HENRY HUBER/Sun-Gazette Members of Williamsport’s softball team pose for a photo with coaches after defeating Hazleton, 16-14, to win the District 2-4 Class 6A softball championship at Wilkes on Thursday.

WILKES — Of all the first inning outcomes the Williamsport softball team could’ve dreamt up for its District 2-4 Class 6A title matchup against Hazleton on Thursday, a five-run deficit likely wasn’t what it had in mind.

Having started the season with a 4-12 record, it wouldn’t have been the first scenario to test this team’s resolve. They had responded then by digging deep, winning four straight with a combined 46 runs – the last two of which came in the playoffs.

But now, the stakes were even higher. In pursuit of their second district title in three years, facing a daunting deficit and fiery offense, the next few innings would make or break their season.

And in the heat of the moment, it flipped the switch.

Sophomore Ashlyn Robinson came in at pitcher and helped stifle Hazleton’s momentum while the offense steadily started rolling, catching fire in the second and maintaining it through the fifth. Twenty-four hits and 16 runs later, the Millionaires were declared district champions, defeating the Cougars, 16-14, to take home their first title since 2022.

It may not have been the way they wanted it to happen. But as Chase Smith finished posing with his second district championship plaque as head coach of the team, one emotion came out above the rest: pride.

“We don’t love getting down five runs in the first but there was no hesitation. They knew exactly what they needed to do to come back,” said Smith on his team. “I’m just super proud of the girls. They’re a really good group of kids.”

No hesitation is right, as the team immediately got to work.

Four hits from Bailey Livermore, Chelsey Harrison, Emlyn Kinley and Lili Cox in the second culminated in three runs, with Cox batting Livermore and Harrison in with a perfectly placed ball in center field.

Just like that, the deficit was manageable. And when Hazleton responded with a run to cap the second, the Millionaires responded with three more.

Sophomore Brenna Beck kicked off the third in emphatic fashion, blasting a one-run shot to left center over the wall for her seventh homer of the season. Then, later in the inning, Kinley nailed a grounder to left to bat Robertson in and a fielding error on the next at bat allowed Livermore to reach home for the second time.

“My first pitch was an outside pitch, so I was thinking she was going to come in with another one on the inside,” said Beck when discussing the home run. “I was just thinking of turning, ripping the ball as hard as I can, getting our team close to the lead and helping our team out.”

Through just two innings, the Millionaires had logged eight hits and six runs, tying the game 25 minutes removed from Hazleton’s fifth run. The focus had switched from mounting a comeback to obtaining and holding a lead, with its momentum quickly trending upward.

They’d obtain one temporarily in the fourth, with catcher Emily McAnelly nailing a grounder through the hands of Hazleton’s third baseman to get Robertson home before the Cougars responded. Then, McAnelly would put them in position to hold.

With Beck and Robertson on base, a 9-7 lead and two outs in the fifth, McAnelly stepped up to the plate with a shot to break the game open. And on the second pitch, she’d find what she was looking for, catching it at the most powerful point of her swing, nailing it left center and sneaking it over the fence in fair territory to up Williamsport’s lead to a familiar five.

“I didn’t think it was going to go over,” said McAnelly on the play. “But I was ready to just crush it, do my best at the plate and what I could for the team.”

From there, Williamsport logged four more runs and Ashlyn Robinson fended off a late rally from Hazleton to maintain their lead until the final out. Though Robinson’s stat line wasn’t the prettiest, the poise she showed on the mound coupled with consistency from the offense kept its momentum up until the final out.

“I knew I had a job to do, and I had to execute it,” said Robinson, who allowed just two runs through her first four innings on the mound. “I think I did great enough to contribute for the team. Everybody contributed today and everybody did their job. We battled till the very end.”

“I think we’ve been hitting well all season. I just knew that we had to shine today, and we all pulled through,” said McAnelly on the team’s success from the plate. “I think that energy just helped everybody and we all kind of worked together. This has been a great comeback story and we really pulled through and just played together as a team.”

Every Millionaire logged multiple hits and at least one run, as the team pulled through amidst an incredible, across-the-board effort through the last six innings. McAnelly led the way with four RBIs, Robinson posted three RBIs to prove impactful on both sides of the field and Robertson and Livermore each attributed four hits and combined for three RBIs and five runs.

“Everybody was finding the holes and keeping their emotions down,” said Robinson on the team. “I think we just had a really big rush of adrenaline, and we were like, ‘This is it.'”

With the title in hand, they now look ahead to the state tournament, set to begin on Monday at a site and time to be determined. They’ll face the loser of District 1’s third-place game between North Penn and Downingtown East, and head into the tournament harboring a five-game winning streak and plenty of momentum.

“We were here a couple years ago, and they won their first game in the state tournament,” said Smith. “These girls can do anything. If you can score 16 runs and 21 runs (against Wilkes) like that, you can beat anybody.”

“I’m just so excited. Last year we came here and lost, so I just really wanted to come back,” said Beck. “We’ve just got to stay confident, stay with our team. We’re going to see a lot better pitching, so I’m really excited.”

Williamsport 16, Hazleton 14

Williamsport 033 153 1 — 16 25 2

Hazleton 510 105 2 — 14 20 2

Bailey Livermore, Ashlyn Robinson (1) and Emily McAnelly. Isabella Almeida and Marissa Hoffman. W – Robinson. L – Almeida.

Top Williamsport hitters: Bailey Livermore 4-4, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Abby Robertson 4-5, RBI, run; Emily McAnelly 2-5, HR, 4 RBIs, run; Brenna Beck, 2-5, HR, 2 RBIs, 3 runs; Ashlyn Robinson 3-5, 3 RBIs, 3 runs; Lili Cox 3-4, 2 RBIs, run. Top Hazleton batters: Olivia Williams 5-5, 2B, 4 RBIs, 2 runs; Marissa Hoffman 3-5, 3B, 2B, RBI, 4 runs; Elia Tito 2-5, 3 RBIs, Nanci Major 2-4, 3 RBIs, 3 runs.

Records: Williamsport (9-12), Hazleton (10-12).