Advantage, Central
BLOOMSBURG — Good things happen when a team puts the ball in play.
Such was the case Tuesday in Central Columbia’s 3-0 win over Bloomsburg in high school softball.
The Panthers committed three errors, and they all proved to be costly.
“We didn’t get the defense we wanted, but hey, that’s part of the game — that’s softball,” Bloomsburg coach Joe Devine said. “... We knew we had to be clean coming in. Mea [Consentino] is a great pitcher and we all knew that.
“We had to play a clean game and hope to scratch one or two across, and win a 1-0, 2-1 game. We were close to that, but a couple of things didn’t go our way defensively and you’re on the wrong end of a 3-0 game.”
Holding on to a one-run lead, the Blue Jays (7-1) got some much-needed insurance in the seventh.
Emmie Rowe kicked things off with a single. Off the bat, it looked like Rowe may have had more as the ball rolled to the fence in right-center field. Rylee Klinger, however, had other ideas, getting the ball back in quickly.
Things then fell apart for the Panthers (4-3) with one out in the frame.
Rowe advanced to second on a wild pitch, and moments later, scored on Olivia Hubler’s single to right. Right fielder Kiana Coulter had a tough-go coming up with the ball as it got past her, allowing Hubler to get into third standing.
Three pitches later, Brady McNamara hit a line drive that fell out of Lily Yablonski’s glove at first. Yablonski attempted to get Hubler at the plate on a fielder’s choice, but her throw wasn’t in time.
“Ellen (Hull) is a terrific pitcher, but I think we just saw the ball a little better after the first time through,” Central coach Duane Karchner said. “... We wanted to hit line drives, hard balls through the infield, and our kids did that.”
The Blue Jays struck first in the fourth inning when Ellen Hull’s throw to third got away from her, allowing Ellie Rowe — who reached on a leadoff single — to score.
Things could have been worse for the Panthers as third baseman Maddie Roberts was banged up on the play, but stayed in the game.
They got out of that jam when Olivia Hull went home on her throw from second, catching both Payton Crawford and Emmie Rowe in rundowns for a double play.
“They’re a quality team,” Karchner said of Bloomsburg. “We knew it was going to be tough and it will be just as tough when they come to our place [May 18].”
Circle wars
If not for the costly errors, the contest very well could have been scoreless and in need of extra innings to decide a victor.
That’s because both Hull and Consentino attacked the zone and the opposition. Each of them faced the minimum on four occasions with Consentino notching an immaculate inning (three strikeouts on nine pitches) in the first.
They also struck out a combined 21 batters — 15 by Consentino, who caught nine looking — and walked one (Hull). Consentino also recorded her 100th strikeout of the season in the win. She has only walked one batter up to this point.
Both coaches were quick to compliment the other team and its ace, but both had some good takeaways from their own pitchers.
“[Hull has] been coming along nicely all year,” Devine said. “We talk a lot about attacking hitters. She had three pitches working for her today, and she’s a tough girl to beat when that happens.”
As for Karchner, he sees a pitcher that has stuck to the team’s game plan.
“They had a couple of quality at-bats, but she moves the ball around nicely,” Karchner said of Consentino. “Our goal is to keep them off stride, and mostly, we did that.”
Both cleanup hitters, Bloomsburg’s Yablonski and Central’s Emmie Rowe, had two hits.
The Panthers left three runners on base — two in scoring position. They couldn’t take advantage of the extra chances the Blue Jays gave them on two errors.
Central 000 100 2 — 3 4 2
Bloomsburg 000 000 0 — 0 3 3
Mea Consentino and Payton Crawford. Ellen Hull and Maddie Devine.
W — Consentino. L — Hull.
Top hitters: Central Columbia — Rowe, 1-3, run; Emmie Rowe, 2-3, run; Olvia Hubler, 1-3, RBI. Bloomsburg — Rylee Klinger, 1-3; Lily Yablonski, 2-3.
Link to story: https://www.pressenterpriseonl...
