Cochranton/Mid-East rallies, downs Meadville 4-3
Jun. 29—COCHRANTON — Tuesday's game between Cochranton/Mid-East and Meadville/Vernon/Titusville came down to late-inning heroics as Cochranton scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning to win 4-3 in the District 1 Softball Little League Finals at McClain Field.
"We pulled it off in the end when we needed to," said Cochranton/Mid-East head coach Ashley Phillips. "I was a little bit nervous. We definitely need to get our bats going but Nora Lescko did a phenomenal job on the mound for Titusville/Meadville/Vernon team. We came through and pulled out the win."
Cochranton's win came courtesy of Jersey Swartz, who initially reached first base but went all the way home after a Meadville error. Swartz's at-bat also scored Karmyn Reese, who reached first via an error, as Cochranton took a one-run lead.
"I told them 'it's now or never' and we needed to go out there and attack with the bats and get on base and then we would have success," Phillips said. "They listened."
After Cochranton scored a run in each of its first two innings at bat, Meadville's offense responded. In the bottom of third, Lescko got to first via a bloop single. After trying to steal to second, Lescko went all the way home after a Cochranton error. After Lescko scored, Mary Herman went to first on another error by Cochranton. Herman subsequently stole second and went to third via an error. After Kylie Crocker drew a walk, Herman scored on a passed ball to tie the game.
Meadville tacked on another run in the bottom of the fifth to briefly take the lead. The inning started with Herman reaching first on another walk. Herman then advanced to second on a passed ball and to third via an error. Crocker then grounded out to Cochranton pitcher Abigail Mawhinney as Meadville took a 3-2 lead heading into the sixth.
Despite falling by one run, Meadville had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Addy Porter drew a walk to go to first. Lescko then singled and sent Porter to third base for her third hit of the game. However, Meadville couldn't get any runners across the plate as a groundout ended the game.
"I thought we dug in a little bit as far as understanding that there was still a lot of time left to be played in the game and the girls got a lot of fight in them," said Meadville/Vernon/Titusville head coach Randy Baker. "I think it shows that they want to battle even in that last inning. I mean we're down a run going into the last inning and we still got runners on."
Mawhinney earned the win for Cochranton after tossing a complete game. Mawhinney allowed four hits, three unearned runs and eight walks to go along with nine strikeouts.
"Abigail did well," Phillips said. "Unfortunately, she wasn't getting her spot she likes, so she pulled through and we got a win. I'm satisfied with her."
Lescko took the loss for Meadville after going the distance. Lescko only allowed three hits, four runs (one earned) and one walk on nine strikeouts.
"Nora was lights out," Baker said. "She's a competitor. She comes and throws strikes, hits her spots well and it doesn't get much better than that."
With the win, Cochranton will move onto Thursday's championship game against an opponent to be determined at 6 p.m.
"Thursday, we play for the championship, which I'm super excited about," Phillips said. "It's here at Cochranton at 6:00 and we've gotta come out and attack."
Alex McGinley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by e-mail at alexm@meadvilletribune.com.
