It’s rare when a pitcher throws a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts and wins a regional championship, but isn’t the defensive hero.
As good as Amelia Kitchin was in Thursday’s 2-0 win over Dundalk, at game’s end, everyone was talking about the triple play started by sophomore shortstop Maddie Carl that ended Dundalk’s rally and the Class 4A North Region I game in the top of the seventh inning.
With the tying runs on base and nobody out, Carl caught a liner hit by Makayla Woods, tagged pinch runner Hayden Wiatrowski off second and threw to first baseman Rileigh Kitchin to triple-off Kenisha Gelp.
“I was dialed in and I was like, ‘OK, ball,’ and she was like right in front of me and I was like, ‘Oh, she’s not at first,’ so I just threw it over there,” said Carl, who wasn’t overly concerned with the threat. “I was a little bit [nervous], but we still had a chance to hit at the end, so I wasn’t too worried about it.”
Perry Hall coach Denny Lee had a mound visit before the historic ending.
“I actually called time and went out and brought the infield in and said, ‘Look, we are fishing for outs right now. We are not worried about the girl at second, if she scores, it’s still 2-1. Don’t put all that pressure on you. What we are looking to do is get outs,’” he said. “Did I expect a triple play on the next two or three pitches? No, but I was very grateful for it. That’s the first triple play that I have seen to be honest with you, so I was super ecstatic.”
Kitchin wasn’t expecting three outs on one pitch either.
“No, that’s not what I was thinking at all,” she said. “But I trust my team and I knew that we were going to get out of it and even if we didn’t, we were going to come back with our bats either way. So I wasn’t too worried, but Maddie really came in clutch.”
Kitchin, who allowed no walks, didn’t need any triple plays in the first six innings. After a leadoff single by Justice Smith, she retired the next 13 batters, seven on strikeouts.
“We went to the curveball and inside fastball probably 70% of the time, and it really became a thing of, they didn’t catch up to it and we stuck with it,” Lee said. “She probably threw 10 changeups, so it wasn’t on that end of it. But her thing is the longer she goes, the better she gets. So she’s better in the five, six, seven innings than in the very beginning. And if you look at our record, our first inning is when we give up most of our runs.”
Carl and catcher Addison Dunlap were also impressed with the pitcher’s effort.
“It’s amazing every game that she can just pump it in there and trust us enough to throw strikes,” Carl said.
When the Owls had long at-bats, Kitchin got the outs.
“She was hitting her spots almost every single time and even if she had a missed a pitch she shook it off and she was able to pitch the next one, especially during those long at-bats,” said Dunlap, who is a left-handed catcher. “I started at first base and I switched a couple years ago to catcher and I just fell in love with it.”
Perry Hall got the only runs it needed in the bottom of the second inning. Amber Deems got a one-out single and Jenna Neff walked, setting up an RBI single by Shalimar Lopez and run-scoring infield hit by Carl.
Dundalk pitcher Jenny Burger was effective throughout, allowing only four hits while striking out five. She got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth inning with a strikeout and line out to center fielder Woods.
“Bases loaded and she got herself out of it, that was all her on that. That wasn’t anybody else,” Dundalk coach Rob Celmer said.
But Kitchin was a little bit better.
“We just couldn’t get the timing quick enough on her. We were trying to make small adjustments, we just couldn’t make them quick enough,” said Celmer, whose squad finished 13-6. “This was the best game, it was 2-0 against a top-tier team. This is great, our bats just let us down. I’m over proud, this is my first year as head coach; I’ve been with varsity for seven years,”
“Dundalk came to play and I am very, very proud of those young ladies, they did an amazing job,” Lee said.
Lee is equally proud of the Gators compared with where they were when he took over three seasons ago.
“Three years ago, we literally went 2-14,” Lee said. “That was my first year here and last year they moved us to Division II. We won that, which was great, but then they moved us up this year and I never expected to do what we are doing right this second and that’s because the girls bought in.”
The Gators (15-3-1) were county co-champions with Towson and now are Class 4A North Region I champions. They are scheduled to play in the state quarterfinals, hosting Montgomery Blair at 5 p.m. Friday.
Dundalk — 000 000 0 — 0
Perry Hall — 020 000 X — 2
WP: PH — Amelia Kitchin; LP: D — Julie Burger