YOUTH SOFTBALL (12U): LADY LIGHTNING WINS 'SUMMER BLAST' CHAMPIONSHIP (2 PHOTOS) (2022-07-12)

Northern Tier Sports Report
HORSEHEADS — The Towanda-based Lady Lightning 12U travel softball team, won the 12U Summer Blast here at the Holding Point Complex over the weekend.

The Lady Lightning, coached by Rick Vargason, with assistant coaches Glenn Jarvis and Kevin Brown, opened pool play with a 16-0 win over West Elmira, then edged the Lady Cardinals, 5-4. They closed out pool play with a 4-4 tie with the Tremors.

The second-seeded Lady Lightning beat the Lady Rebels, 8-4, Sunday in the semifinals, then edged the Tremors, 2-0, in the championship game.

Pool Play
Lady Lightning 16, West Elmira 0
The Lady Lightning pounded out a 16-0 three-inning win over West Elmira Saturday morning in the opening game of pool play.

Towanda’s Peyton Perry tossed a no-hitter to earn the win, striking out seven and walking three.

Sayre’s McKenna Jarvis homered and singled, and Towanda’s Brynsen Vargason doubled and singled to pace the Lightning at the plate, while Sayre’s Kennadie Cochrane doubled, and Waverly’s Melanie Skovira, Perry, and Troy’s Maddy Muir each added a single.

Lady Lightning 5, Lady Cardinals 4
The Lightning improved to 2-0 in pool play with a 5-4 four-inning (time limit) win over the Lady Cardinals.

Muir and Vargason shared the pitching duties, allowing three hits, while striking out seven and walking five.

Towanda’s Hannah Crawford stroked two singles, while Jarvis, Vargason, Towanda’s Molly Roberts, and Towanda’s Addy Bardell each had a single.

Lady Lightning 4, Tremors 4
The Lady Lightning finished off pool play with a 4-4 deadlock against the Tremors.

Vargason struck out six and walked four, while allowing four hits for the Lightning.

Perry and Jarvis each had two hits, and Roberts and Bardell each had one hit to account for the LIghtning’s offense.

Semifinals
Lady Lightning 8, Lady Rebels 4
The second-seeded Lightning advanced to the championship game with an 8-4 win over third-seeded Lady Rebels Sunday.

Perry struck out five and walked four, while allowing three hits in her time on the mound, while Vargason struck out three and gave up one hit in two innings.

Jarvis paced the Lady Lightning at the plate with two hits, while Perry, Crawford, and Cochrane each had one hit.

Championship Game
Lady Lightning 2, Tremors 0
Vargason pitched a complete-game shutout to pace the Lady Lightning in a 2-0 win over the Tremors in the championship game.

Vargason allowed four hits, while striking out nine and walking one to earn the win.

Muir delivered the game-winning two-RBI single for the Lightning, while Cochrane had two hits, and Crawford had one. Jarvis laid down a key sacrifice bunt in the game-winning rally.

Head coach Rick Vargason was absent from the tournament with his wife Kelly, who was hospitalized in New York City.

The girls played all weekend with softballs painted on their arms with Kelly’s name written above it. After the receiving their medals, each player went to the “zoom” phone and told Kelly they “did it for her.”

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PHOTOS PROVIDED.