There’s no doubt the Columbia girls’ softball team has been the biggest surprise of the Lancaster-Lebanon League this season.
The former cellar dwellers have gone from the outhouse to the penthouse so to speak. In last place for most of the 26 years the school has played softball, the Tide finds itself in an unusual spot. Heading into the final five Section 4 games of the season, coach Brad Brubaker’s team is tied with Annville-Cleona with an 8-3 record, followed closely by Pequea Valley with a 7-3 (Pequea Valley still has a make-up game with Lancaster Mennonite) record.
Columbia can take a giant step toward a possible Section 4 title tomorrow when they open the second half of Section 4 play with a game at Pequea Valley.
The Tide scored its first win of this special season earlier by a 3-2 score over the Valley Braves.
Thursday, the Tide put themselves in position to play for first place with a 7-1 win over Northern Lebanon at Glatfelter Field. The big win came a day after the Tide was blanked by Donegal, 8-0.
The win over the Lady Vikings helped the Tide complete crossover games with a 3-3 record and improve their overall record to 10-4, which is three more wins than any CHS team ever had.
First, we’ll start with the bats. After being no hit a day earlier by Donegal’s Kelsey Hannold, the Tide banged out nine hits in the win, which was their most in their last seven games.
The “hittin inning” for the Tide Thursday was the second. They banged six hits in the inning, which helped them score six runs.
Freshman Ashlyn Phillips started the frame off with a single. Allison Michener then reached on a fielder’s choice, when the Vikings couldn’t make a play on her bunt. Now with one out, Kayla Lambert singled to score one, allowing Michener to move to third. Kayla Ortman then walked to load the sacks. Columbia almost made it 2-0 as Michener was thrown out at the dish attempting to score on a wild pitch.
No problem however.
Alexis Eckman stepped to the dish and delivered a single, which plate two runs, which was followed by a three bagger off the bat of Emily Detz to score Ortman and Eckman. Detz scored when Vallessa Carollo singled and she came home on a double off the bat of Jenna Plastino, who was thrown out at third trying to stretch the hit into a triple.
All the sudden, it was 6-0 and with sharp shooter Detz rebounding from an off game the day before against Donegal in the circle, all was well with the Tide.
Well, a bunt single and double in the third got one run back for the Vikings, but that’s all they would get.
Detz struck out 17 (two reached on strike out/wild pitches and walked two. Northern Lebanon thanks to some loose defense by the Tide got two more runners on in the fourth, but didn’t score. They also got two runners in the sixth on a Tide error and strike out/wild pitch, but didn’t score.
At the plate, the Tide was “oh so” close to breaking this one open.
In the fourth, Ortman singled with one out and moved to third on a couple of wild pitches. Detz then walked but was thrown out trying to go to second for the third out following the walk.
Columbia scored its seventh run in the fifth. Carollo singled and scored, but Columbia loaded the bases o a couple of walks and a hit batter, only to have another runner cut down at the plate, attempting to score on an infield out.
But in the seventh, Detz strongly closed the game with her final two strikeouts and a pop out to Michener at short.
After playing PV tomorrow, the Tide has winnable games Monday and Wednesday with Lancaster Mennonite and Lancaster Catholic, both at home, before traveling to Annville-Cleona next Friday.
Depending upon what happens tomorrow, there may never be a bigger game in Columbia softball history.
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