LEHMAN TWP. — Berwick center fielder Gabby Starr made two spectacular catches in the fifth inning, robbing Lake-Lehman of hits.
Lucy Honeywell, though, made sure she wasn’t going to be another victim of thievery as she blasted a two-run home run to trigger Lehman’s rally on the way to a 9-7 victory in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 softball game Thursday.
Lehman (5-1 Div. 2, 9-1 overall) stayed atop the standings while Berwick fell to 3-1 in the division and 6-2 overall.
“We played these guys last year and we knew what it was going to take to battle with them,” Berwick coach Emily Johnson said. “And we battled. Take back a couple little plays here and there and there is a very good chance of a different outcome at the end.”
Berwick had taken a 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth by scoring four times. Starr knocked in two runs with a double while a sac fly by Casey Corro and a single by Alyssa Lewis plated the first two runs.
Lehman’s Hannah Chipego led off the bottom of the fifth with a deep drive to center that Starr tracked down, making the catch while crashing into the fence. After Kirsten Finarelli walked, Starr made a running catch deep in the left-center gap for the second out.
Honeywell then launched a two-run homer to right-center to tie the score 4-4. Gracie James followed with a walk and scored all the way from first on an error. Janaya Yusko singled in the final run for a 6-4 lead.
“I knew that was going to be the catalyst,” Honeywell said, “because we were a little flat — I’m not going to lie — coming out of the gate. Warmups, we were a little lacking.
“But when I hit that and we tied it, I thought this is the beginning. People get on and that’s what happens. I’m just proud of my team.”
Honeywell wasn’t done. She lined a three-run homer to left-center in the sixth to increase the lead to 9-4 and give her a six-RBI game.
The Black Knights needed Honeywell’s final homer as Berwick used RBI singles by Starr and Emma Walsh to move within 9-7. Chipego, though, got a strikeout — her 11th — to end the game.
Lehman scored two runs in the first, one coming on an RBI single by Honeywell and another when Kaitlyn Brudnicki scored on a strike-three wild pitch. Otherwise, the bats didn’t do much until the fifth against Berwick starter Makayla Brown.
“I really don’t think there was any type of spin there (on the pitches),” Lehman coach Nicole Chipego said. “I think we weren’t being aggressive enough at the plate. I think that first pitch was a strike and we were sitting back and she was moving it around a little bit.”
Lake-Lehman 9, Berwick 7
Berwick`AB`H`R`BI
Cotto rf-cf`2`1`0`1
Lewis ss`3`2`1`1
Starr cf-p`3`1`2`3
Walsh c`4`0`1`1
Berlin lf`4`0`0`0
Brown p`4`0`0`0
Yankoswsky 3b`2`1`1`0
Savoy 1b`3`1`1`0
Hunter 2b`2`1`1`0
Siegel rf`1`0`0`0
Totals`28`7`7`6
Lehman`AB`R`H`BI
Bucknavage cf`4`0`1`0
Chipego`3`1`2`0
Finarelli c`0`3`0`0
Brudnicki ss`4`1`0`0
Honeywell 2b`4`2`3`6
James rf`2`1`0`0
Makarewicz 3b`4`1`0`0
Yusko 1b`3`0`2`1
Shotwell pr`0`0`0`0
Wallace lf`3`0`0`0
Totals`27`9`8`7
Berwick`000`040`3 — 7
Lake-Lehman`200`043`x — 9
2B — Starr, Chipego. HR — Honeywell 2.
Berwick`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Brown (L)`5`6`6`4`4`7
Starr`1`2`3`3`2`0
Lake-Lehman`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Chipego (W)`7`7`7`6`2`11
Dallas Post
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