Mason first inning blast powers Bucktail to second straight District Championship
By Bees O’Brien
WILLIAMSPORT- Sullivan County’s glass slipper was shattered by Bucktail’s Matti Mason just as quickly as it had arrived. The Lady Griffins were riding high following their 8-4 semifinal upset over Montgomery on Tuesday afternoon.
Mason and her Lady Bucks would not allow the upstart Lady Griffins to keep their Cinderella run alive.
Sullivan County proved worthy of the challenge at hand by plating a pair of runs in the first inning to take a quick 2-0 lead.
Then it was Bucktail’s turn and the defending District IV 1A champions would never look back. Lola English started things off with a walk, followed by a Makenna Stone double and a Mak Wagner single. Wagner and Stone would collect RBI’s to tie things up at 2-2.
Head coach Mike Poorman’s Lady Bucks had only begun their offensive onslaught. Kendall Wagner’s first of two doubles on the day would score her sister from second base to give Bucktail the 3-2 lead.
Senior Gigi Balchun would deliver a single and then it was Matti Mason’s turn. The Bucktail first team All-Conference catcher would rocket a shot over the left-centerfield fence to give her squad the 6-2 lead after one inning.
Sullivan County would build momentum during the Lady Bucks next at bat with three up and three down, but the bleeding would only be stopped momentarily.
In the bottom of the third inning it would be Kendall Wagner again stepping up for Bucktail with a double. Balchun would follow with a single to score Wagner from third base. Mason would crush an RBI double and Alexis Lowery’s RBI single gave the Lady Bucks a 9-2 lead.
Angel Kmetz would then knock in Lowery with a double of her own and she would eventually score on an English double.
Mak Wagner’s second hit of the day would score English and Wagner would then score on a fielder’s choice from Mason and Bucktail led 13-2.
Bucktail would ride the arm of Mak Wagner the rest of the way and eventually end the game with a 5 inning 10-run mercy rule victory.
The win would give Bucktail their second straight PIAA District IV 1A title and third championship overall. It was also the first time in school history that Bucktail has captured district titles in multiple sports, with boys basketball claiming a championship during the winter.
Mason connected on a pair of hits, a home run and a double. She also had 4 RBI’s. Kendall Wagner delivered a pair of hits with a double and triple. Alexis Lowery connected on a triple and a single and Mak Wagner had two singles. Gigi Balchun added a pair of singles. Makenna Stone, Lola English and Angel Kmetz each hit doubles in the title game. Bucktail finished with a total of 13 hits.
Bucktail will next be in action in the PIAA 1A state playoffs, that are tentatively scheduled for June 3 with a site yet to be determined. Opponents will be either Old Forge, Mountain View, Halifax or Greenwood out of the District 2/3 subregional being played over the weekend.
