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STATE COLLEGE — The door to Holy Redeemer’s second straight state championship opened when Morgan Bienkowski stepped to the plate.
Moniteau’s hopes for a crown pretty much ended when Bienkowski took her familiar spot in the pitching circle.
From start to finish, Bienkowski proved a Royal pain to Moniteau.
With four hits Thursday and and four superb innings of relief, Bienkowski solidified her reputation as a big-game performer while picking up her second pitching victory in as many state appearances while using her bat to trigger Redeemer’s win in the PIAA Class 2A title game at Penn State’s Beard Field.
“A lot of people have confidence in me,” Bienkowski, a sophomore, said after Holy Redeemer’s 9-3 state title victory. “I have confidence in everyone else.”
It’s easy to see why Bienkowski has blossomed into one of the Redeemer’s most dependable players.
With precision pitching and perfect timing, she messed up a Moniteau team that believed it was unbeatable — and practically was.
The District 9 champion Lady Warriors entered the state title game with a 24-1 record and hadn’t allowed a single run since April 30.
That changed the minute the Royals got to the plate.
Bienkowski began the game by lacing a single to right field off Moniteau pitcher Kennedy DeMatteis. The Royals leadoff hitter moved to second base on a ground out and charged to third base on another grounder.
When the throw to third base skipped away on the play, Bienkowski picked herself up from a hard slide and scooted home to give the Royals a 1-0 lead.
“We knew that girl pitched a bunch of shutouts,” Holy Redeemer senior captain Olivia Mennig said. “I talked to Morgan Bienkowski about it, getting up definitely was going to be important.
“I think we really flustered her.”
Bienkowski, the first batter of the game, followed through by scoring the first run against DeMatteis in more than six weeks.
“I didn’t realize I would get home,” Bienkowski said. “I think it was important. It swung the momentum of the game.”
Did it ever.
A frustrated DeMatteis, who later complained, “I tried to hit the corners, but he (the home plate umpire) didn’t give me any corners at all,” gave up four more runs and issued three of her nine walks in the opening inning — all after Bienkowski scored.
But Bienkowski and the rest of the Royals were far from finished.
Bienkowski lashed a single in the second inning, drilled a run-scoring single in the fifth and beat out a infield single in the seventh to finish 4 for 5.
After going 3 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI as a freshman in Redeemer’s 2015 PIAA title victory over Deer Lakes, Bienkowski raised her batting average in state title games to .778 with a combined three runs scored and two RBI.
“Morgan’s huge,” Holy Redeemer coach Jerry Paulukonis said. “Morgan does everything she needs to do to make sure we’re successful in the game.”
Including closing it out.
When Moniteau hitters began timing Royals starting pitcher Kristen Coffay in the third inning while creeping within 6-2, Paulukonis called on Bienkowski to seal the title — a regular routine through Redeemer’s Wyoming Valley Conference season and postseason.
She responded by allowing two hits and one run over the final four frames, earning the victory with six strikeouts while retiring the final nine batters and setting down 12 of the 14 Moniteau hitters she faced.
“It matters to me,” Bienkowski said while discussing whether or not she’s affected by what inning she enters the game. “But my mindset, when I go into the game, I like to joke around. If I think about it (the situation) too much, it’s going to show up. I like closing a lot. My first year, I was a starter. But it (relieving) is not really that hard for me. I think now, it’s just expected. My freshman and sophomore years, we won the state championship.”
It’s no coincidence Bienkowski’s arm and bat played crucial roles in both titles.
“She’s a great pitcher, she’s a great hitter,” Paulukonis said.
And for a second straight year, Bienkowski used both of those components to lead Holy Redeemer to a great finish with a state title.
“It’s just an amazing feeling,” Bienkowski said.