Prior to Penn Manor's District Three 5A quarterfinal matchup against Hempfield, head coach Dave Stokes stressed to his young Comet squad that beating a team three times is no easy task. Little did he know the Comets would do that not once, but twice. And will have the opportunity for a third time when they face L-L League foe, Manheim Township, in the district title game.
The Comets blanked Hempfield 2-0 on Thursday, May 26 and then held off Warwick 2-1 in last Tuesdays' semifinal. By virtue of their No. 2 ranking, both games were held on their home field at Manor Middle School.
"Everything happened in that first inning," said Stokes of the victory over Warwick. "It was frustrating because we left a number of runners on base. We just did not get the hit we needed, or the game could have been 7 or 8-2."
The hosts, who defeated Warwick 8-3 on April 1 and 5-1 on April 29, gave up the opening run. Julie Bowmaster gave up a single to leadoff hitter Emily Beale. A sac bunt moved Beale to second and an error gave the Warriors an unearned run.
The Comets knotted the score in the bottom half on two out homer by Emily Riggs (2-2). Audrey Paterson followed with a base hit, went to second on a wild pitch and scored what proved to be the game-winning run on a single by Maddie Mitchell (2-3).
Warwick left one on in the second, third and fifth innings and had two on in the fourth.
The Comets suffered a similar fate. They had runners on second and third with one out in the fourth and had first and second with two outs in the fifth.
"It was frustrating," said Stokes. "Their pitching is a little slower and we struggled with that."
Bowmaster scattered three hits, walked one over four innings while Riggs closed the action, striking out two and not giving up a hit over the final three frames.
It was the third straight season Warwick bowed out in the district semis.
The Comets were coming off a shutout over Hempfield, May 26. During the regular season, they defeated the Knights 6-1 and 11-1. This time around, Hempfield threatened in the first inning but Audrey Patterson's strike to Jordan Bailey at home plate ended the opportunity.
Manor scored the only run they really needed in the third. Bria Booth worked a four-pitch walk, was sacrificed to second on Kate Ream's bunt and scored on Kira Green's double. Bailey (2-4) followed with an infield single, and Riggs walked to load the bases with one out. Back-to-back strikeouts ended Manor's hopes of breaking the game open.
The Comets loaded the bags again in the fourth. Regan Soboleski (2-3) reached on base hit, Booth took advantage of a one out error and Ream walked. This time a pair of popups ended the threat.
The hosts gained an insurance run in the fifth when Soboleski smacked a two out, full count single to plate Patterson who walked. They loaded the bags for the third time in the sixth inning and for the third time came up empty.
"We left 11 runners on base," stated Stokes. "But we'll take the win."
Bowmaster struck out three and scattered three hits over the first five innings. Riggs struck out the side in the sixth, gave up a leadoff walk in the seventh but fanned the next three batters to preserve the shutout.
"I can't say enough about our pitchers," said Stokes. "Julie's ball drops and Emily's rises. It is two different looks and it's working. Batters don't have time to make an adjustment the third time through the lineup because we bring Emily on."
The Comets will return to the district final for the third time in school history. They suffered a 1-0, 10 inning loss to Chambersburg in 2016 and fell the next year 13-2, also to Chambersburg. Brittney Hook controlled the circle for the Comets in both games.
TRACK
Penn Manor's Jaryd Kleinhaus was the Comets' lone representative in the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University, May 27-28. In a competition dominated by seniors, Kleinhaus finished 11th in the shot put with a throw of 49-8.25, earning state top 50 recognition.
The senior finished second in the district meet with a 49-11.25 and was a gold medal winner at the L-L League Championships with a 50-1.5. His best toss this year is a 51-04.
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