Havre de Grace's bid for the Maryland State Little League senior softball title ended in five innings Saturday afternoon. St. Mary's scored nine runs in its first at bat and then added two more in the fifth for the 11-1 win.
Havre de Grace scored its only run in the top of the first on Megan Thompson's second home run in as many days. Thompson's blast was to dead center field.
In the bottom of the first, St. Mary's used two hit batters to get the nine-run rally started. Two doubles, a single and a sac fly ensued off starting pitcher Ashley Algard.
A wild pitch, two singles and a walk forced Algard from the circle and Thompson was brought on for relief.
Four wild pitches and two walks led to the final runs of the inning before Thompson got a strikeout to end it.
Any chance Havre de Grace had of getting back in the game came in the fourth and fifth innings. Kateri Peters led off the fourth inning with a double and additional runners reached base, but none crossed the plate.
In the fifth, Riley Arnold and Kayla Vaughan hit back-to-back singles leading off the inning. A sacrifice bunt by Rebecca Ashman moved both runners up and Hailey Bethke drew a walk to load the bases.
But Thompson struck out and Abby Harrison, who had Havre de Grace's other hit, popped out to shortstop to end the threat.
St. Mary's then used a two-run double to push across the game-deciding runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Perryville juniors win two
Perryville's junior softball all-stars won twice at the state tournament in Delmar. Perryville plays at 1 p.m. Sunday and with a win, earns a state title and a trip to West Haven, Conn., for the East Region tourney, Aug. 3 to 9.
The latest win came Saturday, a 12-2, five-inning victory over Calvert American Little League.
Virginia Lewis pitched four innings, striking out five and allowing two hits. Lydia Hill threw one inning of scoreless and hitless relief.
Jewels Jones had two hits and an RBI and Krystle Schweers added a pair of hits and three RBIs. Kaitlyn Griffin, Hill and Leah Skinner also had hits and RBIs.
The Perryville defense shined in the win, turning two double plays, picking a runner off base and throwing out a base runner at second base.
Perryville opened play Friday night, beating Dorchester Little League, 6-0.
Lewis pitched four innings for the win, striking out four and allowing one hit. Hill tossed three innings, giving up two hits and also striking out four.
Lewis and Schweers each had two hits and two RBIs and Carly White added two hits and an RBI.
Perryville majors are 0-2
Perryville's major softball all-stars fell to 0–2 in East Region, Mid-Atlantic pool play in Bristol, Conn. The latest loss came Saturday night in a 14-1 setback at the hands Pennsylvania state champ Warrington Softball Little League.
Perryville trailed 5-1 into the final inning when Warrington scored nine times to blow the game wide open.
Ellen Little had the one RBI, doubling in Brooke Reynolds with a double. Jordyn Pollitt and Emily Phillips had Perryville's other two hits.
Phillips suffered the loss, going all six innings. She allowed nine hits and 14 runs (five earned), walked four and struck out four.
Perryville committed five errors.
The Perryville Little League major division softball stars opened East Region Tournament play Friday night in Bristol, Conn., with a 7-2 loss to New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Perryville fell behind 7-0 after two innings. Two Perryville errors contributed to four unearned runs.
Perryville scored both its runs in the third inning. Ellen Little singled in one run and then scored the other when Jordyn Pollitt reached on an error. Pollitt and Brooke Reynolds also had hits for Perryville.
Sierra Zittle was tagged with the loss, pitching two innings. Emily Phillips (two innings) and Reynolds (one inning) also pitched.
Havre de Grace falls
Havre de Grace and St. Mary's resumed their suspended game Friday night at Stancill Park. Havre de Grace, which trailed 5-1 in the third inning when play was stopped Thursday evening, battled back to tie the game at 5-5, before losing 8-5.
The loss forces an "if" game between the two for the right to advance to the East Region Tournament in Worcester, Mass. The deciding game is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday.
In Friday's game, Hailey Bethke's two-run single aided the four-run third inning rally.
Those, however, were the last runs the locals could muster, having a runner gunned down a the plate a few innings later.
St. Mary's, meanwhile, was able to scratch out three unanswered runs over the final three innings to seal the win.
The game had started Thursday evening but was put on hold as persistent rain showers and a bit of thunder and lightning halted the championship game at Stancill Park in Havre de Grace.
Because of the valiant efforts by field crew personnel, Larry Strong, TC Glassman and Dillon Crites, the game was started and played into the third inning before being stopped.
When halted, Havre de Grace was trailing St. Mary's, 5-1, in the top of the third. St. Mary's took advantage of a handful of walks by Havre de Grace starter Sarah Scott. St. Mary's plated three runs in the first inning and two more in the second.
Havre de Grace's lone run came in the first on a two-out, solo home run off the bat of Megan Thompson. It was Havre de Grace's lone hit in two innings.
