MAHANOY CITY — On any given Saturday.
With a nod to the National Football League on draft weekend, Mahanoy Area proved that any team can win or lose on any given day.
Coming off a 10-run loss to Marian less than 24 hours prior, the Golden Bears knocked off Pine Grove 8-4 on Saturday in the park across the street from Alumni Stadium.
The Cardinals (12-6) entered the game as one of the hottest teams in the Schuylkill League. They had gone 10-2 since a 2-3 start.
But Mahanoy Area (8-8) took advantage of Pine Grove’s sloppy start and led from start to finish.
“We were coming today to win. We were accepting nothing less,’’ senior center fielder Tamara Tunstall said. “We played our hardest, and I couldn’t be prouder of us.’’
Pine Grove walked the leadoff batter — a recipe for disaster — three of the six times the Bears batted.
After leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, Mahanoy Area made the Cards’ miscues hurt in the second.
The Bears bunched three hits, a walk and four PGA errors to build a 5-0 lead. Kelly Walinchus slugged a three-run double to deep left, and Tunstall followed with an RBI single.
“Mahanoy came to play,’’ Pine Grove coach Ryan Leffler said. “They deserved to beat us today. It was their day.
“Sometimes they think we’re good enough, but we’re not there yet,’’ he added. “We’re going to get back to the fundamentals. ... Giving 110 percent at practice is how we’re going to get better.’’
While Pine Grove couldn’t get much going over the first four innings, Mahanoy Area played a lot of winning softball:
• Winning pitcher Emily Bruce gave up 12 hits (11 singles) but limited the damage by striking out six and walking none;
• The defense made just one error behind her, and catcher Hannah Bruce threw out two runners trying to steal;
• The Bears bunched their hits, notching three in each of the three innings in which they scored. Eight different players scored a run, and everybody in the starting lineup had at least one hit, a run scored or an RBI.
“We’re not ever going to have confidence of beating a big team until we beat that team,’’ Mahanoy Area coach Joe Hullihan said. “So start building confidence one play at a time. That’s what we did today — got simple, routine outs, didn’t rush, and it worked.
“Hopefully we have something to build on here.’’
Pine Grove finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth when Mackenzie Hasenauer lined an RBI single to right field.
Mahanoy Area answered in the bottom half on RBI singles by Jamie Rago and Jayda Byrne for a 7-1 advantage.
The Cardinals rallied in the sixth as Faith Sleva laced a two-run double and McKenzee Warner rapped an RBI single. That cut the deficit to 7-4, but by then it was too little, too late.
“They took it to us today,’’ Leffler said. “They deserve all the credit in the world. It’s a wake-up call for our team. We’re beatable like any other team if we don’t show up.’’
Recently, Mahanoy Area has become Pine Grove’s non-league nemesis. The Bears won last year’s meeting 7-3 as Pine Grove finished 9-11 and out of the district playoffs.
The Cardinals have already qualified for the postseason, while Mahanoy Area needs two victories in its final four games to earn a spot. That’s a huge goal for the Bears’ senior class, which aspires to qualify for the fourth straight season.
“We want it so bad,’’ Tunstall said. “We’ve wanted it all season, and today really showed that we want it.’’
Game Summary
PINE GROVE (4) — Hasenauer 1b 4 0 1 1, Kaufman 2b 4 1 3 0, Wolff c 4 1 2 0, Sleva ss 4 1 1 2, Becher p-ph 2 0 1 0, Flick cr 0 0 0 0, Schach p 1 0 0 0, Hindman lf 3 0 0 0, Warner rf 3 1 2 1, Whitman 3b 2 0 1 0, Lesh cf 3 0 1 0. Totals 30 4 12 4.
MAHANOY AREA (8) — Malacusky lf 3 1 1 0, H. Bruce c 3 1 0 0, Walinchus ss 3 1 2 3, Tunstall cf 3 1 2 1, E. Bruce p 2 1 0 0, Davidson 3b 4 1 2 1, Bisco 2b 3 1 0 0, Rago 1b 4 1 1 1, Byrne rf 3 0 1 1. Totals 28 8 9 7.
PG (12-6) 000 013 0 — 4
MA (8-8) 050 021 x — 8
E — Pine Grove 5, Mahanoy Area 1. LOB — Pine Grove 6, Mahanoy Area 9. 2B — Sleva, Walinchus, Tunstall. CS — Hasenauer, Flick, Walinchus. S — Whitman.
Pine Grove IP H R ER BB K
Becher L,4-2 1 0 2 0 5 0
Schach 5 9 6 3 1 3
Mahanoy IP H R ER BB K
E. Bruce W,6-8 7 12 4 4 0 6
Becher pitched to 2 batters in the 2nd.
WP — Schach. PB — Wolff. T — 1:51.