Softball Recap: Mahanoy Area Comes Up Short

Mahanoy Area had lost four straight at home, but on Thursday they dropped their record down to 5-9 to make it five. They came up short against the Pine Grove Cardinals, falling 15-0. Having soared to a lofty 28 runs in the game before, the Golden Bears' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.

As for Pine Grove, they are on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-2 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games.

For Pine Grove's part, Jamie Dinger made a splash while hitting and pitching. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out seven over four innings pitched. Dinger has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one walk in 13 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with two RBI.

In other batting news, Callee Leffler and Meadow Umbenhauer did most of the damage at the plate: Leffler went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI, while Umbenhauer went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. That's the most runs Umbenhauer has posted since back in March. Chelcy Clark also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.

We've got plenty of inter-conference action coming up soon. Mahanoy Area will take on rival Tamaqua at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Meanwhile, Pine Grove is set to face off against their familiar foe Panther Valley at 7:00 p.m. on Monday.