A never-give-up attitude helped carry Kutztown into the state quarterfinals.
The Cougars showed their resiliency Monday by mounting one of the most improbable comebacks in the school’s storied softball history.
But the roles were reversed on a sweltering Thursday afternoon at Exeter against Pine Grove in a PIAA Tournament Class 3A game.
Trailing by four runs headed into its final at-bat, District 11 champion Pine Grove staged a six-run rally and eventually went on to defeat District 3 runner-up Kutztown 10-8 in 10 innings.
Kutztown had put together a similar comeback on Monday, scoring four runs in the seventh inning in an 11-10 win in the first round of the state playoffs against Loyalsock..
“We had a heck of a season,” said Kutztown coach Kevin Conrad. “It was just a special group. We put a lot of challenges in front of them with the schedule we put together and they just kept meeting the challenges.”
The Cougars (23-5), on the strength of a three-run homer by Felicia Oldt, carried a 4-0 lead into the seventh inning. Berks County Player of the Year Brianna Bauscher took a one-hit shutout into the seventh inning and had retired 15 straight Cardinals after Jamie Dinger’s leadoff double in the second inning.
But Pine Grove (25-2) strung together four straight clean singles to trim Kutztown’s lead to 4-2. A bunt single loaded the bases before Chelcy Clark tied the game with a two-run single. Two more runs scored on a squeeze bunt and an error.
Undaunted, Kutztown battled back again in the bottom of the seventh to keep alive its dream of a fourth PIAA championship. Jayden Gehris and Oldt hit back-to-back doubles. After a wild pitch, Jade Fitzgerald tied the game with a sacrifice fly.
“I knew we weren’t going to give up,” Conrad said.
Neither did Pine Grove. The teams battled through two scoreless innings before the tie-breaker rule placed a runner on second base to start the 10th. Madison Shiffer unloaded a two-run homer on the first pitch of the 10th to put Pine Grove back on top.
The Cardinals tacked on two more runs on a two-out, two-run single by Clark off the right-field fence.
Again, the Cougars battled back with the fight that helped them win their first Berks County championship in 23 years.
Kutztown loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 10th. Bauscher hit a sacrifice fly and Klara Schnore kept the Cougars alive with a two-out RBI single to make it 10-8. With the potential tying runs on base, Pine Grove got the last out on a pop out.
The outcome advances Pine Grove to the semifinals on Monday to face District 2 champion Mid Valley and left the Cougars thinking about what might have been while trying to remember their many successes.
“Twenty-three wins in a season,” Conrad said. “I’m nothing but proud of these girls.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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