Tenacity, experience propelled South to second straight final | News, Sports, Jobs

For the ones playing? They were just fine.

Obviously, South was not happy about losing that lead, but it knew how to get it back. This was not the team’s first rodeo and the Mounties responded like they are–champions.

Lily Reidy hit a go-ahead two-run home run moments after Williams Valley tied the game, Abby Lorson slammed another two-run blast three batters later and Alizabeth Schuler retired the final six hitters as South won, 9-5 and captured a second straight Eastern Region championship. South again responding in those tense moments, something it has done four straight years, earned it a spot in today’s state championship at Penn State against Neshannock.

“You don’t like it to get even after you’re up, but it just goes to show you have to stay in the game and not let up or let them come back getting to you,” Reidy said. “You have to keep playing hard and push through it.”

Abigail Lorson of South Williamsport connects on a double in the third inning against Williams Valley at the Central Columbia sports complex Monday afternoon. South won 9-5.
DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

South players have done that throughout their softball lives, excelling at every stop up the youth and scholastic ladder. That tenacity has especially shined through the past two games with South staying cool when West Shamokin and Williams Valley turned the heat up high.

Mikaiya Hills hit a two-out game-tying single after Maddie Pinkerton doubled in the fifth inning as South erased a one-run deficit in the quarterfinals against West Shamokin. Schuler and Kendall Cardone homered and Schuler left the bases loaded in a two-run game, right fielder Sage Lorson making an excellent catch, as South won, 4-2.

It was more of the same against Williams Valley. South led 5-0 entering the fourth but the Vikings stormed back, tying it with three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth before Cardone made a fabulous play and prevented the go-ahead run from scoring.

When South defenders entered the dugout, coach Tom O’Malley did not see frustration or fear. He saw the look of players determined to get that lead back. The Mounties looked forward, not backward and immediately charged back, Schuler hitting a lead-off single before Reidy and Lorson went deep.

“What that is, is experience. They’ve been in so many situations,” O’Malley said. “Maybe if we were a younger team, it could have been different, but they turned right around and turned the switch on. They said, ‘You got five? Well, we’re going to put a four spot up here and that’s what they did.’ I think that really took the air out of Williams Valley.”

South (18-5) has achieved some rare air these last four years, winning a district championship each season and becoming the program’s first ever repeat state finalist. Its ability to excel in those scenarios is a major reason why.

And, really, that is what the entire regular season was about. South does not play in a league, so it was able to line its schedule with one excellent opponent after another. It was all built with an eye toward the postseason.

South opened its season at Myrtle Beach playing five 6A and 5A schools. It played opponents with a combined .673 winning percentage, including 3A state finalist Bald Eagle Area. Win or lose, those games were preparing South and that experience has come bursting out during states.

“All season, we’ve had a big target on our back,” Lorson said. “We’ve had a really tough schedule, but it prepared us for this game … for every game, honestly. That is what has gotten us this far.”

South would have preferred winning all its regular season games, but each game provided another opportunity. It was about trying to win, but also about being ready for any situation which arises down the road. Because it faced just one team with a losing record, South played what felt like playoff games almost every time it took the field.

When the actual playoffs rolled around, South seemed ahead of the curve. It blasted Wyalusing and Troy to win a fourth straight district crown, blanked Holy Redeemer, 10-0 in the first round of states and then put all that experience to use in thrilling wins against West Shamokin and Williams Valley.

“We had a tougher schedule than we had last year coming into this. But also, you play those tough games for these games,” Reidy said. “We’ve been down and we’ve come back. Or maybe we don’t come back, but they’re learning games and learning experiences and the journey to this (state final) went to show how we stay in the game and we keep fighting even if we do get down.”

Those are important lessons as South enters its state championship rematch against Neshannock. The Lancers are seeking their third state title in four years and have lost just one game during that time. In a season filled with tough games, this one will be the toughest.

But South has never run from a challenge. The Mounties have taken them head on the past four years, driving that home the last two games.

“Everyone is proud of everyone and there’s no slander. If someone doesn’t do well, we’re still proud of you that you went out there and did your best,” Cardone said. “We know how good they are. We know things might get bumpy at times but we also know we’re a really good team, too. We just need to play our best where our best is needed.”

Look at where South playing its best has brought it. The Mounties are again one of the state’s two best Class AA teams. A lot of talent, hard work and super coaching has made that possible.

But so, too, has a lot of heart.

“You have to give credit to the girls. Each and every one comes to play and comes to win and they’re very unselfish,” O’Malley said. “Whatever it takes is what they’ll do. They make a coach look good, that’s for sure.”