Dream Season Ends with 8-3 Loss to Hazleton
BOALSBURG, Pa. – They say that all good things must end and so too, did this remarkable 2014 campaign for the Lady Roaring Lions. The end came with an 8-3 loss to Penn State Hazleton in the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket of the PSUAC playoffs at Hess Field.
Things started out fine. Moriah Kromer (Mount Pleasant, Pa.) – pitching with a sore hand and a face shield after being struck by a line drive in last week's game at Penn College – hit Andrea Quillman to start the game. She then retired Krystin Baker on a harmless pop to short, struck out Martina Herring and got Erin Dougherty to fly out to left field.
Morgan Miller (Uniontown, Pa.) started the Fayette half of the first with a double to the gap in left center and moved to third on Kromer's sacrifice bunt. She was stranded there as Jill Guthrie (Uniontown, Pa.) and Jessica Stairs (Mount Pleasant, Pa.) were retired on infield pop-ups.
Disaster struck in the top of the second. Flexing her hand in pain after nearly every pitch, Kromer never got settled in. Carly Rossi led off with a single and Julia Heidecker followed. Both moved up on a wild pitch. Hazleton loaded the bases when Amanda Flinn reached on an infield error.
Meghan McHugh singled to score Rossi and another single by Kaitlin Gutherman scored Heidecker. Quillman drew a full-count walk to score Flinn. Baker followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring McHugh and giving Hazleton a 4-0 lead. Herr's double down the left field line scored Quillman and McHugh and chased Kromer.
Andrea Lash (Perryopolis, Pa.) who ironically injured her wrist in the playoff opener against Brandywine, came in to pitch. After a walk to Erin Dougherty, Rossi singled scoring Herr. Heidecker's single scored Doughtery. Flinn and McHugh both lined out to end the inning but the damage had been done – eight runs, seven hits and an error. Hazleton would not score again.
Fayette got a run back in the bottom of the second. Lash singled and moved to second on a single by Stephanie Longo (Point Marion, Pa.). After two outs, Teri Lewis (Champion, Pa.) singled through the right side scoring Lash.
Fayette got another run in the bottom of the fourth. With two out, Lewis doubled and scored on a double by Alyssa Strausser (Daleville, Pa.)
The Lady Roaring Lions loaded the bases in both the fifth and sixth innings but failed to score.
Fayette also had a rally in the seventh. With one out, Lash reached on an error and Longo followed with a single. Nichols singled to score Kaytee Cumberland (Leisenring, Pa.) who was pinch running for Lash.
Kromer took the loss, going an inning and a third and giving up seven runs – six earned – while surrendering ive hits and striking out one.
Lash finished the final five and two thirds, giving up just three hits and a run.
Lewis was the star at the plate, going 2-4 with a double and two RBI. Miller also had a pair of hits, as did Longo and Strausser.
The loss ends Fayette's season at 13-13, the first time the team has had a record of .500 or better in more than seven years.