WVC SOFTBALL: Lady Cougars rally to edge Crestwood

HAZLE TWP . — Heather Natt and her Hazleton Area softball team losing could have picked any one of the following alibis for putting up their hands on Monday: The short-handed Lady Cougars were without two of their leading hitters because of injury (Olivia Williams) or illness (Saige Klesh). Their reshuffled lineup struggled to gain traction for extended stretches.

They fell behind 6-1 against an opponent overdue to end several years of pent-up frustration against their biggest Wyoming Valley Conference rivals. They also were shaking off five days of rust after miserable weather threw a wrench in their game and practice schedule. Talk of bad cafeteria food at lunch and a dog eating their scouting report also was bandied about.



OK, never mind those last two theories — they’re not true at all — but the others would have been plausible reasons for Crestwood to sneak off with a rare win over Hazleton Area, home or away, after more than a few gut-wrenching losses in recent years. The Lady Cougars, though, chose not to surrender. They scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning and twice more in the fifth to pull within 6-5.

Then, after the Crestwood plated its seventh run in the top of the sixth, freshman Kayla Wyoscky’s two-run triple highlighted a three-run rally in the bottom half that catapulted the Lady Cougars to a wild 8-7 victory. “We just fought. We didn’t give up,” Wysocky said.

“We made good plays, played some good ball and we came back and won.” When Hazleton Area pitcher Isabella Almeida escaped a two-out jam in the top of the seventh, her team’s confidence-boosting win was complete. “We just kept saying over and over, ‘We have to put pressure on (them).

Put the ball in play and (good) things will happen,’” said Natt, whose team improved to 4-1 overall, 3-0 in WVC Division 1. “This helps us big time,” she added. “Our underclassmen, they’re ready to go.

They’re eager, they’re hungry. ..

. Kayla Wyoscky gets that big hit. But it’s not only (them) at the plate.

It’s what’s they’re doing defensively. A lot of underclassmen are stepping up. They’re taking the same reps (repetitions) as our starters, so they can step in at any time for us.

We’re comfortable with (putting) them in those positions.” The Lady Comets (4-5, 1-2) reached a comfort level in the early innings that they’ve seldom enjoyed against Hazleton Area. They trailed 1-0 following Hannah Matyas’ RBI single in the bottom of the first inning, before three-spots in both the second and third innings gave the visitors the upper hand.

In the second, singles by Alexa Toniatti and Mason Mendrzycki and Ella Richards’ two-run double put Crestwood in front for the first time. One out later, Alekzandria Dutko’s single plated Richards with the third run of the inning. After Crestwood’s Brooke Lenahan retired the Lady Cougars in order in the home second, the Lady Comets went back to work in the third.

Jorja Snyder reached on an error leading off before consecutive base hits by Lenahan, Toniatti and Madison Mendrzycki made it 5-1. Two batters later, Celia Stahlnecker singled Toniatto in for a five-run lead for Crestwood. “We had them in the corner with our fists up at them,” Crestwood head coach Dave Koptcho said.

“And then we let up.” Hazleton Area began to nibble away in the bottom of the third. Sofia Rodgers bunted for a single and Kayla Lagowy singled for the second of her third hits on the afternoon and both runners moved up on Wysocky’s sacrifice.

Nanci Major chased both runners home with a double to cut the Lady Comets’ lead to 6-3. Almeida had two of her best innings in the fourth and fifth innings when she set down Crestwood 1-2-3 in both to keep the Lady Cougars within striking distance. “She does her best every day, grinding in the circle every day,” Natt said.

“She does what I ask her to do.” The Lady Cougars pulled within 6-5 in the fifth when Lagowy rocketed a leadoff double to left-center, stole third and scored on another Matyas RBI single. After a Major single, Matyas eventually came home on the back end of a double steal.

Crestwood got one run back in the sixth on Kendall Mendrzycki’s hit that plated Dutko, setting the stage for the Lady Cougars’ game-deciding rally. With one out and a runner on first following Emme Zanolini’s single and fielder’s choice grounder off Kristina Kupsho’s bat, Elia Tito singled and Rodgers dropped down her second perfect bunt single to load the bases with one out and Lagowy up. Lagowy hit a sharp comebacker to Lenahan in her bid to go 4-for-4.

The Crestwood pitcher forced Kupsho at home, but the return throw to first went awry to allow Tito to scamper home to bring Hazleton Area back within one. Then, after falling behind 0-2, Wysocky found the right-centerfield gap for a two-run double that put her team in front to stay. “We don’t quit,” said Wysocky, who also may have been talking about herself.

“I was just looking for a hit after striking out (in her previous at-bat)...

and I got one to the gap.” There were more anxious moments in the top of the seventh after two ground balls to Lagowy resulted in two quick outs. Richards’ second hit in the game and a Hazleton Area error gave the Lady Comets two base runners, but Almeida needed only one pitch to retire Dutko on yet another bouncer to Lagowy.

Game over. “Everybody just stepped up after being down after a couple innings. .

.. The whole team contributed,” Lagowy said.

“I think it gives us a lot of confidence. After a slow start at Wyoming Valley West last week, we were able to bounce back with a lot of hits late in that game and bring that (momentum) into today’s game.” The Lady Cougars will to continue that momentum at Wilkes-Barre Area on Wednesday.

Crestwood will play host to Pittston Area that same afternoon, looking to regain their edge. “This was a tough one,” Koptcho admitted. “I told my girls, ‘(We lost) to a much hungrier team today.

’ We backed off when we could have stepped on them and kept rolling and kept rolling, but we didn’t. We just stopped. We’ve gotta get back at it (and) put the pedal back on the throttle.

” Game Summary CRESTWOOD (7) — K. Mendrzycki 2b 4 0 1 1, Snyder c 4 1 1 0, Lenahan p 4 0 1 1, DeJesus cr 0 1 0 0, Toniatti 1b 4 2 2 0, M. Mendrzycki rf 4 1 2 1, Richards cf 4 1 2 2, Stahlnecker ss 4 0 2 1, Dutko lf 4 1 1 1, Stofko 3b 2 0 0 0, Van den Berg ph 1 0 0 0.

Totals 35 7 12 7. HAZLETON AREA (8) — Lagowy ss 4 4 3 0, Wysocky rf 2 0 1 2, Matyas lf 4 1 2 2, Major c 3 0 2 2, Boyle 3b 2 0 0 0, Blanyar ph-3b 1 0 0 0, Zanolini dp 3 0 1 0, Sachs pr 0 0 0 0, Meyers 1b 2 0 0 0, Kupsho ph 1 0 0 0, Tito 2b 3 1 2 0, Rodgers cf 3 2 2 0, Almeida p-flex 0 0 0 0. Totals 28 8 13 6.

Crestwood (4-5, 1-2) 033 001 0 — 7 Hazleton Area (4-1, 3-0) 102 023 x — 8 E —Crestwood 1, Hazleton Area 2. LOB — Crestwood 7, Hazleton Area 4. 2B — Richards, Dutko, Lagowy 2, Major.

3B — Wysocky. SB — Dutko, Lagowy 2, Matyas, Major. S — Wysocky 2.

Crestwood IP H R ER BB K Lenahan L 6.0 13 8 7 0 6 Hazleton Area IP H R ER BB K Almeida W 7.0 12 7 6 0 0.