Big sixth inning for Donegal dooms Shanahan in state quarters

MILLERSVILLE—It’s amazing how one play, in this case a simple “F-7” in the book, can completely change the complexity of a game, causing a massive shift in momentum.

Donegal’s Sierra Ness and Shanahan’s Devon Miller were locked up in a pitcher’s duel over the first five innings of play before the Eagles made a serious threat in the bottom half of the fifth, loading up the bases with two outs for clean-up hitter Hannah Keiper.

With two strikes, Keiper made contact, and ripped a shot down the left field line. As quickly as the Shanahan faithful erupted with cheers, thinking the Eagles were about to take the first lead of the game, they were silenced when Donegal leftfielder Emma Miller ran the ball down and made a beautiful, over-the-shoulder catch mid stride before colliding with the fence, still cradling the third out.

The Indians carried that momentum into the top half of the sixth, when they put up five runs then cruised to a 7-0 win over Shanahan in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class 5A softball tourney Thursday afternoon at Millersville University.

“You can’t win games when you make five errors and make base running mistakes like we did today,” said Shanahan coach Ron Savastio. “We made too many mistakes, and didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we had. But Donegal is a really good team, and if we made a mistake, they made us pay for it.”

Prior to the fateful sixth, it was vintage Miller in the circle. The Fordham-bound Miller was working on a one-hitter, while striking out 13 in the span.

Miller, who was 2 for 2 with a double at the plate, finished the game having allowed 7 runs—five earned—on seven hits, while striking out 17 .

“You always want to win,” said Miller. “But I am proud of the impact I, and the other seniors have had on the program. It’s been an amazing four years. We’ve won a district championship, played in finals three times and played in states, and to know that I, along with Hannah (Keiper) and Alexia (Peterson) played such a big part of it is something I will always feel proud of.”

Steph Reider led off the sixth for Donegal, and sparked the big inning by taking Miller deep to left, over the Millersville University scoreboard for a monster solo home run. The Indians added four more runs on three singles, a walk, an error, and a wild pitch. They capped the win with two in the seventh on two singles, an error and a wild pitch.

“Both teams had their opportunities in the game,” said Donegal coach Wayne Emenheiser. “Shanahan had the inning where they had their lead off on with a double, too. This was going to come down to whichever team finally took advantage of their opportunity. It just happened to be us.”

With the loss, Shanahan’s season comes to a close, along with the coaching career of long time coach Savastio, who had announced prior to the season this would be his last. The coach moved over from baseball to softball in the early 2000s when he came on as an assistant to then head coach Jeff Riccardo, taking over as head coach when Riccardo stepped down.

“I owe a lot to Jeff Riccardo,” said Savastio. “I wouldn’t have had all these amazing years coaching all these amazing girls if it weren’t for Jeff Riccardo and I can’t thank him enough. This has been an incredible experience. We’ve had so many great teams and made so many memories together. Just wish it didn’t have to end like this.”