HS Softball: Tri-Valley holds off Schuylkill Haven in Division II battle
Tri-Valley's Alina Leonard pitches during Tuesday's Schuylkill League Division II game against Schuylkill Haven in Hegins. Tri-Valley won 3-2. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
HEGINS — Alina Leonard acknowledged being a little bit nervous.
Tri-Valley’s freshman right-hander had pitched in varsity games before, but never against an opponent like Schuylkill Haven, never in such a big game, never in front of such a big crowd.
Whatever nerves Leonard felt inside didn’t show.
Repeatedly pounding the bright, yellow softball into her glove between pitches, Leonard hurled a two-hitter and worked out of a seventh-inning jam as the Bulldogs defeated the Hurricanes 3-2 in a Schuylkill League Division II clash on a warm Tuesday afternoon in the Hegins Valley.
Schuylkill Haven (9-3, 7-2 D-II) won the first meeting this season 6-5 in eight innings on March 27. Tri-Valley led 5-2 heading to the bottom of the seventh before the Hurricanes rallied.
They almost did it again, but Leonard proved up to the task.
Leading by a run in the seventh, Leonard painted the inside corner with a fastball for a called strike three and her seventh strikeout of the game. Then, on an 0-2 pitch, Allie Scherer got hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. She promptly stole second and took third on a throwing error. Suddenly, the tying run stood just 60 feet from home plate.
Leonard regrouped and notched strikeout No. 8, also looking, for out No. 2. Leonard then got a popup to shortstop to end the game as the Dawgs escaped with a victory and snapped the Hurricanes’ four-game winning streak.
“Both teams had to give team efforts to have this outcome,” Schuylkill Haven coach Garry Adams said. “We just got the bats started a little later than we wanted to. You’ve got to start early in this game if you want to try to be successful. That young lady for Tri-Valley threw a real nice game, kept us off-balance. … That’s just a great game. That’s the game you want to see, no matter what the outcome is.
“They’re good for a reason,” Adams added. “We’re getting there. We’ve given them two good games now, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Tri-Valley (10-3, 7-2 D-II) jumped on top of Schuylkill Haven in the bottom of the first. Cassi Snyder led off by lining a triple down the left-field line. One out later, Mady Schwalm blooped a single into right field to drive in Snyder for a 1-0 lead.
Things stayed that way until the fourth when Liv Witmer led off with a solo home run, her third of the season, to deep left field. Myah Schwalm then reached on a two-base outfield error, advanced to third on Lydia Rodichok’s sacrifice bunt and scored when Savanah Stiely hit a hard RBI single up the middle. Schuylkill Haven shortstop Teagan Wehr made a diving attempt but could only deflect the ball toward center field.
That’s about all Tri-Valley could muster against Schuylkill Haven right-hander Grace Line, who allowed just five hits and one earned run. She struck out six and walked none.
Trailing 3-0, the Hurricanes didn’t quit.
In the sixth inning, Kaitlyn Russo, on an 0-2 count, got hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. She stole second and took third when Wehr’s popup fell in for a hit. Wehr stole second for runners at second and third with nobody out. Snyder, an infielder playing center field, then made a diving catch of a sinking fly ball off the bat of Ally Becker for the first out. Emmie Scherer followed by dropping a safety squeeze bunt. When the throw to first base was wild and rolled down the right-field line, Russo and Wehr scored to make it 3-2.
Again, Leonard regrouped and got a pair of groundouts to avoid further damage and maintain Tri-Valley’s one-run lead.
With the victory, Tri-Valley qualified for districts with its 10th win and solidified its position for one of the three Division II spots in the Schuylkill League playoffs, which will begin May 10. Since a 2-2 start, the Dawgs have won 8-of-9 games.
“It feels real good to beat a good Schuylkill Haven team like that,” Tri-Valley coach Marty Shade said. “Their pitcher is very good. She puts a lot of spin on the ball, and it’s tough to hit. So we had to take advantage of the chances we had. We let them back in the game a little bit, but as a coach, I’m glad the game was like it was at the end. We needed a close game like that, and we needed to find a way to pull it out.”
