UNIVERSITY PARK - Neither of the Philipsburg-Osceola girls - Brittany Murphy and Lyndz Kephart - started in the Pennsylvania Softball Coaches Association District 6 Summer Softball Classic Saturday night at Lady Lion Field.
But they sure made an impact on the 10th annual game.
They went a combined 5-for-5 and both scored runs. Kephart knocked in a run with an uncharacteristic double to left field, and Murphy overcame one shaky inning in the circle to get the pitching win in District 6's 5-3 win over District 4.
Kephart isn't known for her hitting, but she went 3-for-3, and if it wasn't for Penns Valley's Erin VanVactor going 3-for-5 with a triple in a starting role, the recent P-O graduate would have been voted her team's offensive MVP.
"I feel awesome. Too bad I can't do this in the regular season," Kephart said laughing. "I actually hit a double today, and I never do that either."
Murphy only had seven at-bats this season, but she looked like she had been doing it all season. Her second hit was a textbook slap single to left field.
"I used to be nervous coming up to bat," Murphy said, "but I'm real confident batting now. I worked on that over the seasons, but Mr. [Jim] Gonder never wanted to risk me getting hurt, I guess. I've been getting batter at it."
What made her performance even more interesting is she just made it to Penn State in time for warmups after traveling from Maryland, where she pitched in a game earlier in the day.
Oh yeah, a couple more hurdles:
"We got lost," she said. "We got stuck in traffic for 45 minutes. Now, I have to drive back down there tonight because we have games tomorrow."
Bald Eagle Area's Liz Hackett was voted District 6's defensive MVP after holding District 4 to no runs and two hits in the first four innings. She struck out five and didn't walk a batter.
District 4 starter Brittany Peterson, who was later voted her team's defensive MVP, retired the first 11 District 6 batters before VanVactor tripled to right field. She then scored on a passed ball.
"Her getting that triple and getting that 1-0 lead, we started hitting the ball hard no matter who they put on the mound," State College coach Rick Hall said.
District 6 added to its lead in the fifth when the speedy Murphy, who entered the game as a courtesy runner for Hackett, scored from second base on a single by BEA's Brittany Simpson off of reliever Lacy Young.
Following a Kephart bunt single in her first at-bat in the sixth, VanVactor chased Bellefonte's Taryn O'Connor home with a single to left-center. Interestingly enough, O'Connor came off the bench to go 2-for-2. So, District 6's three substitutes went a combined 7-for-7.
Kephart chased O'Connor home with a double to left field in the seventh inning, and Kephart scored on an error.
Murphy struggled with her control in the seventh, walking three batters as District 4 scored two unearned runs. She got out of a bases-loaded jam by inducing Ashley Riddell into bouncing out to third base.
After the game, the players posed for photos, completing a week in which they put their rivalries on the back burner.
"This would be a really fun team to play with," Kephart said. "I didn't expect to have this much fun. All the girls are really nice, and we played perfect."
Notes: Central Cambria's Jenna Benyack, Rachel Kemock, Bellwood-Antis' Trista Kovac and Melissa Sitman and Philipsburg-Osceola's Becky Ritter were inducted into the PSBCA Hall of Fame before the game. ... The game was scheduled for nine innings and was completed before the rain came. ... Young was voted District 4's offensive MVP.
DISTRICT 6 (5): Sefter ss 300, O'Connor ss 222, Fisher cf 301, Kephart cf 313, VanVactor 3b 513, Corl rf 400, Smith lf 400, Hackett p-1b 100, Murphy cr-p 212, Reish c 200, Simpson 2b 401, Neff 1b 300. Totals: 36-5-12.
DISTRICT 4 (3): Allison cf 300, Young p 111, Datres ss 201, Davis c 401, Frederick c 000, Hoover 3b 300, Kutz 2b 502, Peterson p 200, Mignot 3b 100, Hoffman lf 100, Greenough ss 311, Riddell lf 200, Laboskie rf 100, Earnest 1b 100, Machner ss 311, Benner rf 300. Totals: 35-3-7.
SCORE BY INNINGS
District 6000 111 200 - 5 12 4
District 4000 010 200 - 3 7 1
E-Sefter, O'Connor, Corl, Smith; Greenough. 2B-Kephart; Young, Kutz, Machner. 3B-VanVactor. RBIs-Kephart, VanVactor, Simpson; Young. SAC-O'Connor, Reish. SB-Davis, Greenough. LOB-District 6 6, District 4 10. DP-District 4.
PITCHING
District 6: Hackett-4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO; Murphy (W)-5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 SO.
District 4: Peterson (L)-5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO; Young-4 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO.
