HS Softball: Schuylkill Haven rallies past Minersville
Schuylkill Haven players congratulate Emmie Scherer after her two-run home run in the first inning Thursday against Minersville. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Schuylkill Haven’s softball team is crossing some goals off its list, and the Hurricanes are hungry for more.
Shaking off a poor start, Schuylkill Haven slugged its way past Minersville 10-3 on Thursday in a Schuylkill League Division II game. A pair of four-run innings turned the game Haven’s way.
With the win, the Hurricanes (10-3, 8-2 D-II) beat Minersville twice in the same season for the first time in program history. In addition, Schuylkill Haven clinched a spot in the District 11 Class AA playoffs and took a major step toward qualifying for the Schuylkill League playoffs for the first time in team history.
“Today was absolutely huge,” Schuylkill Haven coach Garry Adams said. “Now we have nothing to lose, go out win games and see if we can’t improve ourselves even more.”
The way the game started, though, it looked like it could be a rough day for the Hurricanes. Three errors and Eila O’Brien’s RBI double staked Minersville (6-9, 5-5) to a 3-0 lead after a half-inning of play. O’Brien finished 2-for-3 on the day.
That lead didn’t last long.
In the bottom of the first, Schuylkill Haven sent 10 batters to the plate — five of them notching hits — to score four runs and turn a three-run deficit into a one-run lead. Emmie Scherer delivered the big hit, a two-run home run over the fence in left-center field that tied the game 3-3. Ally Becker drove in a run with a groundout, and the Hurricanes scored the go-ahead run on an error.
“I went out there, just gave them a couple words of encouragement and tried to settle them down,” Adams said. “The whole team started rallying around. You can’t pick out just one player. They all contributed in one way or another and got us a good win.”
From there, Schuylkill Haven went on tacking on runs to extend its lead.
In the second, Teagan Wehr reached on an error and later scored on a wild pitch.
In the fourth, Becker slapped an RBI single to drive in Kaitlyn Russo to push the lead to 6-3.
The Hurricanes put the game away in the fifth when Wehr sliced a two-run triple just inside the right-field line; Becker followed with an RBI double; and Emmie Scherer plated Becker with an RBI single.
The top of the Schuylkill Haven lineup — Russo, Wehr, Becker and Emmie Scherer — combined to go 7-for-12 with eight runs scored and eight RBIs. Emmie Scherer finished 2-for-2 with three RBIs and a run scored; Becker went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored; Wehr went 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs; and Russo went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and three runs scored.
No. 6 batter Aisley Jenan went 2-for-4 as Haven finished with 11 hits as a group.
After that rough start, Allie Scherer settled down in the circle and the Haven defense locked in behind her. First baseman Joie Schoffstall, center fielder Becker, shortstop Wehr and second baseman Russo all made fine fielding plays to put outs on the board. Scherer shut out the Miners over the final six innings; the sophomore right-hander allowed six hits and no earned runs while striking out four and walking none.
“She did really well,” Adams said. “Once she finds a rhythm, both of them (Grace Line, too), it gets tough to hit them when they start hitting those spots. And knowing that the fielders can help them when bats get put on balls.”
