HEGINS — Tri-Valley is an experienced team that knows how to win.
Upper Dauphin is an inexperienced team that’s still trying to figure it out.
Yet the Trojans took a one-run lead into the bottom of the fifth inning of Tuesday’s non-league game.
UDA had all the momentum and had the Dawgs in danger of an upset loss.
Not for long.
Tri-Valley erupted for an eight-run rally in the bottom of the fifth and cruised the rest of the way to an 11-3 victory.
The Dawgs (13-1) sent 12 batters to the plate and six of them connected for hits. Winning pitcher Taryn Wilson helped herself with a grand slam way over the center fielder’s head that gave her team the lead for good. Wendy Header added a two-run single in the inning.
In the sixth, Wilson delivered the perfect shutdown inning, retiring the Trojans 1-2-3 on five pitches. The senior right-hander finished with a four-hitter and retired eight of the final nine batters she faced.
“When things go bad, you can’t put your head down and pout about it and cry about it,’’ Upper Dauphin coach Chad Everhart said. “You’ve got to dig deep, and you’ve got to fight back.
“I think that was the most disappointing thing. We didn’t do that,’’ he added. “That goes with being a young team. We’re still learning how to be a team, how to be competitive and maybe be a little tough. It’s something we’ve struggled with this year.’’
In the early going, Tri-Valley struck first, getting RBI singles from Wendy and Taylor Header for a 2-0 lead after two innings.
Upper Dauphin, though, chipped away and took a 3-2 lead after 4.5 innings.
In the fourth, Kaytee Mattern delivered an RBI single and McKayla Grow followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2.
In the fifth, Taylor Brown hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Kendra Schlegel with the go-ahead run.
Everything seemed to be going Upper Dauphin’s way, but the Trojans (5-8) couldn’t finish the job.
After Wilson’s grand slam, Cat Troutman restarted the onslaught with the first of her two triples. A walk and a bunt single loaded the bases with one out.
Upper Dauphin pitcher Lexi Weaver got a strikeout, then a ground ball off the bat of Brittany Geist. But the ball was misplayed, allowing two runs to score. Wendy Header followed with her two-run single to left to make it 10-3.
“You can’t give a good team like that extra outs because they’re gonna kill you,’’ Everhart said. “For five innings, we took it to them. They’re one of the best teams around.’’
For Tri-Valley, leadoff batter Wendy Header went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and one run scored. No. 2 batter Taylor Header went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
“When the two Header girls get on base, it seems to make us go,’’ Tri-Valley coach Marty Shade said.
The Dawgs’ 12-hit performance also came at the perfect time.
In their previous two games, a 2-0 win over Tamaqua and a 2-1 victory over Schuylkill Haven, Tri-Valley managed just four hits in each game.
The Dawgs host Minersville today in a key Schuylkill League Division II game and entertain Williams Valley on Monday.
“We broke out a little bit,’’ Shade said. “We needed it. ... We beat a good team today.’’
Game Summary
UPPER DAUPHIN (3) — Brown ss-p 2 1 1 1, Weaver p-ss 3 0 0 0, Miller lf 2 1 0 0, Matern dp 3 0 1 1, Reed pr 0 0 0 0, Grow 2b 2 0 0 1, Crosby 3b 3 0 1 0, Schlegel rf 3 1 0 0, Walker 1b 2 0 0 0, Snyder cf 3 0 1 0, Klinger c 0 0 0 0. Totals 23 3 4 3.
TRI-VALLEY (11) — W. Header ss 4 1 3 3, T. Header cf 4 1 2 1, Horn lf 2 1 0 0, Wilson p 4 0 3 4, Roth cr 0 1 0 0, Troutman c 4 0 2 0, Underkoffler cr 0 2 0 0, Ebersole 2b 3 1 0 0, Sherry 3b 3 2 2 0, Boyer 2b 2 0 0 0, Geist dp 2 2 0 0, Deeter rf 0 0 0 0. Totals 28 11 12 8.
UDA (5-8) 000 210 0 — 3
TV (13-1) 020 081 x — 11
E — Upper Dauphin 1, Tri-Valley 2. LOB — Upper Dauphin 3, Tri-Valley 4. 2B — Crosby, Sherry. 3B — Troutman 2. HR — Wilson. SB — Reed, Snyder, Roth. CS — Roth. S — Walker, Boyer. SF — Brown, Grow.
U. Dauphin IP H R ER BB K
Weaver L,3-5 4.2 11 10 6 4 5
Brown 1.1 1 1 1 0 1
Tri-Valley IP H R ER BB K
Wilson W,13-1 7 4 3 2 1 5
WP — Weaver 2, Brown. T — 1:30.