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West York coach Dave Beard called it an extra gear. Megan Sheaf doesn't have a name for it, but she acknowledged its existence.
"It's a different mindset," Sheaf said. "I'm just more focused. I probably should be focused in the beginning of the game, but when it gets tight like that, it's different."
When the Bulldogs loaded the bases with no outs down by one run in the top of the fourth, the Susquehannock pitcher summoned that focus and raised her game in the form of three consecutive strikeouts to end the inning.
It was one of three times Sheaf made sure West York stranded a runner in scoring position during a shutout performance that helped the Warriors earn a 2-0 victory and the YAIAA softball tournament championship at
Susquehannock (16-2) has won eight consecutive games and enters next week's District 3 Class AAA tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Warriors are looking to win their third consecutive PIAA title with Sheaf on the mound.
"What a competitor to be able to battle back the way that she did," Susquehannock coach Dave Pollick said of Sheaf. "Everyone wants to talk about her pitching skills and her strength and the speed she can throw with. To me, that's all a sad second to the fact that kind of like a Michael Jordan type of a person that says: 'OK, whatever it takes, I'm going to win the game.'
"I've said it before and I really do mean it: I've played high school sports and I've coached high school sports for a long time -- any sex, any sport, any age, I've never seen a competitor better than Megan. She's just the ultimate competitor."
Sheaf registered 14 strikeouts and allowed only three hits against the Bulldogs (16-4). West York pitcher Paige Sacripont had a strong performance as well, allowing only five hits in six innings of work.
Still, an unearned run in the third inning on a pair of West York errors and back-to-back doubles by Chelsea Shockey and Carley Nickles in the sixth gave Susquehannock more than enough offense to win the game.
"We're right there," Beard said. "We always battle this team season in, season out. Today, we just weren't lucky."
Leadoff hitter Katie Swade was the only Susquehannock player to register two hits, knocking through a pair of singles. The first of them came in the third inning and advance Alexys Bryan to third base.
Swade beat out a ground ball to third and when Sarah Markel couldn't hang on to Tiff Stambaugh's throw to first base, Bryan ran home.
Sara Gohn and Kahla Lutz led off the fourth with consecutive singles for West York, and Lauren Shaffer drew a walk to load the bases. But Stambaugh, Emily Boyer and Cat Herman all went down swinging against Sheaf.
The Bulldogs had a runner on third with one out in the sixth inning when Lutz hit another single and advanced two bases on a pair of passed balls, but Shaffer went down swinging and Stambaugh hit a hard ground ball to shortstop Shockey, who made the tough play.
Shockey has yet to commit an error this season at her position and has helped lead a defensive resurgence for the Warriors, who committed only one error in the winning effort.
"It's interesting because our calling card in years past has been sound defense, good pitching and timely hitting," Pollick said. "Every year we have to reinvent ourselves because the players are different and I started this year with a team that was very free swinging. We were just pounding balls everywhere but our defense was a little suspect.
"Lo and behold, haven't we returned to form. We're back where the other teams have been -- timely hitting, solid defense and great pitching."
smclernon@ydr.com; 880-1501
