In a bizarre situation to begin the Tyrone Lady Eagles softball season, the game with Mount Union, at the Harry K. Sickler Sports Complex began on Tuesday, and wasn’t finished until Wednesday!
The explanation is a bit simpler than the fact. The contest was halted on Tuesday because of lightning and rain with Mount Union in the lead 5-2 at the end of two innings. The ballgame was then continued on Wednesday, beginning with the third inning, although the Lady Eagles didn’t benefit from the holdover, dropping a 15-2 decision after five innings to the Mount Union girls.
The Lady Trojans opened the game with a run on Tuesday in the top half of the first, but Tyrone came right back to take a 2-1 lead. Ashley Pennabaker, who had two hits and the only extra-base knock for the Lady Eagles, drilled a double to begin the home half of the first. Lindsay Christine singled to drive in Pennabaker. Christine scored the Lady Eagles’ second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Kim Cherry.
Another strange situation occurred at the beginning of play on Wednesday. Tyrone starting pitcher Laura Thompson was unable to pitch, because of a choral conflict, which Lady Eagles coach Lois Loncher knew about, but was hoping Thompson could make it for the beginning of the restart. While Thompson was sprinting the half mile from the school to the field, the Eagles tried to get Megan Turiano warmed up. Not getting enough time, due to the situation, Turiano walked four Mount Union batters and hit the fifth with a pitch.
“We knew Laura was going to be pushing it to get to the field on time on Wednesday, but we were hoping she would make it,” said coach Loncher. “Then, when she didn’t, Megan didn’t have enough time to warm up adequately, it put her in a tough situation.”
Going in with the bases loaded and one run already in, Thompson re-entered the game at that point, having completed her sprint to the field. Freshman starting pitcher Kassandra Atherton ripped a double and Hockenberry belted a two-run home run to score five of the seven runs Mount Union totaled in the inning.
“We made two crucial errors on Tuesday that led to three runs for Mount union and put us in the hole early,” said Loncher. “Teanna Kobuck made a couple good plays in the field and Ashley Pennabaker also had some nice plays on defense that kept the score from being worse. It was a rough way to start, Mount Union was ready to play, having already played a game.”
Krisha Feathers led Mount union with three hits, including a triple, while Martina Kurtz scored three runs and added two RBI.
Mount Union 15 Tyrone 2
Mount Union – Kurtz, ss 4-3-2; Boozel, cf, 2-1-0; Atherton, p, 4-1-1; Hockenberry, c, 4-2-2; Gruse, lf, 4-0-2; Smith, 3b, 4-1-1; Feathers, 2b, 3-3-3; Menynk, 1b, 3-2-1I; Morrison, rf, 4-2-2. TOTALS 32-14-15.
Tyrone – Pennabaker, cf, 3-1-2; Christine, 1b, 3-1-2; Turiano, 3b-p, 2-0-0; Cherry, c, 1-0-0; Kobuck, lf, 2-0-0; Glashauser, 2b, 2-0-0; Shultz, dh, 2-0 -1; Thompson, p, 2-0-0; Stewart, rf, 0-0 -0; Garbinsky, ss, 2-0-0, Harden, flex, 0-0-0. TOTALS 19-2-2
Mt. Union 147 03 15-14-0
Tyrone 200 00 2- 5-2
2B: MU-Atherton, Menynk, Morrison,
T-Pennabaker.
3B: MU-Feathers.
Multiple Hits: MU- Feathers 3, Kurtz 2, Hockenberry 2, Gruse 2. Morrison,
T-Pennabaker 2, Christine 2.
RBI: MU- Kurtz 2, Atherton 2, Hockenberry 2, Menynk 2, Gruse, Smith,
T- Christine, Cherry.
SO: MU- Atherton 3, T- Thompson 2.
BB: MU- Atherton 1, T- Thompson 1.
WP: Atherton
LP: Thompson
