State College softball jumps out to early lead, never relinquishes in blowout of Mifflin County
State College softball had its work cut out for it ahead of Monday afternoon’s game against Mifflin County.
The weather featured a sub-50 degree temperature, windy conditions and light rain. Unfortunately for Mifflin County, that wasn’t enough to stop the Lady Little Lions’ hit parade.
State College claimed a 15-5 victory in five innings, despite a 3-run inning by Mifflin County in the fourth. Reagan Shafranich, Alaina Sharp and Arika Henry each drove in runs during the inning for the Huskies.
Jess Hawkbaker led the Lady Little Lions with a 3-for-4 performance from the plate with two runs batted in and a home run in the bottom of the third inning. Her team finished with 11 hits on the day.
“It was just a really good team effort,” Hawbaker said. “We were all putting the ball in-play a lot. Just getting things started early and having the momentum, we just all carried off of that. Even when they scored, we were still able to come back in the next inning and score a couple. It was really good teamwork.
Meredith Meengs is the self-proclaimed “jelly” to Hawbaker’s “peanut butter.” Meengs went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in and played second base next to Hawbaker at shortstop. She too had a home run in the bottom of the first inning.
“I was just clearing my head and letting my mechanics do the work for me,” Meengs said. “(I wasn’t) thinking too much about the pitcher, not thinking about the situation that we were in, I was just playing it bat-to-ball. I felt that I had to start something for the team. We’ve got the middle infield here and (Hawbaker) is a little spark plug.”
Hawbaker, Meengs and Sydney Wells all had a multi-hit day for State College.
State College Lady Lions Varsity opened up scoring in the first inning, when Ava Babcock singled on a 2-1 count, scoring two runs.
Addison Harpster led the Lady Little Lions to victory in the pitcher’s circle. She went five innings, allowing five runs on six hits and striking out six.
Falynn Reinard led things off on the rubber for Mifflin County, allowing three hits and five runs over one-third of an inning. Henry threw four and a third innings in relief for the Huskies.
State College head coach Shawn Herncane was pleased with his team’s performance after coming off of two straight losses to Central York and Northern Lebanon.
“Midseason right now, we’re at a point where we’ve been on a little bit of a roller coaster,” Herncane said. “We’re winning, losing and not playing our best. Today we were able to put together a complete game against a really good opponent and a well-coached team. It was a really good day for us.”
The Lady Lions improved to 5-6 on the year with their latest victory. State College will travel to Chambersburg on Wednesday for a Mid-Penn Conference matchup at 4:15 p.m.