COCHRANTON —
It was just the first inning and McLane pitcher Erica Suprynowicz already had her hands full.
The right-hander had walked her first two batters and was struggling to find the plate. But Suprynowicz kept the damage minimal, coaxing three groundball outs to get out of the inning having allowed just one run to score.
She was almost perfect the rest of the way.
Suprynowicz allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out 11 to lead McLane to a thrilling 2-1 win over Cochranton in the District 1 Junior League softball winner’s bracket semifinals on Saturday at Cochranton High School.
As good as Suprynowicz was through the final six innings, the one run allowed in the first inning looked as though it might be enough for Cochranton, who got a pretty spectacular performance from its pitcher, Katy Dunn, as well.
In fact, through four-and-a-half innings, neither Suprynowicz or Dunn had allowed a hit, and Dunn was perfect through four.
In the bottom half of the fifth inning, Kyra Piotrowski ended perfection with a leadoff walk. Emily Beddick followed with the game’s first hit — a single up the right field line — that was misplayed by the rightfielder allowing Piotrowski to come around and score the game-tying run and Beddick to jog into scoring position with no outs.
Beddick advanced to third base on a passed ball and scored on a misplayed grounder to give McLane a 2-1 advantage.
Cochranton answered in the sixth inning with its first hit — a solid line drive single off the bat of Brittany Jackson with one out. Mackenzie Hawley followed with an infield single to give Cochranton runners on first and second. A fielder’s choice grounder and a strikeout ended the inning. Suprynowicz retired the side in order in the seventh.
“We didn’t hit the ball,” Cochranton coach Darwin DuPont said. “We have been crushing the ball and (yesterday) for whatever reason we couldn’t hit.”
Credit to Suprynowicz.
“She minds her own,” McLane coach Doug Hecker said. “She’s been pitching since she was (very little). So she has a certain focus level she has to get to. She knew what she needed to do and she did it.”
“It’s awesome when it comes down to a pitching duel like that,” he continued. “It’s good. We got the bat on the ball there when we needed to. We got the win and that’s what matters.”
McLane advances to the winner’s bracket final on Tuesday when it travels to face Jamestown, which earned a forfeit win over Mid-East/Meadville in the semifinals. Cochranton drops to the loser’s bracket and faces Saegertown on Monday at Bertram Field. Both games are scheduled for 6 p.m.
McLane is looking to become the first solo team from outside Crawford County to win the District 1 Junior League crown since at least 2009. That title was won by a split-county team — Conneaut Lake/Greenville.
“When I took over the league our softball program was kind of hurting,” Hecker said. “Three years we have been waiting to do this. We’ve been plugging and plugging and plugging, and working a ton with the girls.
“This proves it because the last couple of years we came out (to Cochranton) and got 10-runned.”
For Cochranton, Dunn pitched all six innings and allowed just one hit, walked one and struck out nine. Both runs she gave up were unearned. She also drove in Cochranton’s lone run on a groundout.
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Pitching propels McLane to final
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