Towanda Edges Clinton in Rain Shortened Game, 5-4

AdminJuly 6, 2019Last Updated: July 6, 2019

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LOCK HAVEN – It was an eventful Friday evening for the second round of the Little League Junior Softball Section 3 game at the Clinton Softball Field that saw District 15 champion, Towanda edge District 12 champion, Clinton, 5-4 in a rain shortened five-inning contest.

Towanda put up 3 runs in the top of the first inning with Clinton responding with a run of their own in the bottom of the first. Towanda used 2 singles, a Clinton error, a sac fly, and a walk to do the early game damage.

Hana Styers led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple and a sacrifice bunt by Claire Long would score Styers to break the seal on the scoreboard for Clinton.

Towanda added another run in the second inning resulting from a walk, a single and another Clinton miscue for a 4-1 lead.

Clinton would begin to claw their way back into contention in the fourth inning when Audrey Walker hit a hard ground ball and reached base on a Towanda error.

With one out on the board, Kelsey Burrows pounded out a single beating the throw and scoring Walker to close the gap with Clinton still trailing, 4-2.

Towanda picked up another run in the fifth inning using a walk, a fielder’s choice and a Clinton error, extending the Towanda lead to 5-2.

Once more, Clinton went back to work in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jaelyn Tripp led off with a single, Styers reached base on a error. Then Long re-entered the game to pinch run for Tripp and would score on the same miscue. Styers would then score on a passed ball. When the dust settled, Clinton was trailing by only one run, 5-4.

After Towanda had their at-bat in the top of the sixth inning, a deluge of a thunderstorm hit the area that rendered the playing surface unplayable. Officials determined that the field could not be worked into playing condition before darkness would fall. After consultations with officials at the Mid-Atlantic Little League office in Bristol, CT, it was determined that enough innings had been played for the contest to be considered a complete game. The score reverted back to the the last complete inning with Towanda picking up the 5-4 win.

Bree Weaver started in the circle allowing 5 hits 2 walks and struck out 1 Towanda batter in 2 innings of work. Adalyn McKeague came on to close out the final 4 innings, yielding 2 hits, 1 walk while earning 6 strikeouts.

With each team earning 1 win, a winner-take-all game will be played Saturday, July 5 at 2 p.m. at the Clinton Field located at 32 Myrtle St, Lock Haven.

Whoever wins the final game will represent Section 3 at the Junior Softball Little League Championship tournament in Berwick that begins on July 11.