Cougars feed off McGuffey’s trash talk

By Jeff Oliver

MVI Sports

There is an old saying that claims “let sleeping dogs lie.”

Apparently, McGuffey’s softball team doesn’t believe in it and the Highlanders gave struggling Charleroi the awakening it needed.

“Before the game, we heard them talking in the dugout about beating us in three innings and getting out of here,” said Charleroi coach Trey Tilghman. “I told our girls, “They think they are going to beat us by 15 runs.”

In its game earlier this week, McGuffey hammered Chartiers-Houston, 20-7. C-H had beaten Charleroi to open the season.

The Cougars snapped a two-game losing streak by knocking off 3A McGuffey, 7-4, in nine innings in a non-section contest.

Charleroi (2-3) roughed up McGuffey’s third pitcher of the game in the ninth to pull off the big win.

After Ella Sypolt and Riley Jones led the inning off with singles, McKenna DeUnger drilled an RBI single that gave the visitors a 5-4 lead. 

Jocelyn Polonoli, who swung a big bat all day, drilled a two-run double to bring in Jones and DeUnger to make it 7-4.

Polonoli had two doubles, a home run and 4 RBIs.

The Cougars remained hot at the plate, again posting double-digits in hits with 15.

Polonoli had three hits, as did Jones (two singles, double). Sypolt, DeUnger and winning pitcher Sophie Celaschi added two hits each.

“We are hitting the ball really well,” said Tilghman. ‘I was hoping our younger kids would hit quickly and they have.”

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