Following a dazzling debut season that saw her take home PUP Rookie of the Year honors while leading Bentworth to its first WPIAL championship appearance in school history, expectations were through the roof for two-way sensation Sydney Gonglik going into her sophomore season.
Although a nagging shoulder injury prevented Gonglik from pitching for most of the regular season, the Bearcats managed to sneak into the Class 2A tournament as the No. 12 seed after a fourth-place finish in their section. And with the sophomore star back on the rubber just in time for the postseason, Bentworth (9-9) is suddenly looking like a major contender once again in the WPIAL title picture.
In her first full game as a starting pitcher since March, Gonglik fired a complete-game gem with 15 strikeouts, allowing one run on three hits and two walks while leading the Bearcats to a lopsided 9-1 win against No. 5 South Allegheny (14-5) at West Mifflin. The powerful slugger went 2 for 4 at the plate with a home run and two RBIs, mashing back-to-back homers with catcher Kayla O’Dell in the top of the seventh inning to provide herself with some extra cushion.
“They were all fired up,” said Bearcats coach Jack Cramer. “You get your heads up and go out and hit the ball. You hit, we win. It’s as simple as that.”
Coming off a long layoff to rehab her shoulder injury, Gonglik pitched for the first time in more than a month in a rain-shorted 1-0 defeat against Brownsville on May 7, tossing four innings on the final day of the regular season. That helped her ramp up the intensity going into Thursday’s first-round showdown against the Class 2A Section 2 champions, but there is no substitute for live game experience — especially come playoff time.
If her masterful performance against the Gladiators is any indication, though, it’s clear the Bearcats ace is still the ultimate game changer — not to mention one fierce competitor.
“We knew what Syd would bring,” Cramer said. “We really didn’t know for sure until yesterday that she was going to be ready to go. … She struggled a little bit toward the end, but that’s to be expected. She hasn’t pitched hardly at all since we were down in Tennessee [in March].
“I do believe if she was pitching this year, we might have lost one game or so [in the WPIAL]. She gives you a chance to be in every game.”
Although her velocity dipped a bit toward the end of Thursday’s game, Gonglik’s fastball topped out at 68 mph, proving that she is nearly all the way back to full strength. Even without her best stuff, Gonglik showed she was crafty enough to work her way out of a sixth-inning jam against South Allegheny’s hard-hitting lineup before closing the door in the bottom of the seventh.
“There was a vibe change the last few practices,” Gonglik said. “You could see the girls instantly changed the way they were practicing. Everything was looking like the team we were last year. … Our practices started to get a lot more fast-paced. Practicing how a college team would.
“I wasn’t expecting the game to be easy, but I was expecting to shock a few people.”
Just like last spring, Bentworth opened up its season with a trip to the Ripken Experience tournament in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., splitting four games against top-flight competition while coming home with a record of 2-2. After returning home last year, though, the Bearcats then rode a 15-game winning streak all the way to the WPIAL championship game before a 3-0 loss against Neshannock.
This season was a much different story, with Bentworth trying out several different pitchers in Gonglik’s place during an up-and-down campaign. Entering the playoffs with a losing record, the Bearcats weren’t even on the radar of most championship forecasts. That all changed the moment Gonglik stepped into the circle Thursday afternoon, though.
“Shoulders [were] slumped,” Cramer said about the team’s demeanor in the dugout during the regular season. “The other pitchers were doing the best they could, but the other teams were hitting them, or we would have a crappy day in the field. This will go a long way toward showing them that they are still that championship-caliber team.”
In last year’s title game, the Lancers handed Gonglik her first loss against a WPIAL foe while completing their championship three-peat en route to a second undefeated season in three years. This time around, the teams could meet in the WPIAL semifinals, with both teams needing one more win to set up a massive championship rematch next week.
Of course, it’s still too early to pencil the teams into the semifinal round, but all signs are pointing toward another must-see matchup between Gonglik and Neshannock ace Addy Frye.
“Our new season starts today,” Cramer said. “You win, you keep going on. You lose, you go home. That’s the mentality.”
Other Class 2A first round
• Three-time defending WPIAL champion Neshannock stretched its winning streak to 45 consecutive games, cruising to a 15-0 mercy-rule victory against No. 16 Burgettstown (7-10) at North Allegheny. Leadoff hitter Miley Anderson went 4 for 4 with a double, triple and five RBIs for the No. 1 Lancers (19-0), and star seniors Gabby Quinn and Addy Frye each homered while Frye struck out eight of nine batters she faced in three perfect innings of work.
• Kennedi Lynn pitched a complete game and leadoff hitter Emma Herb went 3 for 5 with two RBIs for No. 13 Shenango (12-8), leading the Wildcats to a 7-2 upset victory against No. 4 Frazier at Fox Chapel. Grace Vaughn went 2 for 4 and drove in both runs in the defeat for the Commodores (13-4).
• Ivy Pancher swatted a grand slam to help spark an offensive barrage for No. 3 Laurel (15-4), powering the Spartans to a commanding 18-1 win against No. 14 Northgate (10-8).
Class 4A quarterfinals
• Marissa Snyder fired a one-hitter and struck out 17 to lead No. 2 Hampton into the semifinals for the second year in a row with a 9-0 win against No. 7 Indiana (10-10) at Norwin. Freshman Ashley Schick homered and drove in three runs for the Talbots (14-4), while Teresa Fritsch and Aliza Michielli knocked in two runs apiece.
• Like Hampton, No. 5 Blackhawk clinched its second consecutive trip to the WPIAL semifinals with a 6-0 win against No. 4 West Mifflin (14-7) at North Allegheny. Kylie Prisuta pitched a one-hit shutout while striking out 10 to pick up the win for the Cougars (13-5), adding a double and a triple while every player in Blackhawk’s lineup recorded a hit.
Class 3A first round
• Trailing by four entering the bottom of the 10th inning, No. 7 Southmoreland stormed back with five runs of its own to escape with a dramatic 10-9 victory against No. 10 Hopewell at Trinity. Riley Puckey went 3 for 5 with a walk-off single for the Scotties (10-7), while Taylor Doppelheuer went 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs and Makayla Etling drove in a pair. Tallulah Showrank tallied two doubles and five RBIs for the Vikings (11-8).
• Makenna Crothers punched out eight in a complete-game victory for No. 6 McGuffey (11-5), while Courtney Bedilion and Maura Janovich each went yard for the Highlanders in a 5-1 win against No. 11 Ligonier Valley at West Mifflin. Marlee Miller finished with a pair of hits in the losing effort for the Rams (5-11).
• Nina Buckley, Paisley Steban and Kylie Stahl each notched a pair of hits for No. 12 Keystone Oaks (9-8), and Kennadi Smith hurled a shutout while striking out four for the Golden Eagles in a 2-0 upset win against No. 5 Mount Pleasant (12-6) at Waynesburg.
Class 1A first round
• Grace Stein struck out 13 while allowing five hits in six innings of work, and Abby Shaw tripled while driving in three runs for No. 8 Jeannette in a 13-3 mercy-rule win over No. 9 Avella at Pleasant Valley Elementary School. Leah DeFelice went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI for the Jayhawks (13-4), while Avrey Rado drove in a pair in a losing effort for the Eagles (5-11).
• Freshman pitcher Charlotte Andrews allowed one hit with seven strikeouts in four scoreless innings for No. 4 Sewickley Academy, aided by three RBIs apiece from Keira Church and Quincy Sirko in a 15-0 rout against No. 13 Monessen (6-9) at Norwin. Sanaa Grant also homered and drove in a pair of runs in the win for Sewickley (11-5).
Scoreboard
Class 4A quarterfinals
Hampton 9, Indiana 0
Blackhawk 6, West Mifflin 0
Class 3A first round
Deer Lakes 7, Charleroi 0
Keystone Oaks 2, Mount Pleasant 0
McGuffey 5, Ligonier Valley 1
Southmoreland 10, Hopewell 9
Class 2A first round
Apollo-Ridge 9, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 8
Bentworth 9, South Allegheny 1
Chartiers-Houston 15, Brentwood 0
Laurel 18, Northgate 1
Neshannock 15, Burgettstown 0
Riverside 14, Waynesburg 4
Seton LaSalle 2, Brownsville 1
Shenango 7, Frazier 2
Class 1A first round
Jeannette 13, Avella 3
Jefferson-Morgan 14, Greensburg C.C. 4
Sewickley Academy 15, Monessen 0
Serra Catholic 17, Cornell 2
South Side 9, Leechburg 8
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
