Blue Jays work way past Dragons
SOUTH CENTRE TWP. —With offense at a premium and Lewisburg putting pressure on Central Columbia at different points of the game, Mea Consentino didn’t fret.
Instead, she thrived when she needed to be at her best, helping the Blue Jays come away with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Green Dragons.
With nothing doing in the first 61/2innings and Ava Klingerman — pinch-running for Reece Knorr —standing on third after an error, sac bunt and wild pitch, Consentino helped her cause. The senior singled to right for the game’s first run.
It didn’t take long for her to come around and score as Dragons’ pitcher Lexi Walter overthrew first baseman Gracie Murphy on Emma Yoder’s bunt the very next pitch. The error scored Consentino and allowed Yoder to get to third base. Leadoff hitter Alyx Flick drove Yoder in with a single to left for the Jays’ (3-0) last tally.
“We had plenty of runners on earlier, it’s just we didn’t group our hits together,” Central coach Duane Karchner said. “The kids focused [in the sixth] and got it done. Some of that was the couple of bunts we called because we knew it was their first game and we wanted to put pressure on them.”
Lewisburg, though, didn’t go down without a fight. Leading off the seventh, Murphy launched a line drive to centerfield on the first pitch she saw. Sydney Bolinsky followed suit with a double, putting the tying run at the plate for the Dragons.
That didn’t faze Consentino any, getting back-to-back strikeouts and a flyout to end the contest.
“That team never gives up and we knew that coming in,” Karchner said. “Leading off with a home run and double will age you a little bit, but that was a great game.
“[Consentino] just has a gear that when she needs it, she’s twice as tough. That was another message after the home run and double. They had 7-8-9 up and we didn’t want to see the top of their lineup again. We told her, ‘no more slip-ups, be Mea.’ She did like she always does.”
Both teams had great chances to score before their final at-bats. The Blue Jays left runners stranded at second and third in the first inning, and the bases loaded to conclude the third.
Dragons’ starter Walter didn’t have to reach into her bag of tricks much, letting the defense do the work behind her to get out of jams. She finished with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. She also gave up a pair of walks.
Consentino, though, dominated to the tune of 13 strikeouts and no free passes. Seven of those strikeouts came with runners in scoring position for the Green Dragons.
Leadoff hitter Carly Wagner was stranded at second after doubling to deep left on the game’s second pitch. Consentino later worked out of trouble following a leadoff double by Rylee Dyroff and an infield error in consecutive at-bats to start the fourth by striking out the next three batters. The feat was even more impressive by the fact Consentino looked banged up diving for Dyroff at third base in a rundown, coming up slowly and in pain. Much like the Dragons’ lineup, she shook it off, though.
With the Jays in the midst of a brutal stretch featuring the likes of Montoursville, South Williamsport and Williamsport, Karchner is excited about the early potential he sees in the team. That will obviously be a plus if the team is at full strength as starting first baseman Brady McNamara was involved in a collision at the base in the fifth for the second straight game. She returned to the contest in the sixth.
“Our hitting is above where it was last year and with Mea on the mound, you always like your chances,” Karchner said. “There are just so many quality pitchers in our league and it’s about turning those hits into runs. We’re getting kids on base, it’s about figuring out how to get them home.”
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