MINERSVILLE — Clinging to a one-run lead and at 101 pitches on a summer-like Saturday afternoon, Minersville sophomore Maura Bentz calmly returned to the circle for the seventh inning.
A huge crowd and dozens of cars and trucks circled Ken Schneck Field.
Nearby rival Pottsville had touched Bentz for two runs the last time the Crimson Tide came to bat, and they were looking for more.
Instead of wilting in the heat, Bentz got stronger.
Called third strike. Another called strike three on a pitch that painted the inside corner. And a swinging strikeout on high heat to end the game.
Bentz struck out the side in the seventh to clinch Minersville’s 3-2, non-league victory over Pottsville in the annual rivalry game.
“No, no I wasn’t really,’’ Bentz said when asked if she was getting tired. “We throw a lot to condition ourselves so we’re ready for this (weather).’’
Bentz (4-0) threw 114 pitches, 77 for strikes. She allowed six hits and two runs while striking out 10 and walking two.
Her defense turned two double plays and made several other tough plays to keep Pottsville (7-3) from coming back from a 3-0 deficit.
“It’s always a game like this, no matter what sport it is,’’ Minersville center fielder Adrienne Kroznuskie said.
Trailing by three in the sixth inning, Pottsville coach Chuck Rinaldo challenged his team to
show some fight and not go away quietly.
“Our kids responded,’’ Rinaldo said.
In a big way.
With one out, Elise Horvath walked and Katie Deegan singled to set the table. Rachael Setlock followed by crushing a two-run triple to deep center field.
Kroznuskie and shortstop Abby Schoffstall (more on them later) executed the cutoff play perfectly to hold Setlock at third base.
Then the Tide twice tried to safety squeeze the tying run home to no avail. First, Rachel Coyle bunted, but Minersville held Setlock at third while Coyle scampered to second base.
Sara Tobin then dropped another bunt. Third baseman Rachel Sterner checked the runner and threw to Emily Mealey at first base. Setlock took off for the plate, but Mealey fired to catcher Alli Polinsky, who applied the tag to complete a 5-3-2 double play that preserved Minersville’s 3-2 lead.
“It felt great, it really did,’’ Bentz said. “I knew if I missed my spot and they hit it, my defense would back me up.’’
Minersville coach Dave Homa called the Kroznuskie-Schoffstall relay one of the plays of the game.
“She kept a home run into a triple, which led to the double play,’’ Homa said of Kroznuskie. “Hit the cutoff, perfect play. ... That’s what’s going to win you ballgames in the end.’’
Minersville needs to look no further than the final out of last season’s state championship game when Alyse Ryan, Reighly Melochick and Morgen Woodford executed a perfect relay to cut down a run at the plate.
Pottsville had other chances to score, including leaving the bases loaded in the first inning.
“The loss is tough, but we’ve got to continue to play,’’ Rinaldo said. “Minersville’s a good team. The game’s all about opportunities. We had our opportunities, but we didn’t cash in.
“The little things win big games. We’ll work on that,’’ he added. “Minersville took advantage of their opportunities and got those two big home runs.’’
The Miners (6-2) used a pair of Pottsville errors to score in the fourth inning. Polinsky connected on an RBI single that gave Minersville a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth, Schoffstall and Kroznuskie led off with back-to-back solo home runs to make it 3-0.
Schoffstall, who tried to bunt her way on a few times, roped a liner to right-center and circled the bases for her first varsity round-tripper.
Kroznuskie followed with a towering drive to left that would have been out of almost every softball stadium in Pennsylvania. The mammoth shot was her fifth homer of the season.
“Coming off the bat, it felt great,’’ Kroznuskie said. “I knew I had to back my team up to help our pitcher out. She did a phenomenal job out there, and we’re all very, very proud of her.’’
Pottsville pushed Bentz and the Miners to the brink in the sixth inning, but they kept their composure and found a way.
By the way, Minersville started one senior, two juniors, six sophomores and one freshman Saturday.
“The maturation ... it’s the basketball crowd. They’ve played (in front of) 5,000 people at Martz Hall,’’ Homa said. “I don’t think the pressure gets to them too much. I think it gets to the old man (me) more than them.
“We’re coming around now. ... They’re not there yet,’’ he added, “but we’re moving along at a fast pace.’’
Game Summary
POTTSVILLE (2) — Ma. Garland dp 4 0 1 0, Boris rf 4 0 0 0, Mi. Garland 2b 3 0 2 0, Horvath 3b 1 0 0 0, Porter pr 0 1 0 0, Deegan ss 3 1 2 0, Setlock cf 3 0 1 2, Coyle 1b 2 0 0 0, Tobin p 3 0 0 0, Dusel c 1 0 0 0, Moran ph 1 0 0 0, Naradko ph 1 0 0 0, Mates lf 0 0 0 0. Totals 26 2 6 2.
MINERSVILLE (3) — Kroznuskie cf 3 1 2 1, Snyder rf 3 0 0 0, Bentz p 3 0 0 0, Mealey 1b 3 0 1 0, Kriston pr 0 0 0 0, Sterner 3b 2 1 1 0, Schwalm dp 3 0 2 0, Polinsky c 3 0 2 1, Ebert 2b 2 0 0 0, Schoffstall ss 3 1 1 1, Wigoda lf 0 0 0 0. Totals 25 3 9 3.
Potts (7-3) 000 002 0 — 2
Miners (6-2) 000 120 x — 3
E — Pottsville 2, Minersville 1. DP — Pottsville 1, Minersville 2. LOB — Pottsville 6, Minersville 6. 2B — Sterner. 3B — Setlock. HR — Schoffstall, Kroznuskie. SB — Mi. Garland, Coyle, Kroznuskie. S — Coyle, Sterner, Ebert.
Pottsville IP H R ER BB K
Tobin L,5-2 6 9 3 2 0 4
Minersville IP H R ER BB K
Bentz W,4-0 7 6 2 2 2 10
T — 1:25.