STATE COLLEGE - You can compare lineups, statistics, athletic ability, speed, quickness and all those things all you want, but a basic truth in softball, if not the basic truth, is this - most of the time the team with the best pitcher wins.
On Friday, at Beard Field at Penn State University, Fannett-Metal had the better pitcher.
Not by much, but by enough, which is why Fannett-Metal's Tigers beat Southern Columbia's Tigers 1-0 in the PIAA Class A state championship game.
Southern's Mallory Tomaschik wasn't at her best, but she pitched well enough to win most games. She gave up just three hits, all singles, and struck out five batters. Unfortunately, she walked six batters and hit another and on this
day, against this team and its pitcher, it wasn't good enough.
That's because Fannett-Metal's Blaire Lauthers, like Tomaschik a junior, was simply too much for Southern's hitters. She gave up just one hit, struck out 11, walked two and ended up facing just 22 batters, one over the minimum she could face in a seven-inning game.
Southern's batters, who looked a little nervous, helped Lauthers by swinging wildly at a lot of pitches. But Lauthers also was very good on her own. She threw hard, and picked up velocity as the game wore on. She struck out three of the final five batters and the other two grounded back weakly to her.
The game was reminiscent of Southern's offensive performance in the District 4 championship game against Northeast Bradford and the PIAA first round game against Minersville, when the Tigers struck out a combined 30 times.
"She had some good stuff, but we were swinging at some bad pitches," said Southern head coach Al Cihocki. "But she was quick and moved the ball around well."
The Tigers came close to getting some key hits, but even those were foul shots down the right field line, a sign that the Tigers' righthanded hitters were getting around late on Lauthers' pitches.
"That one in right field (by Tomaschik) was close and we were getting up to maybe start something if we could have gotten her on base," Cihocki said. "But all in all, their pitcher was the thing."
"Some of us who play in the summer have (played against Lauthers) but we really didn't remember her," said Tomaschik. "We just couldn't hit. They got a run and we didn't."
Lauthers said she felt she was getting stronger as the game went on.
"When that pinch-hitter (Angie Vought) came up (in the sixth inning), I just kind of zoned out," Lauthers said. "I didn't even realize it. I just pitched."
Lauthers also said the almost standing-room-only crowd didn't bother her.
"We come from a pretty small community, and most of it was here," Lauthers said with a smile. "I actually thought that was kind of cool. Then once we got a run, that always helps you to relax."
Fannett-Metal assistant coach Rick Lauthers, Blaire's father, said his daughter gets stronger deeper in the game if she's on her game.
"Usually, if we can scratch out a run or two, she gets tough," he said.
Some Fannett-Metal players, weren't going to get much chance to celebrate the first state championship by a District 5 team since McConnellsburg's girls basketball team won in 1991.
"They're supposed to ride us around on fire trucks when we get home," said Blaine. "But I have a softball tournament in (Charlottesville) Virginia I have to get to tomorrow, so I won't be able to party too much. I'm still in shock. I said to our center fielder (Megan Dougherty) in the dugout, 'I can't believe we did this.'"
Her dad said he thought his team had a little advantage by having played on the Penn State field before.
"We played a (first-round state playoff) game here last year, and I think the girls who were here felt more relaxed because of that," he said. "And from what I understand, this is the first time Southern's gotten this far. But I'll say one thing for Southern. They didn't get cheated out of their swings. They came up there hacking."