Downingtown West survives late scare to top Chambersburg
By Bill Rudickbrudick55@gmail.com
DOWNINGTOWN>>Survive and advance. That’s always the goal in a state tournament. Chambersburg put a scare into Downingtown West with a seventh inning rally in the opening round of the PIAA, Class 6A softball tournament, but the Whippets staved off the late charge and improved to 25-0 on the season with a 4-3 victory.
More importantly, the Whippets advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal round, where they will square off against a familiar foe in Downingtown East, a 4-1 winner over Williamsport Monday.
“Always great to get the first one,” said West coach Joey Germani. “We have some things to clean up at the plate, but we played great defense and battled hard the whole way.”
Chambersburg came to the plate in the seventh trailing 4-1, but showed no interest in calling it quits, pushing across two runs to cut the lead to one. But the Whippets got out of it, when centerfielder Lizzie Kern hauled in a deep fly ball for the final out.
The Trojans actually got the first run of the game in the first without a base hit, plating a run on a double steal after the first two batters reached on a walk, and a hit by pitch, with the lead runner advancing to third on a fielder’s choice.
“It was a little shaky start for us, but once we settled in, we were fine,” said West pitcher Addy Carter. “Our defense was great today, especially the outfield. They made some amazing plays out there.”
The Whippets answered right back, notching a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning on a single from Lily O’Laughlin, a triple from Kern (2-for-3, triple, run scored, RBI), and a sacrifice fly from Ava Kaczmarski.
Chambersburg didn’t get their first base hit of the game until the fifth inning when Saleen Null and Brooke Leedy connected for back-to-back singles.
Still clinging to the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth, the Whippets got the insurances runs they would need. Jordan Toth got things going with a lead-off double, and Casey McWilliams followed with a walk. Chambersburg Kori Leedy induced two weak pops to get one out away from escaping unharmed, but O’Laughlin came through with a double. Though she was caught trying to stretch it into a triple, both runners scored.
“When I come to the plate, I try to keep my approach the same, no matter what the situation is,” said O’Laughlin. “For us as a team, it’s important to be able to string together hits. If you get a bunch of hits, but all in different innings, it’s not going to work. But we’ve been able to get hits in bunches all season.”
Carter earned the win in the circle, allowing three runs on five hits, while striking out 4 and walking two.
“It’s great to move on,” said Carter. “A state title has been the goal all season, and now we’re just three wins away. I love that were going to be playing Downingtown East. They are a really competitive team, and I just love getting to compete.”
Downingtown West 4 Chambersburg 3Chambersburg 1 0 0 0 0 0 2—3Downingtown West 2 0 0 0 2 0 X—4WP—Carter LP—Leedy3B—Kern, Ahlborn 2B—Hendricks, Toth, O’Laughlin, B. Paetow
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