AUSTINTOWN CLAIMS DISTRICT 2 CROWN

BOARDMAN OH- Austintown and Poland met at the very beginning of the 10U softball district tournament. It was a battle, but Austintown won 2-0. The two teams battled the rest of the way through the bracket to square up a rematch in the championship. Austintown was one win away from a title, and they got it. A 5 run sixth let them cruise to a 7-2 win.

For most of the game it was a straight pitcher’s duel between Austintown’s Mila Hamley and Poland’s Aly Blinsky.  Both pitcher’s finished with double digit strikeouts as Blinsky racked up 16 and Hamley knocked down 14.

Up until the 5th inning, Austintown carried a 2-0 lead. They scored their runs on a couple of walks, a wild pitch, and an error.  Then in the bottom of the 5th, Poland finally cracked the score board.  As Capri Carchedi and Rosie Simko drew back to back walks and then Sydney Macdonald got an RBI base hit to cut the Austintown lead to 2-1. Hamley shut the door though to mantain the lead.

Austibtown came up and finally got the offense going in the 6th and final inning. They took advantage of a few more walks, and passed balls to put the pressure on. Annabel Mikesell got the team’s first hit to solidify a 5 run inning. That was plenty of room for Hamley to pitch her way to a 7-2 victory in the bottom of the frame.

Austintown moves on to the Little League State Tournament in Ashtabula.