Reinhard, Mifflin County win title in dramatic fashion over BEA

By rscaife
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Updated: July 1, 2018

By BRIAN CARSON

REEDSVILLE – If you love stellar pitching, this was the game for you.

Mifflin County rode the arm of Falynn Reinard and made the most of a fourth inning walk to capture the Little League District 5 Minor Division softball championship with a 1-0 victory over Bald Eagle Area on a muggy Saturday evening at Steve Saylor Girls Softball Field.

Reinard tossed a one-hitter, fanning 14 with two walks, to pick up the victory. Mifflin County beat BEA by the same score in the opening round of the tournament in an eerily similar game.

“It’s a great feeling. We’ve been here before. Bald Eagle always has a tough team and it was the same situation back in 2013 when I coached,” Mifflin County coach Jason Treaster said. “It was exactly like the first game with them. Falynn is phenomenal. She had a one-hitter over there in the first game and struck out 13. She’s a great kid, a great pitcher, with great composure.”

Mifflin County scored the game’s only run in the bottom of the fourth when Makenna Spickler walked, went to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored the game winner on another wild pitch.

The Huskies had prime chances to score in the third and fifth innings but failed to produce any runs. In the third, the home team had two runners caught stealing to end the inning, while in the fifth, BEA picked off Mifflin County at third to end the threat.

“We expected a game like this. That’s why we took some chances early on that didn’t pan out. We had to keep taking them until something happened. You have to do that when you’re facing a pitcher like that,” Treaster said. “She no-hit us the other night and we knew if we were going to win this ballgame we had to take chances and manufacture runs.”

BEA pitcher Sierra Albright threw a gem on the losing side. She no-hit Mifflin County recording 13 strikeouts and four walks. Albright threw a no-no against Mifflin County in their first meeting on Tuesday.

“It’s tough to lose a game when you don’t give up a hit and that’s the second time for this. You have to swing the bat to win a ballgame and we weren’t swinging the bats when we should have,” BEA coach Jess Yoder said. “That is her fourth game of no-hits. She’s a fantastic pitcher and she’s going to go very far in her softball career. It didn’t go her way today.”

Bald Eagle Area’s only real scoring chance came in the third inning. Nora Eppley walked, stole second and went to third on a passed ball. Reinard ended the danger with two strikeouts and a groundout to short.

“If you have pitching and defense you can go far. Our defense plays great. The girls know where they need to be. They’re backing up throws,” Treaster said. “It’s a full-on team effort here. That’s what we’ve been practicing and pushing for.”

BEA shortstop Alexis Yoder had the only hit in the game – a single to left in the first inning. The Eagles ended the tournament 1-2.

“You get two weeks to mix a bunch of girls together who haven’t played together at all. We did the best we could with what we had and I think overall, we did really well with what we were able to accomplish,” Yoder said.

Mifflin County advances to the Section 4 tournament hosted by District 11, the West Suburban Little League. Treaster likes his team as they prepare for the even tougher road through sectionals.

“I feel pretty good about our team heading into sectionals. We have kids who can hit the ball, but a pitcher like Albright is one out of a hundred,” Treaster said. “We may get to sectionals and not see a pitcher like her until we get to states, if we would happen to make it that far. I believe we have the ability to do well at sectionals.”