda Adkins drove in two runs.

“We got stronger as the season went on, but today, we kind of ran into a buzzsaw in Carter (Wachtel), but I am really proud of my girls,” said Morehart. “They did really well, they never gave up and battled until the end.

“We had a great year, but we kind of let the PAC co-championship get away from us in the end, but that happens because we are a young team. Hopefully they remember that and get better.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Softball: Triway beats Manchester for district title