COAL TOWNSHIP - Shamokin moved to within one game of qualifying for the District 4 playoffs with a doubleheader sweep of Mount Carmel on Saturday.
In a rain-drenched first game, Steph Pancher held the Tornadoes to just three hits and the Indians won 7-0. Mount Carmel got on the board in the second game, but Pancher and company again held the Tornadoes to just two hits and Shamokin won 10-3.
"We're very excited," Shamokin head coach Christi Cryder said. "We're trying to keep the girls low-key, and play one game at a time, but I know it's in the back of their minds."
With their 10th and 11th losses, the Red Tornadoes are officially eliminated from postseason contention.
Shamokin took an early lead in the first game with two runs in the first inning.
After Mount Carmel pitcher Ashley Koschoff sat down the first two Indians, Pancher doubled to left, moved up to third on a passed ball to Angela Bainbridge, who later walked, and scored on a Celine Templar single. Bainbridge also came around to score when Mount Carmel catcher Tori Chapman unleashed a pickoff throw into centerfield when no steal was on.
Then, over the next three innings the Red Tornadoes and Indians played "Who can leave more runners on base?"
That was the only thing Mount Carmel won all day, stranding four runners. The Tornadoes also had one runner caught stealing in three innings.
Shamokin during that same stretch, had just one runner on and she was also caught stealing.
In the bottom of the fifth, with the rain blowing sideways, Shamokin's ability to bunt and run really shined through.
Olivia Bonshock reached on a hard hit ball up the middle but was forced out at second on a hit to the outfield by Helena Supsic. Brianna Bonshock followed that with a walk. Both runners moved up a base, and with first base open, Jenny Hornberger put down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Supsic. Natalie Wolfe joined the hit parade with another bunt for a hit that scored a run. Hornberger touched home later on an error and the Indians had built their lead to 5-0.
They tacked on two more in the sixth after a couple more Mount Carmel errors.
While the rain was never heavy in the second game, it was constant, as it seemed Shamokin's scoring was.
The Indians opened with five runs, all without getting a hit, added three in the third, two of which came on a Supsic double, and tacked on a run in each the fifth and sixth innings.
Pancher again got the win, but as was prevalent in the second game, the rain caused some control problems for the pitchers. A total of 20 walks were issued between the two staffs.
"It was a long day for Steph," Cryder said. "She had SATs in the morning, but we all wanted to get these games in."
Game Summaries
Game 1
MOUNT CARMEL (AB-R-H-BI) - Spieller 3-0-0-0, Resendes 4-0-0-0, Chapman 2-0-0-0, Shamus 2-0-2-0, Frasch 3-0-0-0, Horsfield 1-0-0-0, Danilowicz 2-0-0-0, Koschoff 2-0-0-0, Kobilis 1-0-0-0, C. Avellino 1-0-0-0. Totals 21-0-2-0.
SHAMOKIN (AB-R-H-BI) - Hornberger 4-1-2-2, Wolfe 4-0-1-1, Pancher 3-1-2-0, Bainbridge 2-1-0-0, Templar 3-0-1-1, Haupt 3-0-0-0, O. Bonshock 3-1-2-0, Supsic 3-2-1-0, B. Bonshock 2-1-1-0, Forbes 0-0-0-0. Totals 27-7-10-4.
Mount Carmel 000 000 0 - 0 2 4
Shamokin 200 052 x - 7 10 0
2B - Pancher.
IP H R ER BB K
Mount Carmel
Koschoff (L) 6 10 7 3 2 1
Shamokin
Pancher (W) 7 2 0 0 8 6
Game 2
SHAMOKIN (AB-R-H-BI) - Hornberger 3-1-1-0, Wolfe 2-1-0-1, S. Pancher 3-1-1-1, Bainbridge 3-0-0-0, Templar 1-1-0-0, Augustitus 3-0-1-1, O. Bonshock 3-1-0-0, Supsic 4-1-1-2, B. Bonshock 4-1-2-2, Demsko 1-1-0-0, Forbes 1-0-1-0, Richardson 1-1-0-0, Duganitz 1-0-1-0, C. Pancher 1-1-0-0, Smallets 0-0-0-0. Totals 31-10-8-7.
MOUNT CARMEL (AB-R-H-BI) - Darrup 2-1-1-0, Spieller 2-0-0-0, Chapman 2-0-0-0, Shamus 3-0-0-0, Resendes 3-1-0-0, Danilowicz 1-0-0-0, N. Avellino 3-0-1-1, Kobilis 3-0-0-0, Horsfield 2-0-0-0. Totals 23-3-2-1.
Shamokin 503 011 0 - 10 8 1
Mount Carmel 100 002 0 - 3 2 3
2B - Supsic.
IP H R ER BB K
Shamokin
Pancher (W) 7 2 3 2 9 6
Mount Carmel
Shamus (L) 3 3 8 6 9 1
Kobilis 4 5 2 1 2 0