Miokovic helps Poland outlast Canfield in eighth

May 7, 2014 at 12:10a.m.

By Steve Wilaj

POLAND

When Taylor Miokovic stepped into the batter’s box in the eighth inning of a scoreless game on Tuesday and saw the potential winning run on third base, she felt some deja vu.

She flashed back to her freshman year, when her sixth-inning single scored the go-ahead run in the Bulldogs’ 2-1 state championship victory against LaGrange Keystone.

“With this at-bat, I kind of felt like I was in the state championship game all over again when I had the pressure on me,” Miokovic said. “So I was really just aiming to get it on the ground to the right side of the field so Brielle [Nocera] could score.”

And that’s exactly what happened.

Miokovic’s RBI groundout with one out scored Nocera in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Poland a 1-0 victory against Canfield. Cardinals second baseman Maura Kennedy made a diving stop on Miokovic’s grounder, but had no play at the plate.

It wasn’t quite the state championship, but it was an important victory for the Bulldogs (14-4, 5-1 All-American Conference Red Division), who lost to the Cardinals (13-5, 5-2) all three times last season.

“It felt good because losing to them last year left a bitter taste,” Miokovic said. “This being my senior year, I told myself I wasn’t gonna let us lose to them again.”

She wasn’t kidding.

In addition to collecting the game-winning RBI, Miokovic (11-2) pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out 11.

“She really was focused and battled them early in the game,” Poland coach Matt Campbell said. “She’s a senior who’s been there and we can count on her. So she battled back, made the pitches at the right time and got it done.”

Following her 11th strikeout — which was the last out in the top of the eighth — Miokovic gave a fist pump and yelled some encouraging words to her teammates as she jogged off the field.

“I wanted to get it going and get the team fired up,” she said. “We needed some energy there.”

After Canfield starter Allison Fabry retired the first batter in the bottom of the eighth, Nocera reached on an infield single and advanced to second on an errant throw to first. She then advanced to third base on a wild pitch.

That set up Miokovic, who — along with Campbell — admitted she was surprised Canfield opted to pitch to the lefty slugger with a base open. Cardinals coach Ray Melewski said they chose to do so considering her previous at-bats.

“We tied her hands up a few times and got her to hit it where we wanted, but she hit one through the last time,” he said. “There was thought [of putting her on], but we were doing such a nice job against her.”

“Now we wish we didn’t pitch to her.”

Miokovic’s performance overshadowed an outstanding outing by Fabry. In 71/3 innings, she allowed one unearned run on five hits.

“She did a phenomenal job — stuck with it and never got herself in a real tough situation,” Melewski said. “Even though we lost, we didn’t do anything to really hurt ourselves and we played a great game. We’ll walk away with our heads held high and be ready for Thursday.”

The teams will meet for a rematch in Canfield on Thursday.