Montgomery Enters State Title Game
The Lady Raiders made history again as they defeated Northeast Bradford in Monday’s Class A semi-final game to claim the Eastern Region Championship. Montgomery will advance to the PIAA state title game to be held this Friday at Robb Field, Shippensburg University at 10 a.m.
With the score at 0-0 and entering the ninth inning Montgomery’s Casey Drick and Alyssa Molino hit a RBI double and RBI triple consecutively before Drick recorded a game-ending strikeout as Montgomery edged Northeast Bradford, 2-1.
“They will never forget this, ever,” Montgomery coach Craig Weaver said. “This is something that when they are grown up and have their own families they will remember this. I am really, really pleased and happy for the girls to get to experience this because you look around at the schools that are rich in tradition and they only make it once or twice in the history of the school and we’re very fortunate to be going where we’re going.”
The Red Raiders (23-1), captured their first Eastern Region championship in dramatic fashion and will play Chartiers-Houston, a 1-0 winner over Claysburg-Kimmel in Friday’s state final game. It’s been a remarkable run by a team that entered the season having not won a league or district championship in addition to a state playoff game.
The Lady Raiders have claimed three championships, won three state playoff games and will be known as the greatest team in school history.
“He (Weaver) kept telling us it’s going to happen sometime. We’re getting our bats on it. We’re going to get it and we knew we would,” second baseman Kelsey Lynch said. “It feels unbelievable. It’s just really exciting and awesome.”
Entering the bottom of the ninth with the Raiders ahead 2-0, NE Bradford’s Phillips leaded off with a home run to left field and cutting the score to 2-1. It was the first time Drick had allowed a postseason run in five games.
The senior right-hander first struck out NEB’s clean-up hitter before inducing a grounder back to the mound. Taylor Keefe hit a two-out single, putting the tying run at first, but Drick remained calm. She struckout the following batter, Mindy Labarre, with a perfectly-placed pitch on the outside corner to end the game.