HS Softball: Tamaqua knocks off Blue Mountain in Division I thriller
Tamaqua's Naomi Knitter pitches to Tamaqua's Carla Boyer in the first inning of Monday's Schuylkill League Division I game at Patton Field. The Tamaqua catcher is Addison Krall; the home plate umpire is Mike Groody. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
ORWIGSBURG — Naomi Knitter doesn’t look like a freshman.
She doesn’t pitch like one, either.
She’s tall, poised and in complete command in the circle. Bringing the heat, with great movement and location, Knitter shut down Blue Mountain 1-0 in a Schuylkill League Division I masterpiece on a sun-splashed Monday afternoon at Patton Field. Knitter finished with a four-hitter, striking out 14, walking two and hitting two batters.
Knitter did what successful pitchers do. She threw strike one, consistently working ahead of the hitters. She retired the leadoff batter in all seven innings, and four times she set down the first two hitters in an inning. That kept Knitter “ahead of the chains” so to speak and slowed Blue Mountain’s bunting and running game — at least a little.
The Eagles threatened throughout. They had at least one baserunner in every inning, but they left nine on base — three on third and all nine in scoring position.
Blue Mountain (11-4, 7-3 D-I) needed one hit, one clutch hit to produce some runs. That hit never came.
Knitter wouldn’t allow it.
“They played their (tails) off today, that’s for sure,” Tamaqua coach Tony Zancofsky said. “It’s tough, Schuylkill League Division I is tough. I say it all the time, (this division has) the best teams in the state of Pennsylvania, I think. You’ve got to play your A game every single game. … Today, we’re going to celebrate this win. This is a big win for us.
“Na’s been doing a great job the whole season,” Zancofsky added about Knitter. “They’re in a rotation (with fellow freshman Peyton Faust). She steps up every time we ask her. No complaining, nothing, you don’t hear from any of the girls on this team. We finally got a break.”
That break came in the second inning. Leah Crowley led off with a walk and stole second base. After Blue Mountain’s Chloe Brown notched two strikeouts, Crowley took off for third base during the next at-bat. When the throw got away and rolled into shallow left field, Crowley scrambled to her feet and raced home with what turned out to be the only run of the game.
Brown, dominant in her own right, took the loss. The senior right-hander allowed four singles, struck out 16 and walked three in a 125-pitch effort (82 strikes). The run she allowed was unearned.
Tamaqua (9-6, 6-4 D-I) had some other chances, including leaving the bases loaded in the fourth inning. With the sacks full and one out, Brown posted back-to-back strikeouts to keep it a 1-0 game.
The Blue Raiders put runners at second and third with two outs in the fifth, but Brown recorded a three-pitch strikeout to avoid any damage.
Kolbe Robb and Ceanna Gormley rapped two singles apiece for the Blue Raiders.
Knitter, meanwhile, stopped every rally Blue Mountain mounted.
One of the Eagles’ best chances to score came in the fourth inning. Anna Borden worked a one-out walk and pinch-runner Callie Peel went to second on Karley Koch’s sacrifice bunt. Brown then hit a hard bouncer up the middle. Tamaqua’s freshman shortstop, Nico Conahan, ranged far to her left, caught the ball and threw a seed to first base, beating Brown on a bang-bang play for the third out. Meanwhile, Peel never stopped running and would have scored from second base had Brown been safe.
Blue Mountain did everything it could to manufacture a run, stealing seven bases and getting a bunt and a few slaps down.
The Eagles made one final push in the bottom of the seventh. After back-to-back strikeouts by Knitter, Addyson Fishburn, who went 2-for-3, bounced a slap over the third baseman’s glove for an infield hit. Fishburn stole second and took third on the same pitch when the catcher allowed a passed ball. The play at third was extremely close, but Fishburn made it and stood just 60 feet from tying the game. Again, Knitter proved up to the task, getting a routine grounder to third base for the final out that sparked a big celebration.
Knitter threw 131 pitches, 84 strikes, in the victory.
With the win, Tamaqua kept its slim Schuylkill League playoff hopes alive. The top three teams qualify for the league playoffs, which start May 10. Pine Grove (9-1) leads Division I, followed by North Schuylkill (8-1) and Blue Mountain (7-3). Tamaqua (6-4) is just a game back of the Eagles with four to play. The Blue Raiders and Eagles will tangle again Tuesday in Tamaqua.
