Apr 15, 2003 By Rob Burchianti 4 min read

Laurel Highlands’ softball team needed only a bit of offense once pitcher Jen Barry got in a groove. Angie Shotter led the way in that department with a home run, triple and single as the Fillies rallied from an early deficit to defeat host Uniontown, 11-3, in a Section 3-AAA game at Bailey Park on Monday.

“We needed this win,” said LH coach George Kaiser, whose team improved to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the section. “To start out 2-0 in this section is important. Jen pitched a great game, Angie Shotter hit the ball real well and Meghan Carter hit well, too.”

Carter was 2 for 3 with a double and a walk, and Stacey Batovsky was 2 for 5 with an RBI.

The Lady Raiders (3-4, 0-3) jumped on top in the first inning as singles by freshman Stacey Riggar and Holly Sisler, a stolen base by Sisler, an error and an RBI ground out by Emily Fisher produced two runs.

“We haven’t played in a week, so I knew we’d be a little rusty, and it showed,” Kaiser said.

Barry was almost untouchable after that, retiring 17 in a row after Sisler’s hit.

“She does that,” Kaiser said. “For some reason she’ll give up a few runs and then shut them out. She tries to be too perfect some times. She’s a sophomore, so she’s still learning.”

Barry allowed just one earned run on four hits with no walks and two strikeouts, and also had two hits and two RBIs.

The Fillies played solid defense behind Barry, especially their infield of Jessica Pento, Abby Martin, Batovsky, Shotter and, later on, Renee Gmiter. Right fielder Ashley Capranica shined in the outfield by snagging three flies, including a running catch of a foul ball while running into the fence.

Uniontown hung tough after taking the early lead, but the Fillies eventually broke the game open with a six-run sixth.

“We played five good innings, then the game got away from us,” Lady Raider coach Bo Clay said.

“We made some nice plays, but we dropped some balls and made some mistakes, too. We don’t score a lot of runs, so those things really hurt.”

Shotter smashed a solo home run to center field in the second to make it 2-1, but that was all Lady Raider starter Brittany Check allowed in the first three innings.

Check got sparkling plays from her defense in each of the first three innings.

Catcher Maggie Petruska gunned down a runner trying to steal second, and third baseman Sisler made a falling grab of a bloop to short left in the first.

Sisler turned a line drive into a double play in the second. Second baseman Tricia Handy held on to a looping fly ball after colliding with on-coming right fielder Ashley Grohal in the third.

In the fourth inning, however, an error and a mental mistake by Uniontown help Laurel Highlands take the lead.

Batovsky hit a one-out single to center, but then was caught between second and third after Shotter singled to left.

Batovsky survived the rundown when the Lady Raiders failed to cover second base, and Angie Stafford followed with a well-hit ball to left that was dropped for an error as the tying run scored. Capranica singled in the go-ahead run.

Another great defensive play by Uniontown kept LH from scoring in the fifth.

Carter doubled to deep right, but a perfect Grohal-to-Handy-to-Sisler relay throw nailed her trying to stretch it into a triple.

The Fillies finally exploded in the sixth, combining six hits, two walks and an error into six runs for a 9-2 lead. Shotter’s triple and Barry’s two-run single were the big hits in the innings. Stafford, Pento, Gmiter and Batovsky also had RBIs in the frame.

Uniontown almost got out of the inning in spectacular fashion. With the bases loaded, Sisler gloved a smash by Martin and tagged third for a double play. She alertly looked to second for a potential triple play, but the bag was uncovered.

Mary Oshnack’s RBI single in the seventh capped a two-run rally to finish up LH’s scoring. Eight different Fillies drove in runs in the game.

Sisler snapped Barry’s streak of 17 straight with her second hit of the game to lead off the seventh. Meghan McConville also singled and Petruska drove in the game’s final run with a ground out.

“She’s a bright spot for us,” Clay said of Sisler.

“She was a freshman phenom last year. She was the only player on our team to hit over .300. She’s a very heads-up, alert and aggressive player, and she has a lot of heart. She’s always mentally in the game, always trying to do her best.”

Both teams continue section play today as the Fillies host Greensburg Salem and the Lady Raiders travel to Connellsville.