PHOTO PROVIDEDMontoursville's major softball team poses with the Section 3 championship banner.
Montoursville’s all-star season is continuing, and the team added another banner along the way. Montoursville’s major softball team held off Minersville in a rematch to win the Section 3 title on Sunday in Sunbury, 5-4.
The win advances Montoursville to the state tournament, which runs July 11-17 in Wellsboro. Montoursville, the Section 3 champion, will face the Section 2 champion in the first game on Thursday, July 11 at 11 a.m.
“It means everything. We have so much community support. It just means everything,” Montoursville coach Robyn Hesse-Hagemeyer said. “This is a big deal for the small town of Montoursville and I’m just so excited to get to lead these girls in everything accomplished right now.”
Minersville opened the game on Sunday with a big three-run inning for a 3-0 lead, putting Montoursville in a hole early. Montoursville didn’t get rattled, however, and played its game and responded with back-to-back two-run innings to cut the deficit to 3-2 in the second and then led 4-3 in the third. In the third inning, Trinity Belle tripled, helping ignite the offense. Minersville tied the game in the fourth with a run, 4-4.
Both teams remained scoreless in the fifth before Harlee Hagemeyer came up huge in the sixth with an RBI single to plate the go-ahead run. Small ball is what was key for the win, specifically bunting.
“We knew we had to execute (key bunts). The game was tied, we got a runner on first, we got two bunts to move her around. Our bunting game was definitely on fire today and was certainly what won for us,” Hesse-Hagemeyer said. “Minersville in that last inning did have two runners on the bases with two outs, and was unable to lay a bunt down successfully. So that was the difference.”
Hagemeyer, who threw all six innings, and Montoursville’s defense prevented a late Minersville rally in the sixth to hold on for the exciting 5-4 win.
“I think it just speaks to what we’ve seen all season,” Hesse-Hagemeyer said about the strong defense. “Strong leadership in the circle and ability to stay calm and think clearly. I’m very proud of these 12-year-old little girls and the maturity they show.”
Minersville out-hit Montoursville, 9-6, but Montoursville took advantage of opportunities when needed to get runs, including key bunts as mentioned. In the circle, Hagemeyer struck out seven and issued just two walks. Hagemeyer pitched consecutive complete game as Montoursville was unable to throw Emma Sunderland, who forms a solid 1-2 punch in the circle for Montoursville.
“Her performances are great, this is the third time we played Minersville within a week, and unfortunately the third time Harlee had to go against them,” Hesse-Hagemeyer said. “Unfortunately Harlee’s relief pitcher, Emma (Sunderland), was on disabled list for past two games against Minersville. So there was no choice except to buckle down and throw her best game.”
And that’s what Hagemeyer did, limiting what Minersville’s offense did and having a solid defense to back her up.
Offensively, Myles DiMassimo, Montoursville’s No. 8 hitter, led the way with two runs batted in.
Montoursville fell into the elimination bracket after falling in the winners’ bracket final to Minersville earlier in the tournament, but won an elimination game in the losers’ bracket final before beating a tough Minersville team in consecutive games on Saturday and Sunday for the title.
On Saturday, Montoursville defeated Minersville in another close game, 2-1, to force Sunday’s winner-take-all elimination game. In Saturday’s game, Montoursville scored both its runs in the top of the fourth inning for a 2-0 lead. Minersville cut the deficit to one with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but Hagemeyer and Montoursville’s defense played great in the sixth inning to prevent Minersville from tying the game.
“It just shows they wanted this. The majority of our girls do play travel softball and I gotta give travel softball credit where credit is due. These girls have stamina,” Hesse-Hagemeyer said. “The way Little League is structured with one game a day, it makes it possible for teams like us to come back and win something like this, even with a pitcher down.”
Montoursville now turns its attention to the state tournament later this week, and the team is hoping to keep performing as they have and continue their summer.
“We’re just going to go out and perform our best,” Hesse-Hagemeyer said. “These girls seem to rise to the occasion. We’re just going to keep working on the fundamentals and hope that between the play ball and game over, our girls know what to do.”
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