Williamsport’s offense sparks as Millionaires defeat Wilkes-Barre Area in district semifinals MAY 24, 2023 JON GERARDI Sports Editor jgerardi@sungazette.com Standing near her team’s dugout, Williamsport’s Ally Chilson mentioned to teammates and people nearby that she was hoping for two quick runs to end the game in five. One of those runs came right before Chilson went up to bat with an RBI single into left field by Abby Robertson. And after two batters, it was pinch-hitter Bailey Livermore who came up clutch. Livermore hit a shallow single into left field that brought in Robertson and gave Williamsport a mercy-rule win over Wilkes-Barre Area in five innings, 11-1. With the win, the Millionaires are heading back to the District 2-4 Class 6A championship game. “We won it last year, so I think this is really big for us,” Chilson said of going back to the final. “We have three freshmen that start every game, that’s going to be big for them. They never experienced anything like this. Us coming back, we’re ready for it.” The third-seeded Millionaires will face top-seeded Hazleton for the district title on Tuesday, May 30, at a time and site to be determined. It will be the tenth meeting in the last 13 seasons between the two programs as the Millionaires beat Hazelton last year. Williamsport didn’t waste time putting runs on the board. After holding Wilkes-Barre Area scoreless in the top of the first, Williamsport batted through the lineup and put up five runs for a fast 5-0 lead. An error, bunt and walk loaded the bases before Chilson delivered a two-RBI single into left field. Ashlyn Robinson and Kendall McAnelly delivered back-to-back RBIs as the Millionaires went ahead, 4-0. “It definitely set the tone. We didn’t know anything about this team, so we knew we just had to come out and play our best,” Chilson said. “We started out with that and it just built momentum for the rest of the game.” The Millionaires scored five runs on three hits in that first inning, taking advantage of two Wilkes-Barre Area errors as well. “That’s the complete opposite of how we played all year, so that was a breath of fresh air. We go through our lineup once always without putting any runs on the board, so it puts pressure on us. So it took some pressure off,” Williamsport coach Chase Smith said. “We felt this was a game we should win from the beginning, but we had to release that pressure right away.” Chilson proved to be a weapon that the Wolfpack couldn’t slow down. She finished the game going 2 for 3 with a home run, four RBIs, scored twice and was walked in the fifth inning when Williamsport had a runner on second. “The second half (of the season) she has been dominant. I hate to give away our secret to success, but she’s been the main source of our offense for sure,” Smith said. “Can’t ask for much more. She hit leadoff last three games and was on like 12 times or something in those three games. That’s pretty impressive.” Williamsport collected 12 hits as Abby Robertson hit a double with two RBIs and three runs scored, Taryn Reed went 3 for 4 with a double, two stolen bases and two runs scored, Aubri Blair was 1 for 4 with two runs scored, Robinson was 1 for 3 with an RBI and stolen base, Lili Cox went 1 for 1, Livermore went 1 for 1 with the game-winning RBI, McAnelly was 2 for 3 with an RBI and run scored and Brenna Beck was walked twice. “We did a few changes around the past few games (in the lineup), but we got back to our core lineup that we had at beginning of season,” Chilson said. “Everyone’s bats are hot right now. Anybody at any point in time can get a hit.” Wilkes-Barre Area scored its lone run in the top of the third inning to break up the shutout. After Dainely Franco was walked to start the inning, she advanced on a grounder and stole third. Katie Keatling then brought her in with an RBI single into right field. But that would be the only run the Wolfpack would score as Williamsport’s defense came up with big plays when needed. In the fourth inning, Madalyn McGuinness led the inning off with a double down the right-field line. Williamsport would then force three straight outs to strand her in scoring position at third. In the fifth inning, it was more of the same. With one out and Caitlyn Sekelsky and Hope Burke on second and first, respectively, Williamsport’s Taryn Reed induced two grounders to get out of the inning without a run allowed. The Wolfpack ended the game going 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and had just one extra-base hit: a double by McGuinness. “That’s really our key thing. We always say defensive effort wins games for us,” Chilson said. “Our defense is always pretty strong and that’s what wins us most games.” “Solid defense is what we try to pride ourselves on. We usually have a couple blips on the radar, but not today. We were pretty solid. It was level of focus we brought today. I think playoffs bring a level of focus,” Smith said. “A lot of times our defense has bad hops and things that get on us. Not any unfortunate plays today, they were all clean hops. “I think it let us show how good we really are because sometimes funky things happen out there that makes it seem like your defense is weak. But we know we’re pretty solid on defense,” Smith concluded. Williamsport scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to further increase their lead and put the game out of reach. Aubri Blair opened the inning with a walk and stole second. Robertson would drive her in after reaching thanks to an error. Chilson then came up big with a 210-foot home run over the left-field fence that brought both Robertson and herself home for an 8-1 lead. Robinson then had a single and would steal second, advance to third on a passed ball and score on a wild pitch for the 9-1 lead. “It felt pretty good (to hit a home run). It was definitely a team effort. I think it definitely built momentum, but we all came out ready to play,” Chilson said. Up next is a rematch against Hazleton for the district title, and Chilson and the rest of her teammates are excited to be back in the title game. “These girls won the district championship last year, so they know how cool it is,” Smith said. “They want to experience that again for sure. In the postgame huddle they were saying how neat of an experience it is to go.” Williamsport 11, Wilkes-Barre Area 1 (5 INNINGS) Wilkes-Barre 001 00 – 1 6 3 Williamsport 500 42 – 11 12 0 Alivia Mazurek and Madalyn McGuinness. Taryn Reed and Abby Mahon. W: Reed. L: Mazurek. Top Wilkes-Barre Area hitters: Caitlyn Sekelsky 1-3; Hope Burke 1-3; Katie Keating 2-3, RBI; Madalyn McGuinness 2-2, 2B; Dainely Franco BB, SB, run. Top Williamsport hitters: Ally Chilson 2-3, HR, 4 RBIs, BB, 2 runs; Abby Robertson 1-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, 3 runs, BB; Taryn Reed 3-4, 2B, 2 SB, 2 runs; Aubri Blair 1-4, 1B, 2 runs; Ashlyn Robinson 1-3, RBI, SB, run; Lili Cox 1-1; Bailey Livermore 1-1, RBI; Kendall McAnelly 2-3, RBI, run; Brenna Beck 2 BB.  

Millionaires win tight game with Jersey Shore on Vollman’s walk-off single APR 13, 2023 CHRIS MASSE Sports reporter cmasse@sungazette.com Emma Vollman often finds fault no matter how well she plays. And she plays really well. Such as life as a perfectionist. 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.  

Aubri Blair helps propel Williamsport softball to win against Central Mountain in eight innings LOCAL SPORTS APR 4, 2023 CHRIS MASSE Sports reporter cmasse@sungazette.com   Constance Harding of Williamsport catches a fly ball hit by Madisyn Wian of Central Mountain for an out in the third inning at Central Mountain April 4, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette MILL HALL–Aubri Blair watched her foul ball sail just outside the first-base fence. One thought entered the senior shortstop’s mind as she walked back into the batter’s box. “You really need to make the most of this next pitch,” Blair said. She did. In the biggest way possible. Blair slammed a go-ahead home run down the right field line before Kendall McAnelly stranded the winning runs in the bottom of the eighth inning as Williamsport rallied to win its season opener, 6-5 in a thriller at Central Mountain Tuesday. The Millionaires (1-0, 1-0 HAC-I) made their HAC-I debut a memorable one, overcoming a 4-0 fifth-inning deficit, scoring two runs to tie it in the seventh and escaping enough jams to make Houdini smile. The season is so young, but this was a big-time win against a big-time opponent. Central Mountain captured the league title last season and reached the Class 5A state quarterfinals. Williamsport won the District 2-4 Class 6A championship and also reached the state’s Elite 8. In its first game, Williamsport found a way to grind out a fantastic win against an excellent team. Kendall McAnelly of Williamsport delivers a pitch late in the game to Central Mountain at Central Mountain April 4, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette “This is what we do,” McAnelly said after allowing no earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of brilliant relief. “We live for this.” McAnnelly stranded the winning runs after they reached first and second with one out in the seventh inning to force extras. Blair helped out in a huge way, making a spectacular running catch up against the shallow left-field fence for the second out. Williamsport coach Chase Smith planned on bunting Blair if the lead-off batter reached base in the eighth, but when she did not, Blair had the green light. The three-year starter learned a lot after facing Central Mountain ace Adalynn McKeague four times and turned knowledge into power at the perfect time. Facing a 2-2 count, Blair smashed her home run the opposite way, driving it over the right field fence and giving Williamsport its first lead, 6-5. “I was coming off that catch over against the fence and I was very fired up. Chase was talking to me about possibly bunting, and I was like, ‘If you want me to bunt, for sure, I’ve got you, but I’m feeling pretty in the zone,” Blair said. “I’ve seen her a few times and I’ve kind of adjusted to what she’s throwing, hitting that outside corner really well. I saw that pitch coming and I took it that way.” Abby Robertson of Williamsport is safe at home as Gracie Saar of Central Mountain catches the ball but can’t make the tag in the fifth inning at Central Mountain April 4, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette “She’s willing to do anything. That’s the type of kid Aubri is,” Smith said. “She was going to bunt if that kid got on, but I guess a game-winning home run works, too.” Central Mountain (1-2, 0-1) collected 14 hits and Katelyn Bowman (3 for 5) hit a one-out single in the bottom of the eighth. She went to second on a ground out to third baseman Abby Robertson before Madison Hardy walked. With the winning runs on base, McAnelly remained as calm as she would facing the game’s first batter and induced a game-ending flyout to freshman center fielder Ashlyn Robinson. McAnelly has produced in similar situations throughout her youth and scholastic softball careers. She would rather not get into those jams but consistently and masterfully works out of them. The gutsy senior did it in each of the innings she pitched against Central Mountain, stranding eight runners, including at least one each time. “I don’t strike girls out, so just keeping it on the ground is key for me,” McAnelly said. “I have so much confidence in my teammates and the defense. Half the time I don’t even turn around. I just know they’re going to get the ball.” McKeague delivered a similar tough-minded performance, striking out 10 in her eight innings. The junior right-hander took a one-hitter into the fifth inning and Central Mountain seemed like it was cruising to a win. Abby Robertson of Williamsport tries to make the tag as Madisyn Wian of Central Mountain slides into third base in the first inning at Central Mountain April 4, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette This, however, is often when Williamsport is its most dangerous and it proved so again. Abby Mahon and Blair drew walks before Robertson (2 for 3) hit a single to load the bases. Mahon scored on a two-out wild pitch before Taryn Reed scorched a clutch two-run single into center field, making it, 4-3. Central Mountain scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth, but Williamsport again did not flinch down two runs with three outs to go in the seventh. Robertson, Ally Chilson and Reed opened the inning with singles before McAnelly hit a sacrifice fly to right field. Williamsport pinch-runner Lili Cox did an excellent job and went to third on the throw home on McAnelly’s sacrifice fly. That proved crucial a batter later as Cox scored on Robinson’s grounder to second base and tied the game, 5-5. “Even down 4-0, I had total confidence after we had gone through and seen her a couple times that we were going to start jumping on her and putting balls in play,” Blair said. “We were putting in balls in play, it was just a matter of when they were going to start dropping.”