Making its first WPIAL championship appearance on Thursday while taking on the mighty Neshannock dynasty, Bentworth proved it belonged on the big stage — but there will be no passing of the torch just yet.
Not on Addy Frye’s watch.
In a highly anticipated pitchers’ duel between Frye and Bearcats freshman phenom Sydney Gonglik that certainly lived up to the hype, it was Frye and the unbeaten Lancers who prevailed with a 3-0 win — their 16th shutout in 22 games — to capture their third consecutive WPIAL Class 2A title at PennWest California’s Lilley Field. Owning a record of 70-1 over its past 71 games, No. 1 Neshannock (22-0) is now four wins away from completing its second perfect season in the past three years.
“None of them really had fear [facing Gonglik],” said Lancers coach Jackie Lash. “They were fired up on the bus coming in here. They warmed up with a lot of energy. … I had a good feeling.
“This was just another big game to them.”
Entering the game with a record of 14-0 and an 0.65 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and 150 strikeouts to just seven walks in 75 innings pitched, Frye fired her second consecutive complete-game shutout while allowing only three hits and two walks and striking out 12. She now holds a career record of 63-1 and has allowed a grand total of three runs in three WPIAL championship appearances.
“It’s hard to adjust [against Frye],” said Bentworth coach Jack Cramer. “We’re not going to hang our heads about this game. We’re going to congratulate them. They’re a good team. We’ll move on.
“We’re an up-and-coming team. We want to be where they are in another year or so.”
For the No. 2 Bearcats (17-3), Gonglik performed admirably in her first championship appearance, settling down after a shaky start to limit Neshannock to its second-lowest offensive output of the season. She allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out six, raising her season total to 261 punchouts in 115 innings. Gonglik also was responsible for two of Bentworth’s three hits on the afternoon, finishing 2 for 2 with a hit-by-pitch to raise her batting average to .769 on the season.
“It felt good, the fact that we made it here for the first time for our school,” Gonglik said. “It would have been nice to win, but we put up a good fight. … As long as we keep playing like we’ve been playing, we should see them again.”
Senior catcher Gabby Perod certainly wasn’t intimidated by Gonglik’s overpowering presence, finishing 2 for 3 while providing the only RBIs of the game for either team with a pair of run-scoring singles. The only out she recorded was a heat-seeking line drive hit right to the shortstop.
“It feels like all of our hard work has paid off,” Perod said. “With this being my last year, it feels even better.”
The Bearcats threatened to score right off the bat, as Frye hit Gonglik with a pitch to begin the game followed by a walk to Sofia Gaussa. The runners advanced to second and third on a passed ball, but Frye then recorded back-to-back strikeouts before inducing an inning-ending groundout to escape the jam.
“I knew coming in here that it was a big game, knowing that [Gonglik] is a great pitcher,” Frye said. “I knew I just had to dig deep and let my defense play their game.”
Miley Anderson led off the bottom of the first with a bunt single, then Gonglik hit Jaidon Nogay to put runners on first and second. After a groundout by Frye, Anderson came home to score the game’s first run on a wild pitch, then Perod singled home Nogay to make it a 2-0 lead for the Lancers.
After shaky opening innings for both, each star pitcher settled into a groove the rest of the way, with both teams going scoreless until Neshannock scratched home another run in the bottom of the fifth on Perod’s second RBI single of the game. That provided a little extra breathing room for the Lancers — not that Frye really needed it.
“Addy’s mental ability, just to be able to stay focused and stay positive and have trust in herself and have trust in her teammates — it always shows through,” Lash said. “In those big moments, when you really need it, she’s going to do her thing.”
After Gonglik beat out a sharp grounder to short for an infield single to lead off the top of the sixth, Neshannock center fielder Jaidon Nogay turned in the biggest defensive play of the game with a sensational diving catch on a fly ball into the gap in left-center by Gaussa. That preserved the shutout for Frye, who followed by recording a strikeout and groundout to end the inning.
“It looked like it kept getting farther from me as I was running toward it,” Nogay said. “In my mind, I was just like, ‘I have this ball.'”
With Bentworth down to its final strike, Hailey Tatar drew a walk to keep their hopes alive, then Frye plunked Aubrie Logan with a pitch to bring the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh. With Gonglik lurking on deck representing the go-ahead run, the game all of a sudden appeared to be hanging in the balance after Frye had cruised through the first 6⅔ innings.
On the very next pitch, Kayla O’Dell popped up to shallow center field, and Nogay collided with second baseman Ali Giordano, who held on to make the catch for the final out. After a brief pause and a bit of confusion while waiting for the official “out” signal from the umpire, the Lancers finally rushed out of the dugout to celebrate their third consecutive WPIAL title — but this wasn’t your typical championship celebration.
After all, Neshannock has been there and done that before — and this team has bigger goals in mind.
“We’re using our game last year that we lost [in the PIAA semifinals] to keep us motivated to not have another letdown,” Frye said. “We want to be in the state championship again this year.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
