Bellefonte softball’s late rally was stopped short by rain in the PIAA quarterfinals
Bellefonte softball trailed North Hills by four runs with the bases loaded, two outs, and the rain pouring down in the top of the sixth inning of their PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal game on Thursday at St. Francis University.
Madison Melius had hit a solo home run to start the Raiders’ scoring in the sixth inning, after a rain delay. Makenna Port scored on a wild pitch to bring Bellefonte within four. Then, with the bases loaded, Tori Reichert walked into the batter’s box and went down on a controversial strike call.
With the rain still coming down, the umpires decided to call it a game. Bellefonte fell to North Hills, 7-3.
Emotional, yet standing tall, Bellefonte coach Travis Foster made it clear that his team should hold their heads high.
“The last two days, we talked a lot about grit and determination, heart and courage and that’s exactly how I’d describe it,” Foster said. “Gritty, determined and they’re never going to quit — ever. That’s what I love about them, their character is exceptional. They’re great softball players, but they’re better people. That’s what I love most about them.”
After the game, Foster pulled his team together. The players hugged one another and the seniors encouraged the younger players. There were tears shed and Foster embraced his older players one final time on the field.
Foster wanted his seniors to stand proud, as they accomplished a great deal over their years with the program. This season was no different, finishing with a 19-3 record and a PIAA 5A Quarterfinals appearance.
“That’s who we are. That’s who we are,” Foster said. “We talk a lot about standards and what our standards are and how it’s not a person, it’s not a group of people — it’s us. It’s a program and we strive to meet the standards that we set every single day.
“That’s what we did again today. We fought until the very end until they said we couldn’t fight anymore. We didn’t get 21 outs. They didn’t get 21 outs. They told us we had to stop, but we kept fighting and I love them for that.”
North Hills broke out of the gate early with Brenna Westwood walking, then Melanie Taylor driving a two-run home run deep over the left field fence. Maria Chutko singled and was later scored after being driven in by Anastasia Aggelou to give the Indians a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
Bellefonte cut North Hills’ lead down to 3-1 in the top of the third inning after Port singled and Lexi Rogers drove her in. Abigail Scheller walked in the bottom of third and was replaced by courtesy runner Alyvia Merz. Chutko tripled to score Merz and boosted North Hills to a 4-1 lead.
North Hills began to pull away in the bottom of the fourth inning. Merz scored again after entering the game for Scheller, this time on a wild pitch. Hanna Murphy drove in Chutko on a sacrifice fly. Kassidy Wittig drove in Aggelou on a single to give the Indians a 7-1 lead at the end of the fifth inning.
Bellefonte’s Maddie Tice flew out to center field to begin the sixth inning.
Then came the rain.
With the turf field having withstood the vigor of a heavy rainstorm, the mound turned into a sloppy putty of mud and slush. The groundskeepers ran over to tend to the mound and cover it with a tarp. After nearly a 50-minute rain delay, the game was back on.
So were Bellefonte’s bats.
Melius answered the bell with her one-out solo blast. Though Sara DeHaas was out on the next at-bat, Port was hit by a pitch, Addy Manning walked and Haylie Rimmey also walked. The junior second baseman Reichert walked to the plate and went down on strikes to end the sixth inning and also, the game.
Chutko led the way for the Indians, going 3-for-3 from the plate. Melius, Rogers, Port and Lily Gardner all had one hit apiece for the Lady Raiders.
North Hills pitcher Sophia Roncone won the game, lasting six innings, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out five. Rogers took the loss for Bellefonte, pitching five innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits and striking out six.
This story was originally published June 10, 2021 at 8:52 PM.
