Meyersdale throttles McConnellsburg to earn District 5-1A softball championship game berth
MEYERSDALE ― Zoe Hetz felt like she needed a reset heading into the District 5 Class A softball playoffs.
It worked, as she blasted a three-run homer and drove in five runs on Tuesday to lead Meyersdale to a 15-0 victory over McConnellsburg in a semifinal game shortened to three innings by the mercy rule.
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“I’ve been struggling the past couple of weeks, so I just told myself going into the playoffs that none of it mattered,” she said. “I just needed to clear my head. It felt good.”
With her team leading 2-0 in the bottom of the first, Hetz hit a ball hard, but she wasn’t sure if it would clear the center-field fence.
“I heard their coach saying the outfielder’s name and thought, ‘Oh, crap,’” she recalled before it carried over center fielder Ella Johnson’s head. “And then I was like, ‘OK. That's nice.’”
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Every Meyersdale starter had at least one hit and drove in a run or scored one. Amelia Kretchman singled three times while Laurel Daniels, Hetz and Jessica Daughton had two hits apiece.
Strikeout Machine
Izabella “Boog” Donaldson made sure the Spartans didn’t get a chance to close the gap. Donaldson got eight of the nine outs by strikeout – Jezlyn Bivens doubled in the first for McConnellsburg’s lone hit and MaKayley Shafer’s weak grounder to first was the only other ball the Spartans put into play.
“I just go out there with a fierce mentality,” Donaldson said. “I go out there to pitch my game. If I were to throw a bad pitch, I just bounce back with a better pitch.”
Donaldson impressed McConnellsburg coach Dana Winters.
“We just don’t see that quality of pitching in our league,” she said. “I think that hurts us when we get to the top-notch teams.”
Back to the title game
Meyersdale (20-0) will face rival Berlin Brothersvalley at 2 p.m. on Thursday in Somerset with the district title on the line.
The Red Raiders routed the Mountaineers 13-0 on May 12, but they aren’t putting much stock in the previous result.
“We did beat them before, but it’s playoffs,” Hetz said. “Anything can happen. You just have to go in with the mindset that it’s the best competition we’ll see all year.”
Facing Berlin with the district title on the line should ratchet up the intensity.
“They’ve always been our rivals,” Donaldson said. “We always play them to the best of our ability, knowing that anything can happen. There have been a lot of upsets this year, so we just have to play to the best of our ability.”
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This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Zoe Hetz homers; Meyersdale earns trip to District 5-1A title game
