Vikes cruise past Fillies; PGA’s Leffler notches 100th RBI

MINERSVILLE — “Wake Up the Echoes.”

With a nod to those lyrics from the Notre Dame fight song, Tri-Valley and Minersville played a classic Schuylkill League Division II softball game Thursday that stands up to any of the countless clashes the Bulldogs and Battlin’ Miners had through the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and to today. The effort, intensity, perseverance and skill both teams displayed harkens back to those players and teams of yesteryear and puts today’s girls right alongside of those who came before them.

When this chapter finally ended, Tri-Valley held on for an 8-4 victory in 11 innings on a sun-splashed, summery day at Ken Schneck Field. The game lasted 2 hours, 54 minutes — every tick of the clock filled with emotion, enthusiasm and the mental strength to never give up and never give in.

“I have so many memories at this field, most of them heartbreaking memories,” Tri-Valley coach Marty Shade said. “We had some good games. It’s always a battle with us and Minersville. It’s a good rivalry. Same with Williams Valley. We’ve been battling each other for years and years.”

For the first eight innings, Tri-Valley starter Myah Schwalm and Minersville starter Eila O’Brien matched zero for zero. Both got into a few jams, but both worked out of them with the help of their respective defenses.

So we went to the ninth in a scoreless tie.

Minersville’s defense, which had been so strong to that point, broke at the wrong time. Two errors and a passed ball helped Tri-Valley (7-3, 6-2 D-II) jump out to a 3-0 lead in the top half of the inning. Ava Snyder laced a two-out, two-run single, and another run scored on an error.

Somehow, Minersville (8-5, 5-3) found the fortitude to rally and tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth. O’Brien walked with the bases loaded, and Bella Rizzardi (3-for-5) followed with a two-run single to send the game to the 10th.

Both teams cashed in their “ghost runner” as the international tiebreaker took effect in the 10th inning. Tri-Valley’s Lydia Rodichok hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-3, and Minersville’s Paige Laudeman answered with a sacrifice fly of her own to tie the game 4-4.

On to the 11th.

Finally, the Dawgs got their timing down against O’Brien. After Kenzie Tobin cashed in the ghost runner with a sacrifice fly, Snyder blasted a triple to the fence in right field. Alina Leonard followed with an RBI double to left field, and Summer Cupsta slammed an RBI triple to center field. Cupsta circled the bases when the Miners made an error on the relay from the outfield.

After 161 pitches (101 strikes), Schwalm gave way to relief help from Leonard. Minersville put two runners on base, but Leonard got O’Brien to line out to center fielder Liv Lupole to end it.

Schwalm got the win in the circle, going 10 innings and allowing 10 hits, four runs (three earned), striking out six and walking four.

O’Brien went the distance for Minersville. She hurled 11 innings, throwing 151 pitches (99 strikes). O’Brien allowed 12 hits and eight runs, but none of those runs were earned. She struck out two and walked two.

“I’m very impressed tonight with Minersville,” Shade said. “They’re back. Their coaches are doing a great job with those young kids, and they play hard. They don’t give up. … Give my girls credit, too. They were struggling a little bit with the off-speed stuff, and finally they timed it a little bit better and hit some shots and came through. Myah Schwalm pitched her heart out.”

Game Summary

TRI-VALLEY (8) — Leonard ss-p 6 1 2 1, Cupsta 2b 6 2 2 1, Witmer 3b 5 0 1 0, Schwalm p-ss 4 0 2 0, Wehry ph 1 0 0 0, E. Snyder cr 0 0 0 0, Rodichok c 4 0 0 1, Leese 0 1 0 0, Stiely lf 5 1 1 0, Lupole cf 5 1 1 0, Tobin rf 3 1 1 1, A. Snyder dp 5 1 2 2, Lettich 1b 0 0 0 0. Totals 44 8 12 6.

MINERSVILLE (4) — Sterner 2b 6 0 1 0, Brennan cf 3 1 2 0, McGrath c 5 1 1 0, O’Brien p 5 0 0 1, Bosack cr 0 0 0 0, Rizzardi ss 5 0 3 2, Cruz lf 5 1 2 0, C. Laudeman dp 3 0 0 0, Moyer ph 1 0 0 0 0, P. Laudeman 3b 4 0 0 1, Tripp dp 5 1 1 0, Herb 1b 0 0 0 0. Totals 42 4 12 4.

Teams	123	456	789   10 11	—	Runs
TV (7-3, 6-2)	000	000	003   1   4	—	8
Min (8-5, 5-3)	000	000	003   1    0	—	4

 

E — Tri-Valley 1, Minersville 3

DP — None

LOB — Tri-Valley 9, Minersville 14

2B — Leonard

3B — Cupsta, A. Snyder

SB — E. Snyder

SAC — C. Laudeman

SF — Rodichok, Tobin, P. Laudeman

Tri-Valley

Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
Schwalm W,4-0	10	10	4	3	4	6
Leonard	1	0	0	0	1	0

Minersville

Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
O’Brien L,2-4	11	12	8	0	2	2

WP — Schwalm. PB — McGrath. T — 2:54.

Williams Valley 8, Marian 2 

TOWER CITY — Megan Perhach homered and drove in three runs to power Williams Valley to a victory over Marian in Division II action at Lee Reiser Field. The Vikings posted a win for the fourth straight day this week, also defeating Upper Dauphin, Nativity and Halifax — all on the road.

Liv Hand took care of the pitching, tossing a complete game with nine strikeouts and one walk.

Quin Smeltz went 2-for-2 with two doubles and an RBI for the Vikings. Avery Stakem finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

For Marian, DeAnna Pugh went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, one run scored and one RBI.

 

Teams	123	456	7	—	Runs	Hits	Errors
Mar (5-6, 3-5)	000	001	1	—	2	7	2
WV (11-1, 8-0)	010	502	x	—	8	9	0

Birrer and Treskolasky; Hand and Smeltz. W – Hand (7-1). L – Birrer (3-3).

Hits: Marian – Pugh 3, Sendatch, Upanavage, Birrer, Knock. Williams Valley – Kobularik, Smeltz 2, Brill, Perhach, Koppenhaver, Mace, Stakem 2.

2B – Pugh, Koppenhaver, Stakem, Smeltz 2. 3B – Pugh. HR – Perhach.

Pottsville 13, Tamaqua 3 

TAMAQUA — Reese Ketner, Peyton Eckert, Olivia Wessner and Jo Barnhart sparked an 18-hit attack with three knocks apiece in Pottsville’s Division I victory.

Ketner went 3-for-4 with three runs; Eckert went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs; Wessner finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs; and Barnhart went 3-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Jes Siminitus added a 2-for-4 day with two RBIs and a run scored for the Crimson Tide.

Paige Bumbulsky hit a solo home run for Tamaqua.

 

Teams	123	456		—	Runs	Hits	Errors
Po (7-5, 5-3)	032	314		—	13	18	1
Tam (6-6, 3-5)	000	201		—	3	4	0

Eckert and Wessner; Knitter, Faust (4) and Conahan. W – Eckert (6-5). L – Knitter (3-4).

Hits: Pottsville – Siminitus 2, Ciavarella, Borger, Ketner 3, Eckert 3, Kalovcak, Wessner 3, Kunstek, Barnhart 3. Tamaqua – Gormley, Conahan, Bumbulsky, Evans.

2B – Eckert, Ciavarella, Gormley, Conahan. HR – Bumbulsky.

Blue Mountain 15, Panther Valley 0 

ORWIGSBURG — Freshman Ava Sweigert earned her first varsity win by pitching a three-hit shutout for Blue Mountain in a Division I victory at Patton Field. Sweigert struck out three and walked none in four innings of work. At the plate, Sweigert went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored.

Addyson Fishburn went 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBIs and three stolen bases for the Eagles. Anna Borden went 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored, while Emmerson Frie homered and drove in two runs. Aryana Reilly doubled and knocked in three runs.

Blue Mountain broke the game open with a 10-run second inning.

 

Teams	123	4		—	Runs	Hits	Errors
PV (6-7, 1-7)	000	0		—	0	3	3
BM (11-1, 7-1)	2(10)2	1		—	15	13	0

Prudente, Alabovitz (3) and Breiner; Sweigert and Frie. W – Sweigert (1-0). L – Prudente (1-1).

Hits: Panther Valley – C. Breslin, Prudente, K. Breslin. Blue Mountain – Fishburn 2, Leonard, Reilly, Borden 2, Phillips, Place, Manbeck, Frie, Av. Hudock, Sweigert 2.

2B – Reilly, Borden, Sweigert, Place. HR – Frie.

North Schuylkill 21, Mahanoy Area 0 

MAHANOY CITY — Brigid Flynn (1 inning) and Peyton Miscannon (2 innings) combined on a two-hit shutout as North Schuylkill rolled past Mahanoy Area in a Division I game. Flynn went 2-for-3 with four runs and two RBIs, while Miscannon had a single and four RBIs.

Lyza Holmes finished 2-for-3 with two doubles, four runs and three RBIs for the Spartans, while Gianna Capone went 2-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and three runs scored. Monica Selgrade went 2-for-2 with three runs, and Alivia Fidler had a 2-for-2 day with two runs and two RBIs.

 

Teams	123			—	Runs	Hits	Errors
NS (9-2, 6-1)	(10)65			—	21	15	0
Mah (5-5, 2-5)	000			—	0	2	6

Flynn, Miscannon (2) and Capone; Sillers, Poslosky (1) and Mroczka. W – Flynn (8-2). L – Sillers (1-1).

Hits: North Schuylkill – Selgrade 2, Holmes 2, Flynn 2, Capone 2, Frie, Youst, Croker, K. Nahodil, Miscannon, Fidler 2. Mahanoy Area – Poslosky, Kowalick.

2B – Holmes 2, Capone.

Pine Grove Area 19, Lourdes 1 

MOUNT CARMEL — Callee Leffler went 2-for-2 with two home runs, six RBIs and three runs scored to power Pine Grove Area to a Division I victory over Lourdes. Leffler also reached the 100-RBI milestone for her career.

Chelcy Clark (2 innings) and Jamie Dinger (1 inning) combined on a no-hitter for the Cardinals. Clark struck out four and Dinger fanned two. At the plate, Dinger went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and two runs scored. Clark singled and had two RBIs.

Other top hitters for Pine Grove Area included Hannah Aungst, 2-for-4, a double, one RBI; Khloe Jessman, 2-for-3, two doubles, two RBIs, two runs; Meadow Umbenhauer, 2-for-2, two runs, one RBI; and Tailyn Bohr, 2-for-2, one run.

 

Teams	123			—	Runs	Hits	Errors
PGA (12-1, 7-1)	883			—	19	20	2
Lou (0-12, 0-8)	100			—	1	0	5

Clark, Dinger (3) and Bohr, Koch (3); Wydra and Cherry. W – Clark (4-0). L – Wydra (0-7).

Hits: Pine Grove Area – Leffler 2, Rumpf, Aungst 2, Dinger 2, Behrent, Flynn, Jessman 2, Umbenhauer 2, Bohr 2, Koch, Clark, Geist, Morgan, Schneck. Lourdes – None.

2B – Dinger, Jessman 2, Aungst. 3B – Dinger. HR – Leffler 2.

Weatherly 11, Shenandoah Valley 1 

WEATHERLY — Abby Binder pitched a no-hitter as Weatherly topped Shenandoah Valley in a Division II game.

Binder struck out 16 and walked two in the six-inning contest. The run she allowed was unearned.

Rebecca Caldwell went 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI for the Wreckers. Maci Kane homered and drove in two runs, while Abby Weston added a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Teams	123	456		—	Runs	Hits	Errors
SV (0-12, 0-8)	010	000		—	1	0	4
Wea (4-6, 3-5)	070	031		—	11	9	1

Troutman and Monaghan; Binder and Makowiec. W – Binder (4-6). L – Troutman (0-3).

Hits: Shenandoah Valley – None. Weatherly – Weston, Caldwell 2, Zuberi, Kane, DiGennaro, Makowiec, Snyder, Binder.

2B – Weston. 3B – Caldwell. HR – Kane.