Pine Plains scores nine early runs, rolls to Section 9-C softball title over Tri-Valley
NEWBURGH - It was joy and misery, all in short order.
Pine Plains batted first in the Section 9 Class C title game against Tri-Valley ... and kept batting. The Bombers would send 15 hitters to the plate before the top-seeded Bears could set them down. In what seemed like an interminable opening stanza for the Bears, Pine Plains collected nine runs on four hits, four walks and five Tri-Valley errors, dooming the start of junior Jenna Carmody.
It was only a matter of time - four more innings to be exact - for the game to come to an end as Pine Plains put up five more runs in the fifth inning for a 15-2 victory by mercy rule at Mount Saint Mary College.
Eighth-grader Talia Durant, a lefty hurler, limited Tri-Valley to five hits and struck out nine in the shortened contest. It was her two-run double in the first inning that staked the Bombers to a 4-0 lead, with five more runs to come.
Abby Mayes (three runs), Eliza Baden (3 RBIs) and Brooke Sikula (2 RBIs) all had three hits for Pine Plains.
Emily Rusin was the lone Tri-Valley player with two hits - she had a two-out double in the first inning and scored when Daniella Bell followed with her own two-bagger.
Durant was effective with first-pitch strikes early in the game and settled for 11 out of 25 batters. She threw 75 pitches for strikes and 33 for balls.
Pine Plains gets a bye in the opening round of the state tournament. The Bombers will face the winner of a playoff between the Section 1 and Section 11 champs at Monroe-Woodbury High School late next week.
kmcmillan@th-record.com
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This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Pine Plains beats Tri-Valley in Section 9-C softball final
