For the Columbia girls’ softball team heading into the final four games of the regular season, the mission was simple. Win out and they make the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs for the first time in school history.
They entered the week tied with Annville-Cleona tied for second place in Section 4 – a game behind section leading Pequea Valley.
The cards seemed to be lined up for the Tide. They went through the first half of the Section 4 season unbeaten. Monday they won the first of their final four games over Lebanon Catholic. Today at Glatfelter Field, the Tide hosted Lancaster Catholic.
And now there is a bump in the road for the Tide as Lancaster Catholic scored a 3-2 win over Columbia.
The loss dropped the Tide to 10-4 in league play, a game behind Annville-Cleona, who they play on Friday and two games behind Pequea Valley, who plays A-C on Monday. (Columbia also has a non-league game at 10 a.m. Saturday morning with Reading Central Catholic in am American Cancer Society benefit).
So if the Tide beats A-C on Friday and Lancaster Mennonite on Monday and A-C falls to PV on Monday, the Tide gets second place. So, Friday is now the biggest game of the season.
Wednesday’s game can best be described as frustrating for the Tide. They left 14 runners on base, including the bases juiced in the third and fifth innings.
Here’s how it went at the dish for the Tide:
First inning – Jenna Plastino and Ashlyn Phillips walked with two outs and didn’t score.
Second inning: Columbia trailing 2-0 rallied to tie the game. Alexis Eckman led the inning off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and made it to third on a bunt single off the bat of Emily Groft. With two outs and Emily Detz at the dish, the Tide hurler launched a long drive to center for a triple. The next batter, Valessa Carollo walked, but the two runners were left stranded.
Third inning – Phillips led the inning off with a single and with two outs, Eckman and Kayla Lambert walked to load the sacks, but Catholic was able to get out of the inning.
Fifth inning – With one out, Allison Michener reached on a bunt hit, was sacrificed to second by Eckman. Lambert then reached on an infield hit and Brittany Germer was hit by a pitch. But Catholic got out of the jam when Groft bunted into a fielder’s choice with Michener just getting tug out at the plate.
Sixth inning – Trailing 3-2, Detz and Plastino walked and with one out, Phillips ripped a sinking liner to left, which the Catholic fielder turned into a “web gem” catching the ball before it hit the grass. Then Catholic got a huge break. Michener hit a ground ball to short, it kicked off the shortstop’s glove right to Catholic third baseman, forcing Detz at third.
Seventh inning – Eckman reached on a bunt hit and Kayla Ortman batting for Lambert was hit by a pitch. Again, luck or fate was on Catholic’s side. Catholic got a fielder’s choice grounder for a force and then ended the game with a strike out and ground ball out to pull off the upset.
As for Catholic, they took advantage of their breaks in the second inning when they took a 2-0 lead.
With one out, Catholic had a batter reach on a walk and then next batter reached on a Tide error.
They plated their two runs in the inning when a batted ball went back through the box off Detz’ glove into centerfield for a hit and two runs.
Catholic didn’t get anything else going at the dish until the fifth. Two infield hits, a sacrifice an d a single to right pushed aross the go ahead run.
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