Another trip to the District 6 championship was not in the cards for the Ligonier Valley High School softball team this season.
Taking on Bellwood-Antis High School in the first round of the playoffs, the Lady Rams fell 10-0.
Before the playoffs, the Ligonier team defeated Purchase Line 8-5 to finish the regular season with an overall record of 11-7.
The Blue Devils needed only five innings to dash Ligonier's playoff hopes, getting 13 hits in the game, five of which came in a second inning rally that made the score 5-0. Ligonier also committed four errors in the game, three of which helped in the same rally. A run in the third and two of each of the last two innings sent the Lady Rams home in an early exit from the playoffs.
Ligonier managed four hits, but could not convert, stranding runners on base in every inning. Hannah Yeskey was the best hitter for the Lady Rams on the day with a double. Kailee Lear finished her first year on the mound for Ligonier pitching four innings with a walk.
In the final game of the regular season Ligonier came out swinging, grabbing four runs in the first inning, three in the second and one more for the exclamation point in the seventh. Kari Kuhn singled in the first to bring in Catou Cmar, Courtney Frappier hit a two-RBI single to bring in Abby Salancy and Kuhn and Brittany Lynch singled to bring Frappier around to score.
A wild pitch with the bases loaded in the second brought in Cmar and Salancy to score then Frappier hit an RBI to drive in Kuhn.
Lear pitched all seven innings, giving up two runs in the first and third innings and one in the second, all on nine hits and two errors. She also threw six strikeouts and walked four batters.
Peter Turcik is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.
