Hoffman’s hit ignites Raiders

Sometimes, all it takes is a crack of the bat to change the outlook of a game. On Friday afternoon, that one crack was exactly what Tamaqua needed to put away Schuylkill League Division 1 opponent Lehighton.

The key hit came from the Raiders (8-1,5-0) veteran Courtney Hoffman, who’s two-run double to the right side of the infield helped to ignite a seven-run sixth inning. The offensive outburst in the top of the sixth was the game-changer, propelling Tamaqua to an 11-3 victory, helping it to stay atop the Division 1 standings.

“Today, once again was a tough weather day to play in and the wind was really whipping around the field down here, plus it was cold, so I think that definitely had something to do with our slow start, but also give credit to Lehighton for playing us tough,” said Tamaqua head coach Jill Barron. “We all got together in that sixth inning and we talked about getting our bats going and the girls got the job done. For whatever reason, this season, we need to play from behind to motivate us to get moving, but overall I’m proud of how we responded.”

Tamaqua did start slow and the Tribe (3-6,1-4) took advantage, leading through the first four innings. Lehighton got things started early when Rachel Serfass scored off a Raiders error in the first after smacking a single earlier in the inning. Then the Indians put together their biggest inning of the day, scoring two runs in the bottom of the third. Becky Serfass scored after a passed ball and Ryanne Hoffman also added a run in the inning to extend Lehighton’s lead to 3-1 after the Raiders added their first run in the top of the third.

“I thought we hung in there and played well for most of the game. But when Rachel Serfass, our short stop and best fielder went down with an injury, we had to move some people around to positions they haven’t played before and that’s when things sort of fell apart for us,” said Indians head coach Dave Yob. “I thought Sam (Gruber) did a nice job moving the ball around early to keep them off-balance as well, but they’re a good team and they put the ball in play and came through with some clutch hits.”

Tamaqua scored a run in both the fourth and the fifth, tying up the ball game, and then Hoffman got the Raiders’ big run started with her two-run double in the top of the sixth. Hoffman’s hit would open the flood gates with Miranda Chinchar, Maxine Beers, and Taylor Donnon all collecting hits in the seven-run sixth. Donnon came through with two hits and two RBIs in the inning to help spur the big inning,

“I was just patient and waited for the pitch that I knew I could drive to an open area,” said Hoffman. “Our team never gets down, we always support each other and rally when we need to. That’s one thing about this team is that we always fight and never give up.”

Tamaqua added another run in the seventh, while holding Lehighton scoreless for the last four innings to complete the win.

CLAMPING DOWN ... After sort of a rocky start for the Tamaqua defense, it clamped down on the Indians after surrendering three runs in the first three innings. Tamaqua ace pitcher Jada Schelhammer retired nine batters in a row, striking out five batters in the process after the third, and then finished strong in the seventh to pitch four continuous shutout innings. Schellhammer struck out eight, while allowing three runs on four hits in seven innings of work.

HIT-A-THON ... The Raiders collected 13 hits on the day. Donnon, Hoffman, Schellhammer, Chinchar, Beers, Jen Frederickson, Kaitlyn Stauffenberg, and Ally Frederick all came through with hits on the afternoon for Tamaqua.

Tamaqua 001 117 1 - 11 13 4

Lehighton 102 200 0 - 3 4 2

Schellhammer and Frederick; Gruber and B. Serfass. W - Schellhammer L - Gruber.