But even Vollman cannot find fault with how she concluded Wednesday’s thrill-a-minute softball game at Elm Park.

The freshman second baseman provided the perfect ending.

Vollman drilled a walk-off RBI single, scoring pinch-runner Megan Lorson from second base as Williamsport edged Jersey Shore, 9-8 in a back and forth, hard-hitting, electrifying game which was fun from start to finish. Vollman also ignited a five-run sixth inning rally as Williamsport’s Cardiac Kids did it again, rallying from a four-run deficit before holding off Jersey Shore’s own comeback and remaining undefeated.

“She’s by far her own hardest critic. We told her, ‘You’re a freshman, don’t be hard on yourself, just relax,'” Williamsport coach Chase Smith said. “We said, ‘You’re here because you’re an incredible hitter and you’re going to play second base for four more years.'”

Vollman has shown why throughout her first three games and is hitting .417, while providing stellar defense. She is one of three freshmen starting for the defending District 2-4 Class AAAAAA champions and all have played key roles in helping Williamsport start 3-0, while winning two games in its final at-bat.

Williamsport worked its comeback magic again yesterday, producing five two-out runs in the sixth inning and going ahead, 8-6 on Ally Chilson’s two-run home run. Jersey Shore (3-3), however, fought back and tied it when Rachel Lorson slammed a two-run home run to almost the exact same spot Chilson hit hers. Right fielder Kendall McAnelly ended that inning with a fabulous throw to complete an inning-ending double play before drawing a lead-off walk to open the bottom half.

Lorson ran for McAnelly and went to second on Constance Harding’s bunt. That set the stage for Vollman who worked a 2-1 count before remembering advice team captain Aubri Blair gave her earlier. Vollman went with a change-up on the outside corner and scorched it into left-center field. Lorson easily scored and Williamsport completed its latest fabulous comeback during a three-year run littered with them.

“I just wanted to get a hit. Even if I didn’t get a hit, I wanted to keep the person hitting behind me up, so my mindset was just to try and move the runner up a base and if that didn’t happen just stay up and build up the hitter behind me,” Vollman said. “It felt really good. Some games I don’t contribute like I would wish, but I feel like this game I did so that was a good contribution.”

Of course, Vollman has contributed quite a lot all season. So have all the Millionaires. That is why this resilient, tight-knit team seemingly is never out of a game.

The Millionaires proved it again yesterday, never flinching after Jersey Shore went ahead, 6-2 entering the bottom of the fifth inning. Williamsport overcame a late four-run deficit against Central Mountain in its opener, broke open a tie game in the sixth inning against Danville and felt quite comfortable despite playing an excellent team and being behind four.

Hall of Fame Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy once told his players, ‘When it’s too tough for them, it’s just right of for us.” Three decades later, Williamsport embraces that philosophy just about every game.

“We were going to find a way to win no matter what,” Vollman said. “I believe if I didn’t score that run someone else would and we would still win the game.”

“I told them right there if I could pick a team to be up the whole time and win easily every time or do what we do, I’d pick what we do,” Smith said. “It’s more fun. It’s more character building and that’s what this is all about, building character … we have plenty of character.”

So does Jersey Shore.

The Bulldogs have lost three games but all three have been close and they never buckled yesterday. Following Chilson’s go-ahead home run, Jersey Shore immediately countered as Emma Pfirman drew a lead-off walk. Lorson was in the midst of a huge performance and she seemed the perfect player to have coming up next.

Sure enough, Lorson walloped the game-tying home run, sending it well over the left field fence and tying the game, 8-8. It was the third time, Jersey Shore had quickly answered with at least one run after Williamsport had scored the previous inning.

“I’m a captain and I just felt that I had to step up,” Lorson said. “We’re at that point in the season where you just have to hit that high on the roller coaster and get the momentum going.”

Lorson had that momentum going all afternoon and helped fuel a 14-hit offense. She hit the final of four home runs in this heavyweight title like fight with teammate Lynna Clark hitting a two-run blast in the fifth inning which put Jersey Shore up, 4-2. Blair also homered for Williamsport as long-time rivals exchanged haymakers all afternoon.

Lorson finished just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, going 4 for 4 with a double, three RBIs and two runs. Clark, Grace Lorson and Isabelle Engel all produced two hits with Engel roping two doubles. Clark’s home run higlighted the four-run fifth inning which put it ahead 6-2. Pfirman kept the rally going before Lorson completed it with a two-out RBI single as Jersey Shore kept its foot on the gas the whole game.

“Heart is one thing you can’t ever give a player. You can teach them skills, you can go to practice and play games, but heart is something you just can’t hand out and we showed heart,” Lorson said. “We all played together. We all rooted on for each other. That’s what you have to have in these big games.”

Clark struck out seven in 3 2/3 innings and Engel left the bases loaded before stranding two more in the fifth. In a replay of what it did against Central Mountain and Danville, though, Williamsport started finding its groove as it went through the lineup a third and fourth time.

Vollman’s one-out single started the game-changing sixth-inning rally as Williamsport came storming back. Blair (2 for 3) drew a two-out walk before freshman Ashlyn Robinson hit an RBI single which made it a two-run game. Abby Robertson followed by smashing a game-tying, two-run double and passed the bat to Chilson.

Chilson did not have good at-bats in her first two plate appearances but kept a short memory, figured things out and singled in her next at-bat before winning pitcher Taryn Reed hit an RBI single in the fifth inning. In the sixth, Chilson did a lot more. The senior first baseman tattooed the first pitch she saw, staying with a pitch up in the zone and depositing well over the left field fence as Williamsport took its first lead, 8-6.

“That electrified our team. Our team is so good at doing that,” Vollman said. “It’s a little nervewracking getting into those situations but when we do have games like that, we believe we can beat anyone if we stick with it and keep believing in each other.”

The belief ran high all day despite Jersey Shore taking 1-0, 2-1 and 6-2 leads. The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the third inning when Grace Lorson singled, stole second and came home on Engel’s RBI double. Blair’s two-out home run to right-center field tied the game in the bottom of the inning before Jersey Shore went ahead again in the fourth when Rachel Lorson doubled and scored on Grace Lorson’s infield single.

Every time, Williamsport was knocked down it came fighting back. And in typical Williamsport fashion, the Millionaires scored their first eight runs with two outs. They also forced Jersey Shore pitchers to throw 154 pitches with Beck’s 11-pitch, fourth-inning walk in which she fouled off five two-strike pitches epitomizing that fight. That came after McAnelly tied the game with her two-out RBI single.

“That sounds about right with my heart rate. That’s how they play. I think they plan meetings when I’m not around about trying to find the most dramatic ways to win,” Smith said as he chuckled. ” It makes sense. Two outs is more dramatic than one or no outs.”

Jersey Shore 001 140 2–8 14 0

Williamsport 001 115 1–9 11 2

Lynna Clark, Isabelle Engel (4) and Kaitlyn Herman. Taryn Reed, Kendall McAnelly (5), Reed (7) and Abby Mahon. W–Reed, (2-0). L–Engel.

Top Jersey Shore hitters: Rachel Lorson 4-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBIs, 2R; Grace Lorson 2-5, RBI, R, 2 SBs; Engel 2-4, 2 2Bs, RBI; Clark 2-4, HR, 2 RBIs; Dani Miller 1-4, 2B; Jocelyn McCracken 1-4; Emma Pfirman 1-3; Herman 1-4. Top Williamsport hitters: Aubri Blair 2-3, HR, RBI, 2R; Ashlyn Robinson 2-4, RBI, 2R; Ally Chilson 2-4, HR, 2 RBIs; Emma Vollman 2-3, RB, R; Abby Robertson 1-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2R; Reed 1-4, RBI; McAnelly 1-4, RBI.

Records: Williamsport 3-0, 3-0 HAC-I. Jersey Shore 3-3, 0-3.