CV can't generate enough offense in 5-2 loss to Bloomsburg.
By: Chris Manning | Towanda Daily Review | May 29, 2015 | Photo courtesy Chris Manning
2015 NTL and District 4 News
TURBOTVILLE - Cowanesque Valley had their chances on Thursday.
They finished the game with six runners left on base, four in scoring positions, but couldn't capitalize on their opportunities the same way the Panthers did.
Bloomsburg used a big 3-run fourth to pull out a 5-2 win over CV in the District IV, Class A softball title game.
"We were confident," CV coach Karl Schauer said about their mindset coming into the game. "We've had a great run at the end of the year. We didn't know a lot about Bloomsburg but like I told the girls we try not to over think stuff when we scout. We just came in confident with our gameplan and what we were going to do and the girls we're ready for it. They played a good game there, I was happy with them. We just got out hit today."
Both teams had six hits each but the Indians batted 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, which tells the tale of the game.
Jessie Prutsman was 2-for-3 to lead CV while Becky Plummer, Kayla Schauer, Julia Draper and Madeline Heyler also had hits. Heyler's was a double and she also had an RBI.
Amaya Walker and Whitney Earl scored their two runs.
Maddy Hatch earned the loss, striking out two while allowing six hits, five walks and five earned runs in six innings of work.
For Bloomsburg Emily Wawroski (2-for-3) and Molly Williams (2-for-3) led the way while Sadie Beaver had 2-RBI.
"We knew they were a good hitting team," Schauer explained. "We tried working a lot outside. Maddy with her curveball, she didn't get a lot of calls early in the game on that curveball on the outside corner. I love Maddy, she gets rattled a little bit and had a couple extra walks that she doesn't usually get on the board."
Wawroski earned the win, striking out one while allowing six hits, three walks and no earned runs in seven innings of work.
The Panthers got on the board early as they scored in the bottom of the first with Wawroski hitting Beaver home.
Then in the second they went up 2-0 as Dominique Luxardo scored.
CV would get on the board in the top of the third as Amaya Walker scored on an error off the bat of Plummer.
Then Bloomsburg had the big fourth inning.
Williams led off with a double followed by Gabby Luxardo and Jerrika Chorba getting hits. All three scored to make it 5-1.
The Indians rallied in the top of the sixth as they got runners on first and second but couldn't bring them around.
In the seventh CV got another run in with Earl scoring off Heyler's double but that's as close as they got.
Reaching the title game was the culmination of a strong mid-season turnaround for the Indians.
"They slowly improved all year long," said Schauer. "I think we had 11 errors the first game of the season. My young freshmen were just as nervous as can be. About halfway through the season my defense tightened right up. We were playing one, maybe two runs a game during the middle of the season but our pitching still hadn't worked out. Then about the last two weeks of the season Maddy started getting in the groove, throwing great pitches late in the count, throwing the curve late in the count and confident where she was putting it and that was the difference. When Maddy really kind of took charge on the mound and that defense settled in behind her then you could start seeing things improve, a jump in confidence."
As for next season, Schauer would like to see his team improve offensively.
"I had three freshmen in the line-up tonight, they've gone a long ways with their hitting," explained Schauer. "We've got to go a lot further. We struggled in the middle of the line-up, we have all year long. We've got to be able to put more than five runs on the board to win games like these."
