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Panthers' team effort overcomes Cochranton's late rally

trevor teubner, the meadville tribune, pa.
·4 min read

May 11—SAEGERTOWN — Saegertown defeated Cochranton 10-3 in Friday's Region 2 softball game. Saegertown grabbed an early lead and despite a late rally from Cochranton, the lead was too big for the Cardinals to overcome.

In the first inning, Cochranton grabbed a lead off of a single. Saegertown responded with a three-run inning to take the lead. After three innings, Saegertown led 8-1.

"Overall it was a great team win," said Saegertown head coach Jenn Bowes. "It was good to see us string some hits together when we needed it. I was also very pleased with our discipline at the plate."

Alyssa Arblaster and Mikaila Obenrader led the Panthers' offense. Arblaster went 3-for-4 at the plate, scoring three runs and knocking in two. Obenrader also drove in two runs.

Saegertown tallied a total of ten walks throughout the game. Despite seeing multiple pitchers, Saegertown remained focused on the plate, enabling them to stay ahead of the pace.

Obenrader got the start in the circle for the Panthers and pitched all seven innings. Obenrader struck out 12 and walked two while allowing seven hits and three runs. Despite Cochranton's late surge, Obenrader struck out the final two batters with runners on first and second to end the game.

"Even though we faced four different pitchers in this game, each one with unique ways of throwing and pitch speeds, we were able to learn and adapt quickly," said Bowes. "That helped us keep our foot on the gas the whole game."

Cochranton stayed in the game even with the huge deficit, as the offense came alive in the last two innings, scoring two runs.

Dani Hoffman got the start for the Cardinals in the circle, and threw for two innings, striking out one and walking three. Cochranton brought in Claire McCartney and Jaidin Frayer for relief.

The Achilles' heel for Cochranton in this game was its defense. Errors on defense allowed Saegertown to continue innings and extend its lead. Those runs made it too difficult for the Cardinals to come back.

"You can't make some mistakes that we made against a good team," said Cochranton head coach Mark McGuire. "Offensively, we played well and we put the ball in play."

Hoffman and McCartney led the Cardinals offense. Hoffmann went 2-for-4 at the plate, driving in two runs. Hoffman also hit the only extra base hit for Cochranton, a double. McCartney went 2-for-4 at the plate as well, scoring three runs.

"She's (Obenrader) a very good pitcher," said McGuire. "To do what we did against her was very good, our offense played well."

Saegertown holds a 10-2 record in Region 2 and a 11-2 record overall. The Panthers are scheduled to travel to Eisenhower on Tuesday at 4 p.m. for their second-to-last regular season game.

The Cards are 9-4 in Region 2 and 10-4 overall. Cochranton is scheduled to host Maplewood on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in their last region game of the year.

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Cochranton (3)

(AB-R-H-BI) McCartney 4-3-2-0, Custead 3-0-0-0, Hoffman 4-0-2-2, Frayer 4-0-1-0, Lippert 4-0-2-0, Needler 4-0-0-0, Miller 2-0-0-0, McClain 3-0-0-0, Sokol 3-0-0-0. Totals 31-3-7-2.

Saegertown (10)

(AB-R-H-BI) Arblaster 4-3-3-2, Mook 1-1-0-1, Obenrader 4-1-0-2, Pratt 3-1-2-0, Triola 2-0-1-0, Paris 4-1-0-1, McGill 3-1-0-0, Halsey 1-1-0-1, Brauen 3-1-2-0. Totals 25-10-8-7.

Cochranton 100 010 0 — 3 7 2

Saegertown 314 010 x — 10 8 2

BATTING

2B: C— McCartney.

3B: S — Arblaster.

PITCHING

(IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB) C — Hofffman LP 2-3-4-2-1-3, McCartney 1-2-4-0-1-3, Frayer 2-1-0-0-2-3; S — Obenrader WP 7-7-3-2-12-2.

Trevor Teubner can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at trevor@meadvilletribune.com.