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With Julie Friel spinning a gem on the mound, Montoursville knew that the first run in a 0-0 game heading to the bottom of the fifth inning could be the difference-maker in the team's matchup against Danville at home on Friday.
And, as leadoff hitter Emily George fouled off pitch after pitch, it felt like her at-bat could be the turning point of the contest. On the ninth pitch, George cashed in with a base hit and would later come around to score to help the Warriors to a 1-0 win.
"Long at-bats make me more comfortable. I start thinking, 'I can hit this, I can hit this.' The more it goes on, the more I feel like I'm in control," George said. "She's not winning anymore once I get into a long at-bat."
George and Trinity Belle have been flip-flopping in the top two spots in the order, and the decision to move George back to the top of the order paid off for Montoursville coach Mikayla Arnold.
"Our first two hitters have been kind of flip-flopping between first and second in the order. This was the first time Emily's been back in the leadoff spot in a while, but she did a really great job," Arnold said. "She did exactly what she needed to, see all those pitches and find a way to get on."
That one run was enough due in large part to a sensational performance by senior pitcher Julie Friel. Friel -- who went over 200 career strikeouts in the seventh inning -- hit every spot called for her throughout the game. It took her just 74 pitches, 58 of those being strikes, to get the 21 outs.
That pitch count is especially impressive considering she also struck out ten hitters.
"She was really locked in tonight. We were laughing because it felt like every pitch I called, she threw it exactly where I wanted it. She was incredible," Arnold said. "She was working her pitches and could throw the same pitch three times in a row to three different locations, which is really tough on hitters because they're never seeing the same pitch in the same spot."
Montoursville had their first great chance to score in the third inning. After George had a bunt single, Trinity Belle followed with a line drive into left field to put runners on second and third after an error by the left fielder. Danville pitcher Ryleigh Hepner was able to wiggle out of the jam however, getting Kayleigh Sheleman and Laney Yonkin to pop up.
In the fourth inning, they once again got two runners on with just one out. But Hepner struck out two in a row to end the threat and keep the game scoreless.
After George's single in the fifth, Belle walked, setting up Sheleman. The UMass-bound senior made no mistake this time, sending a bullet against the wind into the right-center gap to score a run. Belle was thrown out at the plate trying to score two on the play, but Montoursville had the run they needed.
"I knew she was throwing me outside, pretty much all of us outside,so I knew I had to crowd the plate a little bit," Sheleman said. (Her previous at-bat) was a little frustrating. I think I chased a ball. But, I was just going up there looking for my pitch, trying to drive the ball in the gap. I knew it would be outside, so I was looking to drive it to right-center, and that's what I did."
That was enough run support for Friel, who kept her composure in a tight game throughout. She retired the final six hitters in order in the final two innings, starting with the top of the Danville order. It took her just five pitches, all strikes, to close out the game in the seventh inning.
"I don't think I really get nervous. I felt good tonight, and my team was working well," Friel said. "I thought we would score more, but obviously that's all we needed, and I knew we could hold them down."
Montoursville 1, Danville 0
Danville 000 000 0 -- 0 3 2
Montoursville 000 010 x -- 1 7 0
Julie Friel and Danni Detato. Ryleigh Hepner, Jillian Lowe (6) and Abigail Haught. W: Friel. L: Hepner.
Top Danville hitters: Jillian Lowe 1 hit; Brynn Wilson 1 hit; Claire Kretzing 1 hit. Top Montoursville hitters: Emily George 2-3, run; Kayleigh Sheleman 1-2, RBI, BB; Trinity Belle 1-2, BB.