Old Forge ends outstanding Lady Buck season with 8-2 win

By Tom Fox for The Record

SCRANTON – She had just walked two straight batters to load the bases.

Karen Sickle slapped her glove, and took a quick walk around the pitching circle at Magis Field to calm herself down. The Old Forge pitcher had a three-run lead, but District 4 champ Bucktail was threatening to put a crooked number up.

The junior bore down, winning an eight-pitch battle with Kendall Wagner for an inning-ending strikeout.

The Blue Devil offense did the rest.

Old Forge jumped out to a comfortable lead in the opening inning, and added four runs late as the District 2 champ advanced to the PIAA Class 1A softball quarterfinals with an 8-2 victory over Bucktail at the University of Scranton Monday evening.

Makenzie Wagner finished her outstanding junior season for Bucktail with three hits, a single, double and triple to pace an 8-hit Bucktail attack. Singles, one each, came from Lola English, Eva Sockman, Makenna Stone, and two came from Matti Mason. The Lady Bucks finished the year at an outstanding 16-5.

Sickle did a good job of navigating around a Bucktail lineup that averaged 10 runs a game; she twirled an eight-hitter with 11 Ks.

“We made the trip out to see them twice, and we knew what they were going to bring,” OF Coach Pat Revello said. “We knew they were an excellent team, and we were going to have to get a good start. We were able to score those four runs in the first, and it took some wind out of their sails.”

“We really wanted to focus on ourselves, and kind of control what we could,” Old Forge third baseman Meghan Marianelli said. “We wanted to make sure the defense was strong, and Karen did a great job on the mound. We were confident coming in, and we are happy to move on. We know we have a tough opponent coming up next, so we will keep on practicing to get ready.”

Sickle had been in this position before.

It was one year ago at Magis Field where she held Cowanesque Valley to just one run in a slim, 2-1 victory to continue the postseason journey.

That’s why it didn’t phase her much as Bucktail made its push.

Sickle battled out of a two-on, no-out situation in the fourth with two strikeouts and a slow roller to first baseman Mazzie Musgrave for the unassisted out.

But the bases-loaded jam in the fifth seemed bigger. The Lady Bucks already had one run in the dugout on Makenzie Wagner’s deep double, and Sickle seemed to have lost the zone for a split second, walking back-to-back batters to load the bases.

“Karen is one heck of a pitcher, and we have all the confidence in her,” Old Forge head coach Pat Revello said. “One time, she will walk someone on five pitches, and the next batter, she will come right back with a strikeout on three pitches. She really brought it today, and the defense made some plays behind her.”

As quickly as she lost the zone, the junior standout found it just as fast, striking out Kendall Wagner on a perfectly-placed 3-2 pitch on the inside corner.

“I just kept telling myself to keep throwing one pitch at a time,” Sickle said. “It’s all about focusing on the next pitch. You can’t really worry about how they got on or if they had a hit. It was about figuring out how to get the next out.”

That was the story of the game. Old Forge was able to turn five Bucktail (16-5) errors into four runs, while the Clinton County school couldn’t find the big hit – stranding 12 runners on base, seven of those in scoring position.

“You always preach the importance of those two-out hits against a good, solid pitcher, and we didn’t get enough of them today,” Bucktail head coach Mike Poorman said. “We gave them a four-spot in the first inning, and it took us a little bit to get adjusted to the turf. And when you get behind against a real good team like Old Forge, it’s tough to battle back. We kept battling, and never gave up. We had the opportunities, but couldn’t find that big hit to turn the game around.”

Old Forge (18-5) didn’t waste any time lighting up the scoreboard.

Talia Piragas blasted the second pitch she saw off the left-center field fence, Musgrave followed with a short blooper to center, and Marianelli snuck a grounder through the 5-6 hole to start a big first-inning rally.

Piragas scored when the left fielder bobbled Marianelli’s single, Ava Arnold and Lilianna Lenceski each had RBIs and another scored on a wild pitch.

Just like that, the Blue Devils were off and running to a 4-0 lead against an opposing pitcher in Makenzie Wagner that entered Monday with an ERA of 1.69.

”That first inning was definitely so important because we wanted to set the tone,” said Marianelli, who finished 3 for 3 with a double. “We wanted to come out and leave our impression, especially getting those hits when we had runners on base.”

It was Marianelli that led the charge in the late innings.

Her one-out single to center in the fifth sparked a two-run frame where two Bucktail errors allowed pinch runner Danica Pritchyk and Arnold to score.

Marianelli later added a deep sacrifice fly in the sixth to increase Old Forge’s lead to 7-2 before the Lady Bucks’ fifth error led to the Blue Devils’ eighth run.

Up next for the Blue Devils in Thursday’s quarterfinals will be District 11 champ Tri-Valley – a 15-0, mercy-rule winner over Dock Mennonite.