BUTLER, Pa. (D9Sports) — Karns City built an 8-0 lead after three innings and then held off a Keystone rally to pick up an 8-4 win Tuesday night at Kelly Automotive Park in Butler.

(Photo of Karns City’s Alyssa Stitt. Photo by Mike Schnelle. Check out more of Schnelle’s work here)

“I think if we take the first two innings away, we actually win the game,” Keystone manager John Stiglitz said. “Unfortunately, you can’t do that. We have a lot of youth, a lot of young girls playing out there. I expected them to be a little nervous at first. If they keep playing with that intensity, I think it will be a much-improved team in the upcoming weeks.”

Karns City (2-0) took advantage of some of that early nervousness to score five unearned runs — six in all — in the first two innings

RBIs from Makala Bailey, on a groundout, and Kate Allen, when she reached on an error, scored Mackenzie Dunn and Alyssa Stitt in the first inning to put the Lady Gremlins up 2-0.

Dunn had led off the inning with a single, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before Stitt walked with one out and stole second.

Karns City added four more runs in the second thanks in large part to a two-out error on a bunted ball by Sami Graziolli after one run had scored to make it 3-0.

Following the error, which allowed Graziolli to reach second, Stitt followed with an RBI single to left, and Bailey added another RBI single to right that saw Stitt score all the way from first when Keystone failed to get the ball into the infield to make it 6-0.

Stitt, only a sophomore but one of the few really experienced players on the Karns City roster that has just one senior and one junior, finished the day 1-for-2 with a walk, two runs scored and a stolen base. She talked about the team’s and her performance after the game.

Two more runs in the third helped push the Karns City lead to 8-0, although one of the runs shouldn’t have counted.

With two outs, Emily Wolfe was hit by a pitch, stole second and went to third on an error by second baseman Autumn Rapp. She then scored on a base hit to center by Katie Neff.

Dunn followed with a shot to the gap into the left-center field apparently scoring Neff and herself when Keystone overshot the cutoff man.

But Keystone appealed the play at third saying Neff had missed the bag, and the umpire agreed ringing Neff up for the third out.

A discussion then ensued between the two umpires, Stiglitz and Karns City manager Mike Stitt, and it was determined by the umpires that while Neff was out for the third out of the inning, Dunn’s run counted.

“He told me the second run scores because it’s an appeal play after the run scores,” Stiglitz said. “I don’t think so. You could do that on purpose. Neither run should have scored. I’m sure of it. It was one run. I can’t say it cost us the game. If it had been a one-run game, I probably would have been upset. I can’t get thrown out of the game for it.”

Stiglitz said he was told there was no appeals process even though it was a rule-book decision.

Stitt said the explanation he got was similar.

“The runner behind her hit the bag and went in,” Stitt said. “So they said the run had to score, then they called the out.”

A quick look at the rulebook showed that Stiglitz was correct. The umpires missed the call.

Article 8 of Section 3 “Touching the Bases in Legal Order” of Rule 8 “Batter-Runner and Runner” reads:

“Failure of a preceding runner to touch a base or to legally tag up on a caught fly ball, and who is declared out, does not affect the status of the succeeding runner who touches bases in proper order. If the failure to touch a base in regular order or to legally tag up on a caught fly ball is the third out of the inning, no succeeding runner may score a run.”

Because Neff was the third out, Dunn’s run shouldn’t have counted according to the rule book.

Down eight, Keystone did anything but fold.

Back-to-back doubles by Dani Larrow and Karly Berkery in the fourth scored Jessi Phillipi, who started the inning by drawing a walk, and Larrow. Berkery then scored on a suicide squeeze by Alyssa Dunlap to make it 8-3.

The Lady Panthers added another run in the fifth when Phillipi, who was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and two stolen bases while reaching base three times, singled, stole second and went to third on a based ball before scoring on a triple to left-center by Berkery, who was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

While Keystone was scoring, Lady Panthers pitcher McKenna Stiller, who was only charged with two earned runs, settled in striking out six of the final seven batters she faced and seven of the last 10 she faced.

“I think she was just hitting her spots and hitting the pitches we were calling,” Stiglitz said. “I think the biggest improvement has been this year in the off season from other years for her. I feel she can one of the top pitchers in the league. She won’t overpower you, but she has the pitches to show you different pitches.”

Dunn picked up the win for Karns City throwing four innings allowing three runs and striking out three.