Staff Report
Meadville Tribune
July 28, 2010 7:00 a.m. BERWYN —
Mid-East/Cochranton/Saegertown went into the Pennsylvania Senior League softball state tournament with big expectations and determination. Unfortunately, MECS wasn’t the only team with that hunger and drive.
Bristol Borough downed MECS, 1-0, to force the if necessary game and then topped the locals, 3-1, to capture the Senior League softball state championship Tuesday at Berwyn-Paoli Little League’s Field of Dreams Complex.
Bristol Borough earned the right to represent Pennsylvania at the East Regional Tournament scheduled to begin Saturday in Worcester, Mass. The winner of that tournament will advance to the Senior League World Series in Sussex County, Del. next month.
“We didn’t play very well,” MECS coach Mike Dickson said. “We didn’t hit. We didn’t put the ball in play. That’s about it right there.”
MECS had an opportunity to end things in the first game.
Jena Petolilo gave Bristol a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the seventh inning. MECS answered in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases with no outs. But Kiersten Cain recorded her 10th strikeout of the game and Kellilynn Dickson lined into a double play to end the game and force a second.
It didn’t get much better for the locals from there.
MECS did take a 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI double by Sarah Jacobs. Bristol tied it up on a sacrifice fly and Alexa Adams delivered an RBI single to plate the game-winning run.
Cain and Alexis Rodriguez combined to allow just seven runs in the twin-bill. Combined with Monday’s 3-2 loss to MECS in the winner’s bracket final, Bristol allowed a total of just four runs to the locals, who entered the tournament having outscored their opponents 77-7. MECS also opened the state tournament with a 14-1 win over Plains.
“Bristol had two really good pitchers,” Dickson said. “They both had really good rise balls. We were able to put the ball in play in the second game, but we hit balls right at them.”
Dickson said despite the disappointing finish he felt MECS represented northwest Pennsylvania well.
“We got to meet some good folks and had a lot of people cheering for us,” he said.
