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MEYERSDALE -- With his team trailing host Meyersdale, 3-1 after three innings in a PIAA Class 1A first-round softball playoff game Monday, first-year Glendale coach Bruce Vereshack urged his players to keep their composure.
They took heed of the encouraging words almost immediately, responding with a five-run fourth inning for a 6-5 victory at the Meyersdale High School softball field.
The win advances District 6 runner-up Glendale (17-2) into Thursday afternoon's quarterfinal round against District 2 champion Old Forge at a site and time to be determined. Old Forge (12-8) punched its ticket into the quarters by defeating Cowanesque Valley, 2-1, in a first-round game played Monday on the University of Scranton field.
"We gave ourselves a chance and we pulled it out,'' Vereshack said. "I told our players to keep the pressure on them. They made a couple of mistakes, and we capitalized on them.''
Freshman Madison Peterson led Glendale with both her bat and pitching arm Monday.
Peterson drove in three runs with a double in the first inning and a big two-run single to highlight the fourth-inning rally. The young right-hander also pitched another complete game, allowing just five hits, striking out seven batters, and walking just one.
"She's been doing that all year,'' Vereshack said of Peterson's pitching effort. "She's been phenomenal, fantastic.''
Peterson said that a team effort was important for Glendale Monday.
"It was all about the team tonight,'' Peterson said. "We just fought together as a team, and we worked our way back.''
Glendale sent 10 batters to the plate in the big fourth inning against Meyersdale sophomore right-handed pitcher Isabella Donaldson, who also turned in a complete-game effort, striking out 11 batters.
Center fielder Kelly Kasaback led off with a single to right field, and moved to second on an error. Kasaback then advanced to third on a passed ball.
After first baseman Abby Williams walked, Donaldson retired the next two batters before shortstop Riley Best walked to load the bases.
Second baseman Kaprice Kavalet walked to force in Kasaback with the first run of the inning, and Peterson followed by lining a single to right field, scoring Williams and Best to put Glendale ahead to stay, 4-3.
"It was a lot of pressure,'' Peterson said. "I just tried to clear my head and string out a hit there.''
Cavalet moved to third on Peterson's hit, and another passed ball allowed Peterson to advance to second. Third baseman Ally Buterbaugh followed with an infield popup that was dropped, allowing Cavalet to score and Peterson to advance to third, from where she scored the final run of the inning on right fielder Jillian Taylor's sharp single to right-center field.
"We should have been out of the inning, but we did make some mistakes and we gave them a couple extra outs,'' said Meyersdale coach Tim Miller, whose District 5 champion team finished the season with a 20-3 record. "Things just snowballed on us in that one inning, and that was enough to propel them to the end.
"We faced a great pitcher today and we put the ball in play,'' Miller added. "I'm proud of our girls.''
Meyersdale closed to within 6-5 with two runs in the fifth on Donaldson's solo homer to center and right fielder Jessica Dzushton's run-producing groundout.
But Peterson retired the final nine batters that she faced in succession to prevent Meyersdale from getting any closer.
"I just went out there and did what I do -- I tried to keep the ball low,'' Peterson said of her pitching approach.
And as a result, Glendale will travel to the eastern part of the state to fight another day in the quarterfinals on Thursday against an Old Forge team that Vereshack and his squad aren't familiar with.
"I don't know anything about them,'' Vereshack said of Old Forge. "But I know that a team doesn't get to reach this point in the playoffs unless they are good.''
GLENDALE (6): Best ss 220, Kaprice Cavalet 2b 211, Peterson p 412, Buterbaugh 3b 401, McNitt cr 000, Taylor rf 401, Kasaback cf 412, Williams 1b 310, C. Richards cr 000, Koltlyn Cavalet dh 401, Rydbom c 200, A. Richards flex lf 000. Totals -- 29-6-8.
MEYERSDALE (5): Dupre ss 412, Z. Hetz 1b 310, Donaldson p 311, S. Hetz c 310, Long 2b 301, Dzushton rf 311, Kretchman 3b 300, Walters cf 300, Boyce dh 300, Gindlesperger flex lf 000. Totals -- 28-5-5.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Glendale 100 500 0 -- 6 8 3
Meyersdale 210 020 0 -- 5 5 3
2B--Kaprice Cavalet, Peterson. HR--Donaldson. RBI--Peterson 3, Kaprice Cavalet, Taylor, Donaldson 2, Dupre, Dzushton. SAC--Kaprice Cavalet, Z. Hetz. SB--Kasaback, Long. CS--Buterbaugh (S. Hetz to Kretchman). LOB--Glendale 8, Meyersdale 5.
PITCHING
Glendale: Peterson (W)--7IP, 5H, 5R, 2ER, 7SO, 1BB.
Meyersdale: Donaldson (L)--7IP, 8H, 6R, 4ER, 11SO, 4BB.
Records: Glendale (17-2), Meyersdale (20-3).
Umpires: Thad Kiesnowski (plate); Dave Lowry (first base); Gary Singel (second base); John Beachley (third base).
Time of game: 1:51.