GWA Starting pitcher Notalie Pikas against Hanover.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
Hanover shortstop Chloe McDaniels throws to first as GWA’s Emma Stevens beats the throw in the third inning.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
GWA’s Lillian Miscavage slides into second base as Hanover’s Ella Gritz fumbles the ball in the third inning.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
Hanover’s Ellie Malloy races past GWA’s Sophia Adams as she prepares to throw to third base for the out in the third inning.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
Melanie Redmond the GWA catcher cools down with a fan and a cold drink between innings.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
ASHLEY — Greater Wyoming Area finished third in the Section 5 Little League Major Softball tournament.
GWA used three strong offensive innings Wednesday to defeat host Hanover 10-6 at the Ashley Little League, but lost games to District 17 champion North Pocono before and 8after that win.
“We’re in rare territory for GWA,” GWA manager Justin Adams said after Wednesday’s win. “We’ve never won a district title, we’ve never won a sectional game. We’ve done both of those things in a span of a week. I told them they had nothing to lose today, everything to gain.”
GWA had 10 hits, including seven which never left the infield. Although Hanover pitcher Stella Styczen had 10 strikeouts, GWA’s hustle out of the batter’s box paid dividends.
“The key to the game was get the ball in play,” Adams said. “Every girl one through 10 in the order put the ball in play. That was the difference maker for us, putting pressure on their defense and letting the game play out the way that it did.”
The pressure started early as GWA’s Emma Corina and Natalie Pikas reached on errors with one out in the first inning. Corina eventually scored on a wild pitch and Pikas crossed the plate on an infield single by Harper McHale. Lillian Miscavage followed with an infield single, and she and McHale scored when Gianna Cook bounced a single into center field for a 4-0 lead.
Hanover tied the score 4-4 after two innings.
GWA, though, answered with three runs in the third as Miscavage and Cook had RBI infield singles. Consecutive singles by Sophia Adams, Corina and Pikas resulted in three more runs in the fourth. Pikas brought two home with a single to right.
Pikas, the GWA pitcher, didn’t allow a hit after Ella Grilz’s bunt single in the fourth. She retired six in a row in the fourth though sixth innings. Hanover made some noise with one out in the sixth, but Pikas got a couple grounders to end the game.
Cook, who drove in three runs, joined Pikas and Miscavage with two hits each. Pikas scored three times.
Pikas struck out nine while limiting Hanover to five hits and four walks.
District 31 champion GWA’s season came to an end with a 12-1 loss to North Pocono in Thursday’s elimination bracket final.
North Pocono, which was beaten by Carbino Club/Archbald in the winners’ bracket final, opened the tournament with an 18-6 victory over GWA Tuesday.
The District 17 champion’s bats started warm and ended the soggy night red hot.
North Pocono rapped out 14 hits and scored at least one run in every inning. All 11 hitters reached base safely at least once and 10 of those hitters came around to score at least one run.
The two teams played fairly evenly through the first three innings, trading runs in the first and North Pocono taking a 5-3 lead into the third.
In the back half of the game, North Pocono really locked in: six runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and six more in the final frame to stretch their lead into the double digits.
Gemma Kuzmak had three hits and drove in three runs, including a two-run single in the fourth inning, to lead the North Pocono offense.
After a rocky fourth in which GWA plated three runs, North Pocono reliever Serena Lesh found her rhythm and posted two scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth to bring North Pocono to the finish line.
In those final two innings, Lesh only allowed one baserunner on a walk and struck out three.
Pikas had a double, single and an RBI to lead GWA’s offense.
Emma Cornia scored twice and had an RBI single in the fourth, while Melanie Redmond and Isabella Magallanes each had a hit and scored a run in GWA’s three-run fourth inning.
