HEGINS — On one hand, Taryn Wilson did something new Thursday afternoon.
“It was definitely a cold game, probably the first game I’ve ever played in the snow,’’ the Tri-Valley senior said with a laugh.
On the other hand, Wilson also did something she’s done all season — dominate opposing batters. As flurries fell and temperatures tumbled into the low 40s, the hard-throwing right-hander hurled a one-hit shutout to lead the Dawgs over Mahanoy Area 11-0 in a Schuylkill League Division II-III crossover game.
“We stayed on top of our game and wanted to get it done and over with,’’ Wilson said. “So we all did our best.’’
Wilson did her part by retiring the first 12 batters she faced. Mahanoy Area’s Tamara Tunstall led off the fifth with a triple for her team’s only hit of the game, but Wilson stranded runners at second and third with back-to-back strikeouts. In five innings, she struck out 13 and walked one.
Tri-Valley (10-1, 6-1 D-II) gave its pitcher plenty of support by sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Leadoff hitter Wendy Header singled, doubled, scored a run and knocked in one — in the first inning alone.
No. 3 batter Maddie Horn
laced a two-run single, and Megan Boyer and Brittany Geist rapped RBI singles as the Dawgs bunched seven hits in the inning. Horn had a big day, going 2-for-2 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base.
“Considering the conditions for both teams, I was very happily surprised that we came out in the first inning swinging the bats like that,’’ Tri-Valley coach Marty Shade said.
No. 2 hitter Taylor Header had a pair of bunt singles and scored twice for the Dawgs. The top three hitters in the Tri-Valley lineup went a combined 6-for-8 with five runs scored and four RBIs.
With the crossover games nearly complete, both Mahanoy Area and Tri-Valley will turn their attention back to their respective divisions for the stretch run.
The Golden Bears (4-6, 3-3 D-III) are one game behind Marian (6-4, 4-2), whose game against Nativity was postponed Thursday. Mahanoy Area plays Marian once more and controls its fate for both the league and district playoffs.
“The goal was to come out here and compete a little better than we did,’’ Mahanoy Area coach Joe Hullihan said. “The goals for the rest of the season are to continue to improve, beat the teams we should beat, compete with teams we should be competing with and steal a win or two from a team like (Tri-Valley). The goals are still playoffs.’’
Meanwhile, Tri-Valley prepares for the second time around against Minersville, Williams Valley, Schuylkill Haven and Nativity.
The top three teams in Division II matched each other with decisive victories. The Dawgs are tied for first place with Williams Valley (12-1, 6-1), with Minersville (7-2, 5-1) just a half-game back.
“We’re not where we want to be — yet,’’ Shade said. “We’re getting better. We still have some things to work on.
“We have a tough game on Saturday with Tamaqua, and then next week Division II, Round 2 starts,’’ he added. “It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be interesting, and that’s why we play.’’
Game Summary
MAHANOY AREA (0) — H. Bruce c 2 0 0 0, Walinchus ss 2 0 0 0, E. Bruce p 2 0 0 0, Tunstall rf 2 0 1 0, Malacusky cf 2 0 0 0, Davidson 3b 1 0 0 0, Bisco 2b 2 0 0 0, Rago 1b 2 0 0 0, Byrne lf 1 0 0 0. Totals 16 0 1 0.
TRI-VALLEY (11) — W. Header ss 3 1 2 1, T. Header lf 3 2 2 0, Horn cf 2 2 2 3, Wilson p 3 0 1 0, Roth cr 0 2 0 0, Troutman c 3 0 1 1, Underkoffler cr 0 1 0 0, Ebersole 2b 2 1 0 0, Sherry 3b 1 0 0 1, Otto 1b 1 0 1 1, Boyer 1b-3b 3 1 2 1, Geist dp 3 1 1 1, Deeter rf 0 0 0 0. Totals 24 11 12 9.
MA (4-6, 3-3) 000 00 — 0
TV (10-1, 6-1) 700 4x — 11
E — Mahanoy Area 2, Tri-Valley 0. LOB — Mahanoy Area 2, Tri-Valley 5. 2B — W. Header. 3B — Tunstall. SB — Davidson, Horn, Ebersole. S — Sherry.
Mahanoy IP H R ER BB K
E. Bruce L,3-6 4 12 11 10 2 1
Tri-Valley IP H R ER BB K
Wilson W,10-1 5 1 0 0 1 13
WP — E. Bruce 2. PB — H. Bruce 2. T — 1:05.