Lady Bears strike gold
*Before I head off to recharge my batteries on vacation, here's a little something on the softball league championship to hold you over. I shall return Thursday. Until then, stay classy Elizabethtown.
Call them the team of destiny. Call them the Comeback Kids. Whatever you want to call the Elizabethtown Area High School softball team, make sure you include the words “Lancaster-Lebanon League champions.”
The Bears capped their thrilling run through the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs by rallying from a 5-0 deficit in the seventh inning to beat Solanco 6-5 and win the first league title in program history.
“This team, they just never quit. They’ve got the heart of a lion,” said E-town head coach Gary Wylde. “We talked and said we were going to go out and give it our best shot (before the seventh inning).”
And their best shot was exactly what the Bears came up with in their final at bat.
The inning started when Jen Dunkelberger reached on a dropped fly ball. Emily Wylde followed with an infield single and Abby Fuhrman followed that with a single of her own to load the bases with no outs. Fuhrman’s hit also marked the end of the line for Solanco starter Mallory Ruteledge, who allowed only three hits (two of those infield singles) for the first six innings.
“She pitched one heck of a game,” Wylde said. “She was just incredible tonight.”
With the bases loaded, Solanco coach Brett Miller brought in Morgan Mastriana. Mastriana walked the first hitter she faced, Leigh Miller, to force in E-town’s first run. After a strikeout, Mandi Shearer hit an RBI single to trim the deficit to 5-2 and keep the bases loaded for the top of the E-town order.
E-town’s leadoff hitter, Anna Libby, then stung a line drive down the right field line that cleared the bases. As Libby reached third on her triple, she turned to look for the ball, which was being thrown in to the plate from the outfield. The throw got over catcher Morgan Jackson’s head, and Libby immediately broke for home, scoring on a head-first dive to put E-town ahead 6-5.
“I knew if we got to the top of the order, we could make it interesting,” said Wylde. “Anna Libby hits the ball as hard as anyone I’ve seen.”
“I honestly was in shock when it happened, too,” Libby said. “Coming up in a pressure situation, I’ve always loved that (and) I always thrive on that. And that’s exactly what you want to do. It was like a dream come true. I don’t think I’ll ever get over that moment.”
Before E-town’s seventh inning, though, the game belonged to the Golden Mares. Solanco jumped ahead of the Bears early as Steph Graver knocked in Janelle Krantz with an RBI triple in the first inning. Solanco added to the lead in the third when Ashley Stump reached on an infield single with one out. She moved to second on a wild pitch and scoring on an RBI triple by Krantz. Solanco added a third run in the inning on an infield single by Mallory Renard.
The Mares made it 4-0 off of E-town starter Tricia Stone in the fifth on an RBI triple from Ashley Stump with no outs. Wylde then decided to bring in Jillian Ditzler, and the senior did a tremendous job, allowing only one unearned run on no hits over the final three frames.
“Jillian is probably one of the most competitive kids I know. When you think of a true pitcher, Jillian Ditzler is a true pitcher,” said Wylde. “She’s just a bulldog on the mound.”
When Dizler first came into the game, the Bears trailed by five. But when she walked out to the circle for the bottom of the seventh, she had a one-run lead to protect. Ditzler set the first two batters down in order and got Krantz to pop up to Bigler to end the game – giving E-town a win over its biggest rival and its first league championship.
“(Solanco is) a first-class organization and I just want to give them a lot of credit. They’re a great team,” Wylde said. “We really have tremendous respect for that Solanco program. We knew it was going to be a battle. I’m speechless just to beat such a quality program.”
In fact, E-town beat three quality programs en route to the league crown. They rode the solid pitching of Stone in the first round, beating Pequea Valley 1-0; they then scored six times in the seventh inning against Warwick in the semifinals to beat the Warriors 5-3 and worked their late-inning magic again against Solanco.And the majority of the Elizabethtown players and coaches said it came down to one thing – heart.
“Our team has so much heart, we never let down,” said Libby. “Our team is just so strong. And that’s what it was – a team game tonight.”
Wylde and Ditzler echoed Libby’s sentiments.
“This is amazing,” Wylde said, clutching the league trophy. “The way we did it kind of describes our season. I think I learned something about these girls ... that they have tremendous heart. They don’t like to lose.”
Ditzler said that winning such an exciting game gives E-town a full tank of momentum heading into the District Three playoffs.
“I think this gives us more momentum than if we would have won 10-0 or something because we battled back the whole time,” she said. “We jsut ahve a lot of heart and we never give up, and that teaches us that we can do it.”
So, yes, the Lady Bears have heart. And now, they have gold medals to wear over the hearts that earned them.
Call them the team of destiny. Call them the Comeback Kids. Whatever you want to call the Elizabethtown Area High School softball team, make sure you include the words “Lancaster-Lebanon League champions.”
The Bears capped their thrilling run through the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs by rallying from a 5-0 deficit in the seventh inning to beat Solanco 6-5 and win the first league title in program history.
“This team, they just never quit. They’ve got the heart of a lion,” said E-town head coach Gary Wylde. “We talked and said we were going to go out and give it our best shot (before the seventh inning).”
And their best shot was exactly what the Bears came up with in their final at bat.
The inning started when Jen Dunkelberger reached on a dropped fly ball. Emily Wylde followed with an infield single and Abby Fuhrman followed that with a single of her own to load the bases with no outs. Fuhrman’s hit also marked the end of the line for Solanco starter Mallory Ruteledge, who allowed only three hits (two of those infield singles) for the first six innings.
“She pitched one heck of a game,” Wylde said. “She was just incredible tonight.”
With the bases loaded, Solanco coach Brett Miller brought in Morgan Mastriana. Mastriana walked the first hitter she faced, Leigh Miller, to force in E-town’s first run. After a strikeout, Mandi Shearer hit an RBI single to trim the deficit to 5-2 and keep the bases loaded for the top of the E-town order.
E-town’s leadoff hitter, Anna Libby, then stung a line drive down the right field line that cleared the bases. As Libby reached third on her triple, she turned to look for the ball, which was being thrown in to the plate from the outfield. The throw got over catcher Morgan Jackson’s head, and Libby immediately broke for home, scoring on a head-first dive to put E-town ahead 6-5.
“I knew if we got to the top of the order, we could make it interesting,” said Wylde. “Anna Libby hits the ball as hard as anyone I’ve seen.”
“I honestly was in shock when it happened, too,” Libby said. “Coming up in a pressure situation, I’ve always loved that (and) I always thrive on that. And that’s exactly what you want to do. It was like a dream come true. I don’t think I’ll ever get over that moment.”
Before E-town’s seventh inning, though, the game belonged to the Golden Mares. Solanco jumped ahead of the Bears early as Steph Graver knocked in Janelle Krantz with an RBI triple in the first inning. Solanco added to the lead in the third when Ashley Stump reached on an infield single with one out. She moved to second on a wild pitch and scoring on an RBI triple by Krantz. Solanco added a third run in the inning on an infield single by Mallory Renard.
The Mares made it 4-0 off of E-town starter Tricia Stone in the fifth on an RBI triple from Ashley Stump with no outs. Wylde then decided to bring in Jillian Ditzler, and the senior did a tremendous job, allowing only one unearned run on no hits over the final three frames.
“Jillian is probably one of the most competitive kids I know. When you think of a true pitcher, Jillian Ditzler is a true pitcher,” said Wylde. “She’s just a bulldog on the mound.”
When Dizler first came into the game, the Bears trailed by five. But when she walked out to the circle for the bottom of the seventh, she had a one-run lead to protect. Ditzler set the first two batters down in order and got Krantz to pop up to Bigler to end the game – giving E-town a win over its biggest rival and its first league championship.
“(Solanco is) a first-class organization and I just want to give them a lot of credit. They’re a great team,” Wylde said. “We really have tremendous respect for that Solanco program. We knew it was going to be a battle. I’m speechless just to beat such a quality program.”
In fact, E-town beat three quality programs en route to the league crown. They rode the solid pitching of Stone in the first round, beating Pequea Valley 1-0; they then scored six times in the seventh inning against Warwick in the semifinals to beat the Warriors 5-3 and worked their late-inning magic again against Solanco.And the majority of the Elizabethtown players and coaches said it came down to one thing – heart.
“Our team has so much heart, we never let down,” said Libby. “Our team is just so strong. And that’s what it was – a team game tonight.”
Wylde and Ditzler echoed Libby’s sentiments.
“This is amazing,” Wylde said, clutching the league trophy. “The way we did it kind of describes our season. I think I learned something about these girls ... that they have tremendous heart. They don’t like to lose.”
Ditzler said that winning such an exciting game gives E-town a full tank of momentum heading into the District Three playoffs.
“I think this gives us more momentum than if we would have won 10-0 or something because we battled back the whole time,” she said. “We jsut ahve a lot of heart and we never give up, and that teaches us that we can do it.”
So, yes, the Lady Bears have heart. And now, they have gold medals to wear over the hearts that earned them.
Labels: Softball
posted by Chris McCarthy at
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