STATE COLLEGE - The difference between gold and silver was one pitch, one step, one run.
Southern Columbia learned the hard truth of state playoff softball Friday at the PIAA Class A state championship in a 1-0 loss to Fannett-Metal at Penn State's Beard Field - things get much tighter the bigger the prize is.
The season ends for Southern with silver medals and a 23-4 record, while Fannett-Metal won its first softball title thanks to a dominant pitching performance and an RBI-single from junior Blaire Lauthers, who barely beat out a throw for the single that scored Megan Dougherty in the fourth inning.
"That was really close," Southern Columbia head coach Al Cihocki said about the play that made all the difference in the game. "I couldn't tell, but it was a close play and he called her safe. They got the RBI from that person getting on."
The game came down to a pitching duel between Lauther and Southern Columbia's Mallory Tomaschik, and for most of it, both offenses were ineffective.
While Fannett-Metal had just three hits, Southern scratched out only one, and had two base runners thrown out trying to steal second.
"It all boiled down to getting a couple hits at the right time, and we just didn't get it done hitting-wise," Cihocki said.
"When you get to this point, it boils down to pitching. When a pitcher can shut you down, you've got problems."
Each team had runners reach during the first four innings, when the score remained tied 0-0, but each defense found ways to help out its pitcher.
Dougherty was barely scraped by a pitch from Tomaschik with the count 0-2 in the first inning, but a sacrifice bunt, a strikeout from Tomaschik and a grab by Erin Yoder in center field on a hard hit ball from Jenna Rhodes ended the inning.
Meanwhile, Southern's Kirstin Blass walked to start the bottom of the first, but was caught trying to steal second.
The third inning featured more nifty defense to keep the game scoreless.
Fannett-Metal's Melinda Hammond made it to first on a throwing error that sailed over first and, feeling adventurous, tried to take second, but was cut down when right fielder Kim Reigle backed up first on the throw and threw to Blass, who applied the tag for an out.
Southern saw the exact situation develop in third inning when McKenna Lupold walked to start the inning before Fannett-Metal's Naomi Fields threw her out at second.
"We tried to get them going and try to run on them," Cihocki said. "We had people on and we got them zinged right out. You have to gamble a little bit. We did and we got two kids thrown out at second. That's my call. I'm not here to lose the ball game, I'm here to win the ball game. If they're in there and we get a single, we're scoring a run."
Tomaschik then had to work out of a jam with runners on first and second in the fourth.
Southern had its best opportunity for runs in the bottom of the fourth when Taylor Hoffman led off the frame with Southern's only hit. Nicole Hoffman came in to pinch run and took second on a sacrifice bunt by Erin Troup before Lauthers got the next two outs to quash the rally.
Lauthers had 11 strikeouts and pitched to just one batter over the minimum.
Tomaschik, on the other hand, struck out just two Fannett-Metal batters and had trouble locating pitches as she walked six batters.
"I was surprised. I thought Mal had some taken away that were strikes, and I think that was sort of frustrating her," Cihocki said. "I said something to the ump, but he called some on their kid, too. Basically it evens out."
It was a walk to Dougherty after a nine-pitch at bat in the fifth that eventually led to the winning run.
Tomaschik got a quick strike on No. 2 batter Candice Cornell but the succession of a wild pitch, followed by a passed ball allowed Dougherty to move up to third. Cornell then popped up a bunt that was snagged by catcher Mary McGinley in foul territory.
That brought up Lauthers. Tomaschik worked her to a two-strike count, but the third pitch was hit deep in the hole between third and shortstop. Blass, Southern's shortstop, ranged to her right, backhanded the ball cleanly and came up throwing to first. The throw was on the mark, but half a tick too late and Lauthers was safe, while Dougherty crossed the plate.
One pitch, one step, one run.
Southern had one last golden opportunity in the bottom of the seventh inning with the heart of the lineup at the plate. They went down in order.
"I knew it would be close," Cihocki said. "In the last inning at bat I said, 'Okay girls, it boils down to this.' We had the top of the order up and she just blew us away."
Game Summary
FANNETT-METAL (AB-R-H-BI) - Dougherty 1-1-0-0, Cornell 1-0-0-0, Lauthers 4-0-2-1, Rhodes 4-0-0-0, Burdge 2-0-0-0, Fields 2-0-1-0, Zeger 2-0-0-0, Hammond 3-0-0-0, Laye 2-0-0-0, Becker 0-0-0-0. Totals 21-1-3-1.
SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (AB-R-H-BI) - Blass 2-0-0-0, Tomaschik 3-0-0-0, Lavella 3-0-0-0, Hoffman 3-0-1-0, N. Hoffman 0-0-0-0, Troup 1-0-0-0, McGinley 2-0-0-0, Lupold 1-0-0-0, Yoder 2-0-0-0, Reigle 1-0-0-0, Vought 1-0-0-0, Chaundy 0-0-0-0. Totals 19-0-1-0.
F-M 000 010 0 - 1 3 0
Southern 000 000 0 - 0 1 2
Extra-base hits: None
IP H R ER BB K
Fannett-Metal
Lauthers 7 1 0 0 2 11
Southern Columbia
Tomaschik 7 3 1 1 6 2