Penn Manor pulled away for a 14-8 triumph over the host Solanco softball team Tuesday, April 16. The Golden Mules led 5-4 heading into the top of the fourth. Penn Manor took the lead for good by tallying three times in the top of the fourth, keyed by Madison Trout's two-run single up the middle.
A turning point came in the home half of the fifth when Solanco squandered a big opportunity. Sierra Dean smashed a single off the glove of the third baseman and Becca Foulk followed with a double to right-center to put runners on second and third. Hanna Phillips hit a fly ball to deep right-center that was tracked down and the runner on third did not tag. The next two batters struck out. Penn Manor scored four runs in the top of the sixth to get some breathing room. Katherine Green supplied a two-run single in the rally. Down 11-5, Solanco's Skyla Townsley homered to left-center in the bottom of the sixth. The Comets tacked on three insurance runs in the seventh to make it 14-6. The Mules put up a bit of a fight in the home half. Foulk, Phillips, and Noelle Schneider each had consecutive one-out singles to load the bases. With two outs, Kendall Janssen walked to force in a run and another run scored on an error before a fly ball ended the game. "I thought we responded, even in the last inning," Solanco head coach Brett Miller said. "Noelle Schneider gets probably her first hit. She'd been DP'd the whole time. That's one of those moments you enjoy as a coach." Miller said he saw some other positives. "We made some good defensive plays," the coach said. "Des (Desiree DeHaven) out in left field there made a nice running catch and we made some other running catches. The centerfielder (Kendall Janssen) made some good catches. It was good to see that from a young team." The teams traded two-run homers in the first inning. Victoria Hook belted a shot down the left field line for Penn Manor and Solanco's Jade Eshelman answered with a blast to left-center. The Mules manufactured a run in the bottom of the second to take a 3-2 lead. Taryn Britigan coaxed a one-out walk, advanced to second on Janssen's sacrifice bunt, and scored on a Kara McClune single to center. Trout and Kaelin Gable delivered back-to-back RBI singles to give Penn Manor a 4-3 edge before Solanco took the lead for the last time. Eshelman walked to start the bottom of the third, went to second on a passed ball, and scored when Dean ripped a single to left. Foulk singled and Schneider walked with one out to load the bases. Britigan plated the go-ahead run with a groundout. With Dean unable to pitch because of an injury, Townsley got the start in the circle. "It was a game-time decision," Miller said. "You have to look at Sky. She battled. She decided she was going to throw and make pitches and she made pitches. They're a good hitting team so we had to battle through it. As a coach, you have to be extremely proud of the way they battled through this." On Monday, April 15, Solanco lost 10-4 at Manheim Township. The Mules mustered three runs in the seventh on a McClune RBI hit followed by a two-run double off the bat of Eshelman. Janssen also had a hit in the inning. Comments are closed.
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