He threw a punch at the sky, when the buzzer finally sounded. Then he shouted. Then he leaped – no, bounded was more like it – into the arms of one his coaches, Paul Gunsett.FORT WAYNE – Maureen Denihan broke out the dice roll.
After securing Class 3A No. 8 Bishop Dwenger’s first regional championship and shaking hands with Mississinewa, which lost 5-0, Saints senior Denihan blew on her right hand, shook it and let the imaginary dice fly.
It’s her celebratory “dance move.”
But Denihan, Dwenger’s first baseman, loudest player and designated cheerleader, didn’t only bring the fun again after another special victory. She also had a two-run single, the only RBI in the game, in the fifth inning to give the Saints a cushion.
“Now we’ve got two for semistate and then state. I’m looking forward to the whole ride there,” said Denihan, whose team (24-2) will play Andrean (24-4) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Twin Lakes.
Said junior Andrea Filler, who threw a two-hitter: “This is a huge accomplishment for us. But we just want to keep going and go as far as we can because we know we can keep going farther.”
Dwenger took a 2-0 lead in the first when Ashley Burkhardt and Filler – who both singled – scored on an error.
Filler then went to work on the mound, striking out seven and getting into trouble only in the sixth.
A single and two walks loaded the bases with two outs, prompting Burkhardt to bounce over from shortstop for a chat with Filler.
“I was getting a little bit frustrated,” Filler said. “She told me to stay relaxed and don’t worry about it and we had defense behind me to take care of it.”
Two pitches later, Mississinewa’s Jennifer McCoin grounded to Burkhardt, who slung the ball to Denihan for the final out of the inning.
The Saints didn’t have an error – they have only two in four postseason games – and that’s helped Filler and coach Dave Moyer relax.
“We played flawless out here (in the field),” Moyer said. “It’s kind of expectation any more with them. We get the lead and hold it.
“Our mentality when she’s out there is just awesome. We’re unbeatable, it seems like.”
The Saints scored three runs in the third. Erica Miller and Anna Garner led off with singles, and Miller eventually scored on a wild pitch. After Filler walked to put runners on second and third, Denihan laced a two-run single to center.
“I honestly kind of cleared my mind of how important the game actually was and just focused on, ‘Runners are on, I need to do my job how I usually do and have a nice hit and bring them in,’ ” Denihan said. “I was just focused on making contact.
“I usually never feel under pressure at the plate because we have so much fun because we’re so relaxed.”
Says the one who facilitates that attitude.
