NTL SOFTBALL: WELLS' HIT SENDS TOWANDA TO WALK-OFF WIN OVER ELK LAKE (2024-04-13)

Northern Tier Sports Report
WYSOX — Towanda’s Aleah Johnson had herself a day, striking out 16 while scoring the winning run as the Knights earned a 5-4 walk-off win over Elk Lake during non-league softball action Saturday.

“This kind of helps because they’re one of the better teams,” Johnson said about the win.

Caedence Wells liked the first pitch she saw in the bottom of the seventh, driving it to right field, allowing Johnson to come in to secure the win.

“We knew coming in Elk Lake was going to be a tough team,” said Towanda coach Caitlyn Crawford. “We just knew we had to keep our intensity up, we knew we were going to have to be aggressive at the plate as well on the bases. That last inning was just base hits, score that run that we needed, and the kids stepped up to the plate and got it done.”

It was 1-1 for the first half of the game but Towanda took the lead in the fourth, then added two more runs in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead.

Elk Lake used some Black Knight miscues to tie the game up in the sixth before the heroics in the seventh.

“We just had to forget everything and leave it all out on the field,” Wells said about their bounce back from the top of the sixth. “No matter what happens we’re here as a team, and just play as a team.”

Payton Perry (2-for-4) had a double with two runs scored while Layla Miller (1-for-3) also had a double. Shay Greenland (2-for-3) drove in three runs with Wells (1-for-3) getting the other RBI.

Brooklyn Evans and Johnson both scored with TaeLynn Brabant earning an RBI.

Johnson went the distance for the win, allowing one walk, five hits, and four runs, two of which were earned.

“She was so dialed in today,” Crawford said. “She wen tout there and got the job done.”

Elk Lake got a run scoring double to take a lead in the top of the first, but Towanda answered quickly. Perry led off the bottom half with a double then scored on a Greenland ground out to knot the game up.

Base runners were hard to come by until the bottom of the fourth when back to back 1-out walks by Greenland and Wells put some ducks on the pond.

Elk Lake got another out, but a Kynlee Kunkle loaded the bases. That set up a long Brabant at bat where she went from an 0-2 count to draw a walk, driving in pinch runner Hannah Crawford.

The Knights got off to a fast start in the fifth as Perry led off with a single, followed by walks to Evans and Johnson to load the bases.

Greenland did a job, driving in Perry and Evans for a 4-1 Towanda lead.

After Elk Lake tied it up in the sixth Johnson led off the seventh with a walk. Greenland drew a walk, as well, followed by Wells’ game winning hit.

Towanda (3-1) will travel to undefeated NEB (3-0) on Monday for another tough test.

“I feel like this team this year has that ability to push through those tough moments,” Crawford said. “When maybe we do make a couple errors they’re really good at bouncing back from it, forgetting about it and moving on.”

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