HS Softball: Tri-Valley outslugs Marian in Division II battle
Tri-Valley's Mady Schwalm heads for the plate with her teammates awaiting her after hitting a solo home run during Wednesday's 16-5 Schuylkill League Division II win over Marian. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
HOMETOWN — Temperatures hovered in the 40s, but the bats stayed hot in Hometown.
After more than 2 hours, Tri-Valley finally subdued Marian 16-5 in six innings in a Schuylkill League Division II softball game Wednesday on the hilltop Marian campus.
Cassi Snyder and Mady Schwalm led the Bulldogs’ attack as Tri-Valley compiled 14 hits and scored in every inning. Snyder, a speedy leadoff hitter, went 4-for-5 with a double, three runs scored, two RBIs and two stolen bases. Meanwhile, Schwalm came a triple away from the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, four runs scored and five RBIs.
Though it’s not quite midseason, the game had some extra benefits for Tri-Valley (5-2, 3-2 D-II). The Dawgs won their third straight and started their climb back into contention for one of the six Schuylkill League playoff berths to be awarded next month. Entering the day, Marian ranked first and Tri-Valley second in the District 11 Class A ratings.
On the down side, Tri-Valley senior center fielder Mia Artz suffered a severe leg injury on a tag play on her grounder to first base in the second inning. She went down in obvious pain, had to be helped off the field and got taken to seek medical attention.
Freshman Myah Schwalm got Tri-Valley on the board in the top of the first when she rapped a two-run single to left field. In the second, freshman Alina Leonard stole second base and scored on an error to make it 3-0. Leonard finished with three runs scored out of the No. 9 spot in the order. Tri-Valley added a run in the third when Mady Schwalm homered way over the left-field fence.
Still, Marian (3-3, 1-2) made a game of it as Hailey Treskolasky slugged a solo home run in the bottom of the second. Treskolasky finished 3-for-3 with a double, a homer, two runs and one RBI.
In the third, the Fillies closed the gap to 4-3 when Malina Letcher roped an RBI triple to right-center and Danica Karlick followed with an RBI single. Letcher went 2-for-4 with a triple, a home run, two runs and two RBIs.
The Dawgs, though, kept slugging and taking advantage of seven walks and seven errors by Marian.
Tri-Valley batted around plus three in the top of the fourth, scoring seven runs for an 11-3 advantage. Snyder legged out an RBI infield single; Mady Schwalm rapped a two-run single; and Olivia Witmer belted an RBI double. Witmer finished 2-for-3 on the day.
The Dawgs added two more runs in the fifth on Mady Schwalm’s RBI double and Myah Schwalm’s RBI groundout.
Marian, though, kept the game alive with two runs in its half of the fifth. Letcher launched a solo home run over the fence in left-center field and Treskolasky doubled, then scored on an error.
Tri-Valley finally put the game away with three runs in the sixth inning. Snyder had an RBI double in the frame.
Game Summary
TRI-VALLEY (16) — C. Snyder ss 5 3 4 2, Artz cf 2 1 1 0, Tobin rf 2 1 0 0, Ma. Schwalm 2b 4 4 3 5, Witmer 3b 3 1 2 1, My. Schwalm 1b 4 0 1 3, L. Rodichok c 4 0 0 1, Leese cr 0 0 0 0, K. Rodichok p 4 0 2 0, A. Snyder cr 0 1 0 0, Stiely lf-cf 2 2 0 0, Leonard rf-lf 3 3 1 0. Totals 33 16 14 12.
MARIAN (5) — Sendatch lf-cf 4 0 1 0, Pugh 2b 4 1 2 0, Letcher ss 4 2 2 2, Karlick 1b 4 0 1 1, Treskolasky c 3 2 3 1, Birrer p-3b 3 0 1 0, Erickson rf 2 0 0 0, Katona 3b-lf 2 0 0 0, Turano ph 0 0 0 0, Upanavage cf-p 2 0 0 0. Totals 28 5 10 4.
