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Lady Warriors three-peat

BEDFORD – A moderately steady rain waterlogged the Bedford Area High School softball field at around 6 p.m. Thursday and forced stoppage of the District 5-AA championship game between Everett and Chestnut Ridge.

After play had been suspended for about a half-hour, the umpiring crew called the game with Everett – which had held a 9-4 lead when the rain began with the Lady Warriors batting in the bottom of the sixth inning – winding up with its third consecutive District 5 title.

Everett’s players were soaking wet when their district gold medals were handed out, but nothing could dampen their moods, especially the senior players who have now been around to enjoy three straight district championships.

“It feels extremely good,” star pitcher Kadie Morral, who has been a four-year standout for Everett, said about taking home her third district gold medal. “I can’t even explain my feelings right now.”

Senior Raelyn Rice, who drove in three runs in Thursday’s victory, has also been starting at third base on each of Everett’s three district title teams.

“It feels great to be able to end my senior year this way,” Rice said. “I felt like I’ve been in a bit of a (batting) slump all year, and it was nice to be able to pull through today and help our team get this victory.”

Everett, the top seed in District 5-AA, improved to 18-2 and will advance to the PIAA Class AA state tournament and a first-round game against the District 9 champion on Monday, June 6 at a District 9 site and time to be determined.

Second-year Everett coach Jackie Levy credited her team’s senior leadership as a big factor in this year’s success.

“We have a great group of girls, and I’m so happy for their success,” Levy said. “This year, we had such good senior leadership. The seniors really took the younger girls under their wing.”

Everett benefited from timely hitting and 10 walks to keep the tempo in its favor throughout Thursday’s game. It was the third time in as many years that Everett has beaten Ridge in the district final.

“We started out well, but we were walking a few too many and giving them too many baserunners,” said Ridge coach Chuck Corle, whose team finished this season with a 13-8 record. “Everett has a nice team. They were patient at the plate today, and they came up with some big hits.”

Everett grabbed a 3-0 lead after three innings, scoring a first-inning run on Rice’s single to left field that plated shortstop Sydney Reffner, who had walked, from second base, and adding two more runs in the third, with the second one scoring via sophomore second baseman Brittany Ewing’s RBI groundout.

Leading 3-1, Everett blew the game open with a six-run fourth inning. Four Everett players drew walks in the inning, and three – Reffner, catcher Hannah Laidig, and right fielder Taylor Ritchey – came in to score runs.

Ewing and Rice both chipped in two-run singles to highlight the inning. Ewing, like Rice, drove in three runs in the game.

“There were some big hits in the (fourth) inning that (produced) runs,” Ewing said. “Once you get the offense started, it becomes contagious. It just keeps rolling.”

Just like Everett’s recent dominance in the district playoffs.

And now it’s up to Everett to improve upon last year’s performance in the state tournament, when the Lady Warriors won a first-round game but lost in the quarterfinals.

“With the senior leadership that we have, we’re looking to keep moving forward,” Levy said.

Game notes: Everett had just six hits, all singles, with Rice and first baseman Kecia Cogan collecting two apiece … Morral allowed Ridge only five hits, including third baseman Madison Weyant’s RBI double in the fourth inning that accounted for Ridge’s first run of the game.

CHESTNUT RIDGE (4): Mowry cf 300, K. Diehl p 300, Mock lf 221, Weyant 3b 311, D. Diehl 1b 301, Weyant ss 300, Shank 2b 110, Whysong rf 301, Oldham c 201, Shippey cr 000. Totals – 23-4-5.

EVERETT (9): Reffner ss 220, Snider cf 211, Laidig c 310, Morral p 210, Appel cr 000, Rice 3b 412, Ritchey rf 120, Cogan 1b 312, Ewing 2b 301, Jenkins lf 300. Totals – 23-9-6.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Chestnut Ridge000 112 0-4 5 3

Everett102 60X X-9 6 3

E-K. Diehl, Weyant, Shank, Rice 2, Cogan. 2B-Mad. Weyant, Whysong. RBI-Mad. Weyant, D. Diehl, Mak. Weyant, Rice 3, Ewing 3, Morral. SB-Jenkins, Morral. LOB-Chestnut Ridge 4, Everett 8. HBP-Cogan by Diehl.

Records: Chestnut Ridge (13-8); Everett (18-2).

PITCHING

CHESTNUT RIDGE

K. Diehl (L) 5+IP, 6H, 9R, 6ER, 1SO, 10BB, 3 WP.

EVERETT

Morral (W) 6IP, 5H, 4R, 1ER, 5SO, 3BB.

Umpires: Thad Kiesnowski (plate); Gary Singel (first base); Curtis Kerns (second base); William Brode (third base).

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