Pine Grove knocks off Fillies
Marian’s Jada Rutsick is tagged by Pine Grove’s Faith Sleva while trying to steal third base. RON GOWER/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
PINE GROVE — Slap hitting is becoming more common in softball, and one team that’s mastered it is Pine Grove.
The combination of consistent hitting and superb pitching gave the top-seeded Cardinals an 11-1 victory over Marian in the District 11 Class 3A quarterfinals on Wednesday. The game ended in the fifth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.
“They have some good slappers. There’s no way to simulate that,” Marian coach Kyle Faust said. “They hit those little dingers, and there’s nothing you can do about that. There’s no way to defend that.”
A key character in the story for Pine Grove is junior pitcher Olivia Lehman, who gave up only two hits and struck out nine in the five innings. She fanned five of the first six batters she faced.
“Lehman’s a great pitcher,” said Faust. “She hits her spots. She’s hard to hit. You’ve got to be able to play against her. She throws strikes. You’ve got to be in there ready to swing the bat.”
He said in general of Pine Grove, “They’re a great team.”
Marian (11-9) scored its only run in the top of the fifth. Mia Nemeth, the leadoff batter in the frame, walked and then scored on a long double by Lyndsey Reinoehl, which bounced against the leftfield fence. A sacrifice bunt by Katrina Horvath sent Reinoehl to third, but Lehman got out of the inning by striking out the next two batters.
The only other hit by Marian came in the fourth when Jude Rutsick belted a single. A sacrifice bunt by Emily Schadt sent Rutsick to second, but Rutsick got picked off trying to steal third, ending the threat.
Pine Grove coach Ryan Leffler said of Lehman, “She did a very good job working ahead and hitting her spots; keeping the ball down and keeping control of the game.”
He agreed that the hitting was also a factor saying, “We’re definitely solid one to nine. (Reinoehl) kept us off balance a little bit, but then we adjusted and hit the ball hard.”
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Maura Lehman singled, stole second and third, and came home on a single by Casey Kershner.
They blew the game open in the third with five runs on six hits, an error and a walk.
NEXT STEP ... Pine Grove plays Salisbury in the district semifinals today.
A POWERFUL TEAM ... The Cardinals are the Schuylkill League champions. Besides their impressive 19-4 record, they’ve gotten better as the season progressed. In the past five games, they’ve outscored their opponents 67-3. In the final three regular season games, they racked up 51 runs, while holding the opposition to just one. They scored 10 or more runs in 11 of their 18 wins.
Marian 000 01 - 1 2 3
Pine Grove 015 23 - 11 11 0
Reinoehl and Schaud; O. Lehman and Kopinetz. W - O. Lehman. L - Reinoehl.
