ALLENTOWN – Eight-time state champion Minersville is known as the Big Blue Machine.
You can also call this year’s club the Big Blue Mashers.
For the third straight PIAA Class A state playoff game, the Miners mashed a postseason pitcher. This time, they scored early and often against Mary Wallick to overwhelm Bristol 10-1 in the semifinals on a muggy Monday afternoon at Allentown’s Patriots Park.
With the win, District 11 champion Minersville (23-3) advances to the 10th state championship game in program history. The Miners will play District 6 runner-up Claysburg-Kimmel, which edged Neshannock 5-4 in eight innings in the other semifinal. Neshannock was the 2012 Class AA state champion and the 2013 Class A runner-up to Williams Valley.
Championship game time is 3 p.m. Friday at Penn State University’s Nittany Lion Softball Park.
“We’re so excited, especially the seniors,” said winning pitcher Riley Gerenda, one of the players who graduated from high school last Friday. “We’re trying to lead them through it because we’ve been there.
“So we’re really excited, and experienced, and we’re just so pumped to be in the finals,” she added. “We always want to win our last game.”
In wins over Bloomsburg, Halifax and Bristol, Minersville has totaled 35 runs on 37 hits.
Against the Warriors (19-5), Lindsey Snyder, Emily Mealey and Morgen Woodford smacked three hits apiece, while Leah Leshko and Rachel Sterner both rapped two.
“Huge hits, gappers all over the place,” Minersville coach Dave Homa said. “It’s everybody in that lineup right now that is hitting the ball. … One through nine, and I’ve never, ever – even helping Kenny (late coach Ken Schneck) – that we’ve ever hit the ball this well for this long.
“Let’s hope it continues for one more game,” he added. “They’re so composed up there. Look at Adrienne (Kroznuskie), a freshman, all the pressure in the world, works those walks and made that pitcher throw 10, 11, 12 pitches two times up there. In this heat, this humidity …”
Kroznuskie’s first-inning at-bat lasted 11 pitches, ending with a walk. She stole second base and scored the first run of the game when Mealey roped an RBI double to right.
Bristol, though, applied some pressure and tied the game 1-1 in the top of the third. A leadoff walk set the table, with the Warriors putting runners at second and third with one out.
After a popup for out No. 2, Maya Alicia hit a hard grounder up the middle, and Leshko, the second baseman, made a diving stop to keep the ball in the infield. Bristol scored the tying run, but Leshko’s play prevented the Warriors from taking the lead.
“They had the momentum. … That was a big, big play for us,” Homa said. “She threw a little leather at them, and a whole lot of lumber.”
That lumber delivery arrived in the bottom of the third when Minersville batted around for the third time in three state playoff games.
With one out, Kroznuskie walked in a nine-pitch at-bat and Snyder singled. Mealey followed with her second RBI double of the game to put the Miners ahead to stay.
After Woodford reached on a bunt to load the bases, Leshko worked the count full against Wallick. Leshko crushed the next pitch to the fence in left-center, chasing three runs home.
Rachel Sterner followed with an RBI single to left-center that drove in Leshko and extended Minersville’s advantage to 6-1.
“We left a bunch of runners on base and I knew it was time for me to knock some in,” Leshko said.
Gerenda took care of the rest, keeping Bristol hitless over the final four innings. She finished with a three-hit complete game, striking out six and walking two.
Her ability to throw strikes to both sides of the plate kept Bristol off-balance.
“She dialed it in,” Homa said. “That was her best game since the Williams Valley game (a 2-1 win in the District 11 final), truly on top of her game. She pitched out of any situation they wanted to get us into.
“She did a great job, hit her spots, moving in and out,” he added. “She prepared herself well for this game.”
In the fourth inning, Minersville pushed its lead to 8-1 when Snyder and Woodford connected on RBI singles.
In the fifth, the Miners tacked on two more runs on Mealey’s RBI single and Woodford’s RBI double. In the third, fourth and fifth innings, Minersville sent a total of 24 batters to the plate.
In addition to Leshko’s key defensive play, Kroznuskie made two highlight-reel catches in center field. In the second inning, she picked a sinking liner just before it hit the turf and tossed the ball to Melochick for an inning-ending double play. The double play was similar to the one that ended the district final against Williams Valley.
In the sixth, Kroznuskie raced into right-center field and made a diving catch to save a run and take a hit away from Jade Stevens.
“Adrienne saves us, like, all the time,” Gerenda said.
So seven Minersville seniors will return to Penn State to try to win their second state championship. Woodford, Melochick and Leshko were starters on the 2011 title team, while Gerenda and outfielder Alyse Ryan will play much larger roles this time.
Joining them will be a few juniors and sophomores, plus a huge freshman class, hungry for their first state gold.
In addition to the three state softball playoff games, 12 players experienced Minersville’s basketball run that included Schuylkill League and District 11 championships and two state playoff contests.
“The more you play under pressure, the better you’re going to be,” Homa said. “Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it.”
“These kids have played all winter. They’ve played all spring,” he added. “They played the top teams in the state, and this senior group is so composed, it rubs off.”
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