NEW TRIPOLI — Solid pitching can often make hitters feel like they are running into a brick wall.
Blue Mountain’s lineup must have felt that way Tuesday, as the Eagles’ sluggish start came back to haunt them in their District 11 Class AAA quarterfinal against Northwestern Lehigh.
Blue Mountain’s seventh-inning rally came up short as the Eagles fell to the Tigers 5-2 thanks to a stellar pitching performance from Northwestern Lehigh’s Lydia Danner.
Danner allowed two runs on six hits, walking two and striking out four in a complete-game effort.
“She definitely kept us under control,” Blue Mountain coach Gerry Kresge said. “We can usually find our bats, that’s our strength, but she definitely kept us under control. No doubt about it.”
No. 4 Northwestern Lehigh (12-9) advances to Thursday’s semifinals. The Tigers will face top-seeded Southern Lehigh (19-3) at 4 p.m. at Patriots Park.
Both of Danner’s earned runs came in the seventh inning, when Blue Mountain’s bats finally started to come alive.
Karissa Elser, Jessica Kowalski and Lindsay LaScala singled to start the inning before Erika Gerace hit an RBI single to get her team on the board.
Sydney Spotts came in as a pinch-hitter and knocked in another run with an RBI groundout, but a popup and a forceout at third base stopped the Eagles’ chances of a comeback.
Gerace, Blue Mountain’s starting pitcher, was tagged with five runs on three hits, while walking four and striking out three, over four innings.
“She didn’t throw a bad game; it was just timely hitting,” Kresge said. “One or two walks and then a timely hit is a recipe for disaster in any close playoff game.”
The Tigers went up 1-0 in the bottom of the first when Danner came around to score on an RBI groundout by Brooke Wehr.
The starting pitchers on both sides then took control as Danner and Gerace both hurled a pair of 1-2-3 innings.
Northwestern Lehigh extended its lead with a three-run fourth. Avery George hit an RBI single and Ellen Marie Smith picked up an RBI double to give her team a 4-0 lead.
The Tigers got one more run on an error in the fifth to put them up 5-0.
After Danner breezed through the sixth, she finally ran into trouble in the seventh when Blue Mountain started to string hits together.
The Eagles picked up four of their six total hits in the final frame, all before Danner had recorded her first out.
“These girls battled all year whether we were down 14 runs or it was a one-run game,” Kresge said. “I’m so proud of them. They worked their tails off, and I wish the season started over again tomorrow.”
The Eagles finished their season with a 10-11 record in what was Kresge’s first year at the helm. His team began the year hovering around .500 before winning its final three games to qualify for districts.
The mentality of finishing strong carried over into Tuesday’s loss. Despite facing a five-run deficit, Blue Mountain fought until its final out.
“When I took the job, a lot of these girls said they wanted to get better at finishing games because they were losing them in the late innings last year,” Kresge said. “This year, we learned how to finish games tremendously, but we started off slow.
“Next year, if we could just get the two to merge together, we’ll be in great shape.”
Game Summary
District 11 Class AAA Quarterfinal
At New Tripoli
BLUE MOUNTAIN (2) — Labe c 3 0 1 0, Harding rf 2 0 0 0, Taylor ph 1 0 0 0, Skoff cf 3 0 0 0, Washko dp-p 2 0 0 0, Yeakley ph 1 0 1 0, Elser lf 3 1 1 0, Kowalski 3b 3 1 1 0, LaScala 1b 3 0 1 0, Gerace p 3 0 1 1, Renninger ss 2 0 0 0, Spotts ph 1 0 0 1, Bowers 2b 0 0 0 0. Totals 27 2 6 2.
NORTHWESTERN LEHIGH (5) — Danner p 3 1 1 0, Wehr c 3 1 0 2, Greenberg 1b 3 0 0 0, Bowers 3b 3 0 0 0, George 2b 3 1 2 1, O’Dea ss 1 1 0 0, Smith cf 3 0 1 2, Badman rf 2 0 0 0, Billig 1 1 0 0. Totals 22 5 4 5.
BM (10-11) 000 000 2 — 2
NW Leh. (12-9) 100 310 x — 5
E — Blue Mountain 1, Northwestern Lehigh 0. LOB — Blue Mountain 7, Northwestern Lehigh 6. 2B — Smith. SB — Danner 2, Wehr, George. CS — George.
Blue Mtn. IP H R ER BB K
Gerace L,4-6 4 3 5 4 4 3
Washko 2 1 0 0 0 2
NW Lehigh IP H R ER BB K
Danner W 7 6 2 2 2 4
HBP — by Washko (O’Dea). PB — Washko. T — 1:43.