Lady Patriots capture Pennsylvania state title

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YORK - If champions are the teams that finish strongest, then very few have anything on Lady Patriots softball.

The Lady Patriots 16-and-under squad went 5-0 Sunday and outscored its opponents 33-8 to win the ASA Class B Pennsylvania state championship.

In the title game, the Lady Patriots faced the Rheems Force and jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Jessica Henry led off with a double, and Maddie Amspacker plated Henry with an RBI single. Emilee Gearhart tripled to score Amspacker, and Courtney Sunderland then reached on an error that allowed Gearhart to cross home.

Sunderland advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an error that also allowed Dani Treaster to reach first. The Lady Patriots scored their final run in the second inning, when Lindsey Lowrey singled and wound up scoring on a sacrifice fly by Henry.

Brittany Cox finished her busy weekend by pitching the championship game and picking up the win for the Lady Patriots. As coach Gary Henry says, Cox had plenty of help, too.

"There were numerous amazing defensive plays throughout the day on Sunday," he said. "This was truly a team effort. There was not one player who didn't contribute in some form to their winning the state championship."

The Lady Patriots shirked a slow start on Saturday and enacted the eight-run rule in a 12-3 victory over MT Attitude Sunday morning. The squad then beat Pocono Pride 4-1 and slipped past Valley Thunder 3-2. In the state semifinals, the Lady Patriots routed the PA Shooting Starz 9-1 to advance to the championship game.

The state title is the second in a row for the Lady Patriots, who also won a 2007 state championship in the 14-and-under age group.

The team dedicated the tournament to its former coach, the late Steve Benner, who passed away in May after a bout with cancer. One of the dedications included placing plastic cups in the fence in the design of Benner's No. 23, and another took place before the final inning of the state championship game, when the team huddled together on the field, looked up to the sky and shouted, "This one's for you."

The Lady Patriots include girls from Mifflin, Juniata and Huntingdon counties. Cox, Amspacker, Lowrey and Treaster anchored the pitching staff, and the team also included Sunderland, Henry, Gearhart, Kierstine Boozel, Erin Fite, Erica Kauffman, and Lauren Snyder.

The Lady Patriots will now take part in the Harrisburg College Showcase & Invitational Tournament on Saturday and Sunday before returning to York for Class A Nationals, which are from July 30-Aug. 3.