FAXON — Nearly everyone at Loyalsock’s Short Park thought that Brea Overpeck was about to see ball four. After all, the Towanda slugger had already smashed a three-run home run in the third inning to give the Black Knights a 3-2 lead over second-seeded Loyalsock. And, with two outs and a runner on first in a 3-3 game in the fifth the risk of giving her a pitch to hit seemed to be one not worth taking. But, Lancer pitcher Marissa Helmrich’s 3-0 pitch bled over the outer half of the plate and the senior Knight made her pay.
Overpeck made perfect contact and sent the pitch well over the right-center field fence in the exact direction of her first home run, and she propelled Towanda to a stunning upset of 17-3 Loyalsock, 6-4, in the first round of the PIAA District 4 AAA playoffs on Tuesday.
“I was surprised (that she got a pitch to hit on 3-0) because I had already hit one home run so I thought maybe they wouldn’t want to throw a strike. But, I will take it either way,” Overpeck said.
Overpeck was tremendous on Tuesday, and her two-home run, five-RBI performance gave her 10 home runs and 25 RBI’s on the year. And, as big as her tie-breaking, go-ahead home run in the fifth inning was, her first home run may have been bigger.
Loyalsock took a 2-0 lead on a home run in the bottom of the second by Sophie Mileto, a ball that flew over the exact same part of the fence that both of Overpeck’s did. And, with Helmrich rolling in the circle, it seemed like the Lancers were in complete control.
But, a leadoff walk by Caedence Wells and a two-out single by Aleah Johnson set the stage for Overpeck to give the Black Knights the lead. And, after swinging through a pitch on strike one, she made no mistake on the next one as she ever-so-slightly cleared the right-center field fence to put Towanda up 3-2 after two-and-a-half innings. Loyalsock would not lead again.
After that third-inning Overpeck home run, Black Knight coach Caitlyn Crawford noticed a big difference in her team and thought their confidence increased.
“It definitely helps when we can put a couple runs on the board that definitely helps with our energy,” she said.
Loyalsock tied the game at three in the bottom of the third on an unearned run, and after Overpeck’s home-run in the 5th, got another run back on a Katie Ryder triple and error on the throw to third to cut it to 5-4.
But, Towanda manufactured a run on their own in the top of the 7th to give themselves some insurance.
A Brooklyn Evans one-out walk and two-out intentional walk to Overpeck put runners on first and second with two outs. And, when the Lancer catcher tried to pick Overpeck off first, the ball got away from the first baseman and Evans came around to score a massive insurance run.
That proved to be vital as Shyla Fulp led off the bottom of the 7th inning with an infield single after shortstop Brynn Woodruff nearly made an outstanding play coming in on the ball and diving for a pop-up, only for the ball to pop out of her mitt at the last second.
But, with a two-run lead, Towanda knew the Lancers couldn’t play small ball, and pitcher Shay Greenland retired the top of the the Loyalsock lineup in order, as Towanda held on for a dramatic 6-4 win.
Greenland was tremendous in the circle, giving up just two earned runs and seven hits against a potent lineup. She mixed her pitches effectively, and Loyalsock never got in a rhythm against her.
“Coming into this game, I just really tried to pick my spots well and throw what I know how to throw,” Greenland said. “ I take every batter seriously And just focus on each pitch individually.”
That sets up a district semifinal at Elm Park on Friday at 4:30 against Warrior Run, who won in an upset over third-seeded Central Columbia. The winner of that game will clinch a spot in the PIAA state tournament.
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PHOTO CAPTION: Towanda’s Brea Overpeck…PHOTOS BY ED BOARDMAN
