BROCKWAY, Pa. (D9Sports) — For three innings, Karns City’s Cinderella story looked like it might just keep getting better.
(Photo: Alyssa Stitt, who was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI Tuesday. Photo by Mike Schnelle. Check out more of Schnelle’s work here)
The heavy underdog Lady Gremlins used a six-run third to take a surprising 6-4 lead on WPIAL runner-up Deer Lakes only to watch the dream of an upset go away when the Lancers broke a 6-all tie with an eight-run fifth inning that saw Karns City commit four of their 10 errors for the game on their way to a 16-6 victory in the PIAA Class 3A first round at Brockway High School.
But before the fifth, it was a positive experience for the young Lady Gremlins, who had only one senior and one junior on the roster this season.
After falling behind 4-0 after 2 ½ innings, they sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the third scoring six times to take the lead.
Emily Wolfe and Alyssa Stitt had back-to-back singles leading off the inning before Wolfe was retired at third on a fielder’s choice for the first out.
MacKenzie Dunn followed with an RBI single, and Kate Allen singled to load the bases for Sami Grazioli, who doubled home a pair of runs to make it 4-3. Allen then scored on a wild pitch, and Grazioli scored on a base hit by Chandley Stuchell, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored on the day.
Deer Lakes tied the game up with a pair of runs in the fourth before taking control with the eight-run fifth.
Stitt and Dunn were also both 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI for Karns City, while Grazioli was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Dunn and Grazioli had doubles.
Katelyn Blair went 3-for-4 with a double, four runs scored and an RBI for Deer Lakes with Kristen Rudy going 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Makayla Blair added a 3-for-5 day with a triple, a double, a run scored and three RBIs.
Logan Byers took the loss going 6 ⅓ innings allowing 11 runs, five earned, on 13 hits and two walks while striking out one. Makenzie Shay pitched ⅔ of an inning giving up five runs, four earned, on three hits and a walk while striking out one.
