Montour softball makes things happen in PIAA semifinal win over Elizabeth Forward

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, June 12, 2023 | 10:33 PM

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The Montour softball team doesn’t need much of an opening to make things happen.

Elizabeth Forward learned that the hard way as it dropped a 4-1 result to a Spartans team that scored one earned run in the PIAA semifinal matchup Monday at Gateway.

“Three unearned runs, you take those away and you’re still playing,” Elizabeth Forward coach Harry Rutherford said. “But this has been the kids’ best year on defense, so I can’t complain. I think we had 30 errors in 22 games. That’s hard to complain about.”

A dropped third strike and two errors eventually led to runs for the Spartans as they took advantage of their opportunities and came out on top. Montour (18-4) will face the winner of Blue Mountain and Northwestern Lehigh in the PIAA Class 4A final.

“When we get an opening, we make things happen,” Montour coach Ken Kutchman said. “We like to be aggressive. We like to score quick and put the pressure on them and thank God we did that.”

While the Spartans were opportunistic offensively, they were dominant defensively as pitcher Kaitlyn Molitoris threw a gem for the Spartans. The Alderson Broaddus commit earned the win, allowing just three hits and one run while striking out five.

“We knew that (Molitoris) was a good pitcher,” Rutherford said. “She’s probably the best pitcher we saw all year, speed-wise. Very seldom are we in the back of the box, and we were back there all the time and still swinging late. She’s a very good pitcher, and we never saw anyone that fast this year.”

Shelby Telegdy of Elizabeth Forward (20-2) gave up six hits and four runs while striking out seven. She also accounted for the Warriors’ lone run as she crushed a home run to straightaway center field.

Kutchman admitted that he wasn’t happy when the Spartans lost the coin toss and served as the away team in starting at the plate, but his team wasted no time jumping out to an early lead.

Leadoff hitter Mia Arndt, who finished 2 for 3 with an RBI, opened the contest with a single to left field before Gia LaBrie moved her over to second base with a sacrifice bunt. With one out, Telegdy struck out Avrie Polo, but the third strike was dropped and Polo got to first while Arndt advanced to third.

Still with only one out and runners on the corners, Jana Hess picked up an RBI as shortstop Julia Resnik went to second with the ball but couldn’t get Polo out. The fielder’s choice left runners on first and second with still only one out, but the Warriors got two outs to get out of the top of the first with the score 1-0.

Telegdy foreshadowed her long ball in her first at-bat with a double off the wall, but she was the only Warrior to get on base as Molitoris forced three groundouts to put an end to the first inning.

The Spartans added to their lead in the fourth as Shania Cope led the top of the frame off with a single before advancing to second on a wild throw. Telegdy got the better of her counterpart as she struck out Molitoris, but an error allowed Cope to score. Danielle Terpack hit an awkward ball to second and ended up reaching second base after a frantic throw from Lauren Vay got away from first baseman Bella Gimiliano and allowed Cope to make the score 2-0.

Ava Bartel replaced Terpack as a courtesy runner, and she scored on a triple by Delaney Barto before Telegdy drew a groundout to end the top of the fourth inning with the Warriors trailing 3-0.

Telegdy went yard in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 3-1, but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback. Vay, an IUP commit, was the only other Elizabeth Forward player to have a hit.

The final run of the game came in the top of the sixth inning. Bartel once again replaced Terpack at first after the latter drew a walk. Harley Staub then struck out looking before another defensive mishap from the Warriors.

Barto grounded into what could have been a double play as Vay threw to Resnik covering second base, but Gimiliano was unable to corral Resnik’s throw and Barto reached second on the error. That brought up the top of the Spartans’ lineup, and Arndt made the Warriors pay with a double that scored Barto to cap off the scoring at 4-1.

With Elizabeth Forward’s only two losses of the season coming in the WPIAL and state semifinals, the Warriors have a bright future. Only two seniors, Gimiliano and Vay, started in Monday’s contest.

“How can you not look and say, ‘This was a pretty good season,’” Rutherford said. “It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get to make the trip to (the final), but this is a young team. Most of these kids have three years left.

“To the seniors, you did a great job … and to the others, I hope you’re upset and want to do better next time.”

For Kutchman, he’ll be hoping to flip the script from a brutal 8-7 loss against Belle Vernon in the WPIAL title game.

“We’ll be ready,” he said. “They’ve stayed focused all year through good and bad circumstances, even the WPIAL final, so we’ll be ready.”

Tags: Elizabeth Forward, Montour