Northeast Bradford's bats stay hot as they beat Old Forge 5-1.
By: Chris Manning | Towanda Daily Review | June 4, 2013 | Photo courtesy Chris Manning
2013 NTL and District 4 News
BLOOMSBURG - In the first inning it looked like Northeast Bradford was once again going to start fast.
They had two runners on with two outs when Courtney Coleman hit what looked like a run scoring single to right field but she was thrown out at first.
In the third inning they once again had runners in scoring position and this time Coleman didn't let the moment pass her by. Her 2-run single is what kick started Northeast's offense in their 5-1 win over Old Forge in the PIAA, Class A softball tournament Monday.
"I know my pitcher's sick and I had to help her out," Coleman explained. "I had to get the runs in. It was good to help my team."
Coleman hadn't been hitting up to her standards but Monday she was all smiles.
"I've been quite down but then I pulled around for my teammates," she said.
Being able to get back to where they finished last year has the Panthers excited about how far they can go.
"This feels great," Calla Johnson said about the win. "After last year to come back and do the same thing. Chelsie (Souto) is doing really good and were on a roll."
Northeast got somebody on base every inning as their hot bats continued over from the District IV championship game. However Old Forge was able to hit the ball as well and threatened to score in four of the seven innings.
"We just kept our normal game," Calla Johnson said about Old Forge's chances to score. "Chelsie just kept her pitching. We never got down. We just kept going."
However, the Panthers still out hit them 11-8 and everybody made solid contact all day. Coleman was the Panther's top bat on the day, going 2-for-3 with a double, 3-RBI and two runs scored. Calla Johnson (2-for-4), MaKaylah Holbert (2-for-4) and Souto (2-for-3) also had multiple hits in the game. Monica Brown had a double while Maddy Johnson and Bridget Haverly also had hits.
"Coming off a season where we didn't hit very well, finally were hitting the ball pretty," Calla Johnson said. "Finally everyone in our lineup is hitting the ball so it's awesome."
In the circle Souto picked up the win but wasn't quite as lights out as she had been District IV play. She still struck out nine, though, and had timely strikeouts at that. Other than the eight hits she allowed two walks and one earned run while throwing 102 pitches.
Taylor Nemetz led Old Forge at the plate going 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI while Kim Regan was 2-for-3. Lauren Carey, Tori Tansley, Chelsea Cadwalder and Rhyan Barnic also had hits.
Regan scored the loss, going six innings to strike out four while allowing the 11 hits, four earned runs and one walk on 87 pitches.
Northeast coach Gary Hennip knew that would have to play well to beat the District II champions.
"The team we just beat is a very good softball team," he said. "They hit the ball from the top of the line-up down to number nine. We held together, our defense played well and our bats really came alive today."
It looked like the Panthers were going to have another big first inning as Holbert and Calla Johnson hit back to back singles with one out but Old Forge was able to escape thanks to a strong throw from right fielder Nemetz to get Coleman at first for the final out of the inning.
Despite the setback in the first inning Calla Johnson knew that they would break through eventually.
"We still felt had confidence," she said. "We've been hitting the ball pretty good."
The Blue Devils threatened in the top of the second as Barnic led off with a single followed by Regan issuing a walk. They would move over to second and third on a wild pitch but Northeast pitcher Souto got out of the jam with back to back strikeouts.
In the bottom half of the inning Souto led off with a single followed by Haverly reaching on an error but nothing came of it. In the top half of the third Carey reached on an error for Old Forge but she was thrown out at second on a steal attempt to end that threat.
Then in the bottom half of the third is when the Panthers finally broke through.
Holbert and Calla Johnson once again had back to back singles followed by Brown bunting up a bag. Coleman then roped a single into the outfield to score both and give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
When they struck first Calla Johnson knew that they would be able to pull it out.
"Scoring early and getting ahead always gives us more confidence," she remarked.
Souto kept the rally going with a single of her own to put runners on first and second. Coleman would then tag on Haverly's fly ball to center field reaching third base safely.
Old Forge felt she left the bag early and threw it back to second to appeal but the throw was wild and went into the outfield. Coleman didn't hesitate and took home to make it 3-0 Northeast.
"I knew I had to get the run in," she said.
The Blue Devils once again got runners on base in the top of the fourth as Barnic reached on a fielder's choice and moved over to second when Regan singled but Souto got the final batter to ground out to end the threat.
In the top of the fifth is when Old Forge broke through.
With one out Carey reached on a single followed by Nemetz hitting a ball deep into the left-center gap. Carey came all the way around from first to score while Nemetz legged out a triple to cut the lead to 3-1.
Tansley then walked to to put runners on first and third but once again Souto came up big, striking out the next batter to get to two outs. For the final out Barnic flew out to Maddy Johnson in centerfield to end the threat.
Despite the setback Northeast quickly retaliated.
Brown led off with a double followed by Coleman doubling to bring Brown's courtesy runner Shelby Park in, making it 4-1. Two batters later Haverly singled in Coleman to put the Panthers up 5-1.
That at bat in the bottom of the fifth was the key to the game Hennip though.
"I thought it was really important that when they scored their one run and had a chance to score more we shut them down and we came back with two in the bottom half of that inning," he said. "I think that deflated them just a little bit. That was extremely good timing to come back and score two runs there."
In the top of the sixth Old Forge went down 1-2-3.
In the bottom half of that inning Johnson led off with a single and made it all the way to third but was stranded there.
The Panthers were just three outs away from moving on but the game was far from over.
With one out Carey would reach on an error followed by Nemetz singling and Tansley walking to load the bases.
With her back against the wall Souto got some help from her defense as the next batter, Cadwalder, hit a pop up to Calla Johnson at shortstop who then quickly doubled Carey off at third to secure the win.
Northeast will now play the winner of Bristol and GAMP whose game was postponed Monday due to weather. The game will be played Thursday but a site and time have yet to be announced.
No matter who they face the Panthers believe if they play their game they can beat anybody.
"We've got to get runners on base in order score," Calla Johnson said.
Being able to hit the ball all the way down the line-up is key for the Panther's success.
"It's really important for us to have hitters from 1-through-9 to hit the ball," Hennip said. "We've been doing that the last number of games. Everybody's coming through and that's really important for us."
For the past three weeks the Panthers have made hitting a focus and they don't plan on taking their eye off the ball anytime soon.
"That's what we'll continue to do," Hennip said. "You have to hit in this game to win ball games. You've got to score runs. I will say right now were hitting the ball and scoring runs. It's great."
