Rams use late magic to walk away District champions.
By: Brett R. Crossley | Towanda Daily Review | June 2, 2017 | Photo courtesy Brett R. Crossley
2017 NTL and District 4 News
TURBOTVILLE — Somewhere between too dark to see and just enough light to tell the difference between a curveball and fastball, No. 2 Wyalusing, sporting the role as heavy underdog, made its move.
The Rams connected with 10 hits, scored six runs, and took advantage of two costly errors from No. 1 South Williamsport to pull out the 6-4 win at the Mosser Complex in Turbotville.
"The girls just decided to focus," Wyalusing coach John Loomis said. "I knew they could do it. They just got sparked. Our pitcher was excited and fired up. She wanted to win the ball game."
With run support in tow, Kyleigh Ward put together her most dominate innings as she overcame an error and walk in the sixth and recorded a strikeout and two groundouts to end the seventh.
Ward finished with six strikeouts while giving up four runs on nine hits. She also gave up two walks, but pitched her way out of a jam in the third to keep South Williamsport off the board and overcame a walk in the fourth to keep the Mountaineers stalled at one run through the first four innings.
"I definitely had all the confidence in my team," Ward said. "We all wanted it as bad as I did. Being a senior I wanted it bad."
Prior to the sixth inning, Wyalusing recorded just three hits. Once in the sixth and seventh, the Rams batted through the order twice and scored all six of their runs.
"I told them it's 3-0 and we've come back from bigger leads than that," Loomis said. "We were still confident, but we needed a spark. The offense strung a couple together and they did a great job."
Over the two-inning stretch, Kristie Epler got to play hero twice, knocking in four runs on two singles. She broke open the game in the sixth, tying it with a shot into the right-center field gap. She found that spot again in the seventh to score the district-clinching runs.
"We have the best kids, best teachers, and best administration," Loomis said. "Wyalusing is the best place to be. This has been a good program for many years and I'm happy we got back here."
About the Author |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
||
