Lady Cards Softball Top Bulldogs

Kate Rittenbaugh batting during game against Tri-Valley.

Andrew Griffiths, Associate Photo Correpondant

To start of the game Wednesday afternoon, things surprisingly looked shaky. The Tri-Valley girls had a lead off triple and then sacrificed a bunt to score a run. The top of the inning ended and everyone was kind of shocked by how that inning went. Pine Grove appeared to sputter at the start but that’s when things went the way all of Pine Grove is used to. The Lady Cards began the inning with a leadoff slap bunt from four year starter, Kate Rittenbaugh. Trisha Kopinetz followed up with a single of her own. Olivia Lehman then batted third and hit an inside the park home run. From there it was over. The whole team found their stride.

The Lady Cards scored 10 runs before the inning ended. Holding a 10-1 lead to start the second inning is how the lady cards games usually go. Olivia Lehman was tremendous on the mound, only allowing Tri Valley to have four hits the entire game. After long innings with the bats, and short innings on the field, the Lady Cards had a 14-3 lead when they came up to bat in the bottom of the 3rd inning. The inning was much of the same with lots of hits and bases loaded. Unlucky enough for Tri Valley, Trisha Kopinetz was up to bat with the bases loaded. They had to pitch to her because they couldn’t afford to give up any more runs. Unfortunately they did just that. Trisha parked a grand slam with an absolute missle to make the game 19-3. This put into the 15 run rule and the game was over. After the game senior catcher Trisha Kopinetz said, “I thought we did pretty well. We were a little shaky at first, but once we got past that first inning we were fine. I think if we sharpen up our defense a little bit and hit like we can, we will have a great season.” In turn, with their first home game of the season, the Lady Cards put everyone on notice that they’re still on top, and a team that is out to make a statement.Andre