Lady Maples beat California for first section win
Mapletown second baseman Jordan Adams (11) snags a wide throw in time to make the force out against California's Kelsey Lincoski (18) during Wednesday's Section 2-A game at Bobtown-Dunkard Township Park.
Mapletown's Abby Shipley (10) slides safely into third ahead of the throw to California April Roadman (9) during Wednesday's Section 2-AA game at Bobtown-Dunkard Township Park. Shipley finished with four doubles in the Lady Maples' 10-5 win.
California first baseman Kelsey Lincoski (18) pulls in an infield fly for an out against Mapletown during the Lady Trojans' Section 2-A game Wednesday at Bobtown-Dunkard Township Park.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
California’s April Roadman (9) steals second before Mapletown shortstop Abby Shipley (10) can make the tag during Wednesday’s Section 2-A game at Bobtown-Dunkard Township Park. Shipley was backed-up during the play by Mapletown second baseman Jordan Adams (11).
California pitcher Kayla Demo (2) fires a pitch toward a Mapletown batter in Wednesday's Section 2-A game at Bobtown-Dunkard Township Park.
Madison Boden (18) works the mound for Mapletown Wednesday during the Lady Maples' Section 2-A game against California at Bobtown-Dunkard Township Park.
DUNKARD TWP. — The Mapletown softball squad picked up its first section win since 2011, as well as its first victory of the season with a 10-5 triumph over California Wednesday afternoon at Dunkard Township Park.
The Lady Maples (1-4, 1-4) produced 11 hits, eight of which were for extra bases, headlined by four doubles from Abby Shipley.
Shipley also scored a game-high four runs, while Jordan Adams pounded out five RBIs in the win. Pitcher Lauren Adams scattered seven hits for the complete-game victory with a walk and two strikeouts.
“This is a big win for us and I’m so proud of our girls,” Mapletown coach Leah Bennett said. “We started to hit in the middle innings and got some big, two-out extra base hits that sparked our offense. It’s all about confidence and we got a big confidence boost today. We made some adjustments on offense and that turned the tide for us.”
The Lady Trojans (0-6, 0-6) jumped out to a 4-1 lead through three innings, but were held scoreless in the final two innings.
“Half of our team are freshmen and we are taking our bumps,” California coach Earl Doman said. “We only got one exhibition game in and this section is very tough. This is a learning year for us and we have to get as many games under our belt as we can.”
After a scoreless first inning, California struck first after an infield error and a passed ball strikeout gave them runners on second and third with one out. A RBI groundout by Kelsie Walker and a run-scoring double by McKaylee Adams gave the visitors a 2-0 lead.
Shipley led off the bottom of the second for Mapletown with a double and crossed home plate after a two-out double by Madison Bogden to cut the lead to 2-1.
The Lady Trojans extended their lead to 4-1 in the fourth after a RBI triple by Destiny Gudel and a run-producing single by Adams.
Mapletown responded in the bottom half of the inning with four runs and took its first lead. Jordan Adams collected a RBI hit, followed by a double steal that plated Shipley. Hannah Hockin added a two-run double to give the Lady Maples a 5-4 edge.
After California knotted the game up via a RBI single by Tristan Lint in the top of the fifth, Mapletown broke the deadlock with three runs in the next frame, courtesy of a two-run double by Jordan Adams and an infield error that scored another run.
“The difference maker was that they were able to hit and get more runs late in the game,” Doman said. “We started out swinging the bat pretty good, but we slacked off the last couple of innings and our defense made some mistakes to extend their innings.”
The Lady Maples grabbed two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth via a two-out, two-run triple by Jordan Adams.
Lauren Adams retired six of the final batters she faced to secure the section win.
“Lauren didn’t dominate or overwhelm their hitters, but she was effective in the circle,” Bennett said. “We just want consistency from her and today she avoided the big inning. She made the pitch and threw some critical strikes for us. She kept the ball low and got some groundballs. They had singles, while we had more extra-base hits.”