DUBOIS, Pa. – In a back-and-forth affair, State College scored five unearned runs in the top of the ninth inning to end DuBois Central Catholic’s 14-game regular-season win streak with a 10-6 victory at Heindl Field in DuBois.
Rewatch the game
Errors six and seven against DCC (12-1) proved to be the Lady Cardinals’ undoing.
With the game tied at five, Ava Babcock led off the ninth by drawing a lead-off walk, the seventh straight inning the Lady Lions put its lead-off batter on base.
Gabi Todd followed by laying down a sacrifice bunt that ended with runners on second and third when Melia Mitskavich’s throw from third base eluded second baseman, Lauren Davidson.
Brooke Weaver then popped a ball into foul territory, but Rose Whipple dropped the ball giving Weaver a second chance. She took advantage of that by reaching on a chopper in front of the plate that ended as a single when DCC didn’t cover first base loading the bases.
A sac fly to left field by Meredith Meenges gave State College a 6-5 lead, and then, after DCC got an out at home plate, Jessica Hawbaker doubled home a pair of runs to make it 8-5. Sydney Wells then singled home Hawbaker, and Wells came home on a double by Addy Harpster to make it 10-5.
DCC did get a run back in the bottom of the inning on a one-out single to center by Whipple, but that was as close as the Lady Cardinals got.
Up 3-0 after two innings, DCC found itself down 4-3 going to the bottom of the fifth but tied the game on a wild pitch.
State College went back ahead, 6-5, with a run in the top of the sixth before the Lady Cardinals tied the game in dramatic fashion in the seventh.
Jessy Frank reached on an error by the shortstop, Hawbaker, to lead off the inning and then ran through third base coach/manager George Heigel’s stop sign on a one-out double to right-center by Mitskavich.
But neither Whipple nor Marina Hanes get the clutch hit to drive home Mitskavich with what would have been the winning run.
Todd had a strong game for State College and was named the Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Game. She was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored while also making a sensational diving catch in the second inning on a ball hit by Kali Franklin. DCC led 3-0 at the time and had a runner on first with no one out. If the ball had gotten past Todd, it very likely would have made it 4 or 5-0 Lady Cardinals and changed the entire complexion of the game.
Hawbaker also went 3-for-6 with a double, two runs scored, and two RBIs for the Lady Lions with Wells going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Frank, who was 1-for-4 with a walk scored three times for DCC while Risser went 2-for-5 with a run scored, and Whipple, the lone senior on Senior Day, was 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.
Harpster got the win going nine innings allowing six runs, four earned, on eight hits and six walks while striking out seven.
Rylee Kulbatsly took the loss going nine innings allowing 10 runs, four earned, on 14 hits and four walks while striking out six.
DCC’s last regular-season loss prior to Wednesday was a 13-1 defeat by DuBois in the City Classic on May 14, 2022. The Class 1A Lady Cardinals haven’t lost a regular-season game on the field (there were a couple of forfeits in 2019 because of a clerical error) to a team that wasn’t Class 4A or above since 2015.
BASEBALL
FRANKLIN 8, SLIPPERY ROCK 7
FRANKLIN, Pa. – Ethan Nightingale scored on a wild pitch in the fifth inning, breaking a 7-7 tie and scoring what was ultimately the winning run in Franklin’s 8-7 win over Slippery Rock.
Franklin jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first inning, with Zach Boland belting a 3-run home run.
Slippery Rock answered with four runs in the top of the fifth on a two-run double from Dylan Gordon and an RBI single from Nick Kingerski that tied the game.
Drew Kockler was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs for Franklin, while Alex Wible, Kadin Karns, Evan Turner, and Aidan McCraken had an RBI each.
Nightingale got the win with three scoreless innings of relief, working around three hits and six walks while striking out a pair.
Sal Mineo had three hits, walked twice, and scored a pair of runs for Slippery Rock, while Ryan Double was 2-for-5 with a double and a run and Luke Allison was 2-for-3 with a run.
Double took the loss, allowing two runs in 2 ⅔ innings on three hits and four walks while striking out three.
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC 15, VENANGO CATHOLIC 0, 3 innings
DUBOIS, Pa. – Brayden Fox drove in three runs as DuBois Central Catholic scored 11 runs in the second inning on its way to a 15-0, 3-inning win over Venango Catholic.
Fox was one of five Cardinals with multiple RBIs. Andrew Green was 1-for-1 with a triple and two RBIs, while Carter Hickman was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs, Carter Kosko was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Matt Pyne was 1-for-1 with two runs and two RBIs.
Also for the Cardinals, Kaden Brezenski was 2-for-3 with a double, triple, and two runs and Aiden Snowberger was 2-for-2 with two runs.
Kosko tossed a pair of shutout innings for the Cardinals, allowing two hits, striking out two, and walking one.
James Henry took the loss, allowing 11 runs in 1 ⅔ innings on 10 hits, striking out one and walking two. Henry also had a hit and walked.
DUBOIS 15, BRADFORD 0, 3 innings
DUBOIS, Pa. – Kaden Clark went 3-for-3 with a double, four RBIs, and two runs as DuBois beat Bradford 15-0 in three innings.
The Beavers scored six runs in the first and nine in the second, taking advantage of eight walks issued by Bradford pitching.
Noah Farrell was 3-for-3 with a double, RBI, and three runs for the Beavers, while Tyler Chamberlin walked twice and had two RBIs and two runs, and Davey Aughenbaugh was 1-for-1 with two RBIs. Trey Wingard, Myers, Billy Gray, and Gavin Kaschalk had one RBI each.
Brock Smith tossed three shutout innings, allowing just one hit, striking out four, and walking three.
Anthony Lama suffered the loss, allowing seven runs in 1 ⅓ innings on five hits and four walks.
NORTH PENN-MANSFIELD 15, NORTHERN POTTER 0, 4 innings
MANSFIELD, Pa. – Derek Litzelman drove in a pair of runs as North Penn-Mansfield scored seven runs in the first inning and six in the third in a 15-0, 4-inning win over Northern Potter.
Litzelman (2 innings), Alex Davis (1 inning), and Kohen Lehman (1 inning) combined on four no-hit innings, combining to strike out eight and walk two.
Cooper Shaw had two hits and an RBI for Mansfield, while Davis, Lehman, Easton Pequignot, and Justin Hurlbert had one RBI each.
CATHEDRAL PREP 11, CORRY 1, 5 innings
CORRY, Pa. – Andrew Costello keyed a 6-run third inning with a 2-run home run as Cathedral Prep stayed perfect with an 11-1, 5-inning win over Corry.
Jason Fultz had a 2-run bomb of his own an inning later for the Ramblers and finished with a team-high three RBIs.
Davin Friedman, Luke Costello, and Cole Constable had an RBI each for the Ramblers, with Constable, Nick Jackson and Fultz scoring two runs each.
Carson Phillips went four scoreless innings to get the win, striking out nine and allowing just two hits and two walks.
Ethyn Allen drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning to account for Corry’s lone run.
Jon Albers took the loss, allowing six runs in three innings on six hits and three walks while striking out six.
