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First Posted: 6/2/2014 BLOOMSBURG - Smack in the middle of an unexpected slugfest, the Berwick Bulldogs made a rare pitching change.
It turned the game around.
Ashton Mensinger restored order in the circle Monday, and Moriah Lynn helped restore a lead that she&#8217;d lost as Berwick mashed Mifflinburg, 18-12 in a PIAA Class 3A softball opener at Bloomsburg University.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve been involved in a game like that. I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve been involved in four games like that combined,&#8221; Berwick coach Brian Bridge said.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t say I have,&#8221; Mensinger said.
Has anyone?
The teams were tied 10-10 after the first two innings &#8212; which took more than an hour to complete. What&#8217;s more, both starting pitchers, coming off top-notch playoff performances, were knocked out of the circle before the start of the third.
Enter Mensinger.
After ending the second inning by striking out the first batter she faced, Mensinger allowed five hits and just two runs over the game&#8217;s final five innings &#8212; after Mifflinburg roughed up Berwick ace Moriah Lynn for 10 runs on 12 hits in 1 2/3 innings.
&#8220;I know Ashton does very well,&#8221; Lynn said. &#8220;She did phenomenal today. She had so many strikeouts. If anyone was going to do it, I&#8217;m glad it was her. I&#8217;m so proud of her.&#8221;
So were the rest of the Bulldogs.
Mensinger retired seven batters in a row from the end of the third through the fifth &#8212; the longest stretch of outs on the day. That allowed Berwick&#8217;s offense to break out to an 18-12 lead. Mensinger allowed just two hits and no runs over her final four innings, putting away 12 of the final 14 batters she faced. She ended the game with her fourth strikeout.
&#8220;Anything&#8217;s possible,&#8221; Mensinger said when asked if she expected to pitch. &#8220;I just had to be ready to go, help my team out. You just have to go on there and focus on the pitch. It was really a hitters&#8217; game. My pitches were running today and everything just came together well.&#8221;
Meanwhile, Lynn took out her frustrations at the plate.
After being removed from the circle, she ripped a two-run single in Berwick&#8217;s seven-run third inning that broke the 10-10 tie, then added a run-scoring single in the fifth inning. For the day, Lynn finished with three hits, including a double, and scored three runs while driving home four.
&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t give up,&#8221; Lynn said. &#8220;It wasn&#8217;t over. I had to do anything I could to help the team.&#8221;
The Bulldogs got help from everywhere.
Every player in the Bulldogs lineup had at least on RBI and scored at least one run, and eight of Berwick&#8217;s starters had at least one hit.
That onslaught sent Berwick to Thursday&#8217;s state second round against Lansdale Catholic.
&#8220;We were scratching our heads the whole game,&#8221; Bridge said. &#8220;We were just looking at each other in disbelief. Luckily, our offense didn&#8217;t quit. They always find a way to surprise me, that&#8217;s for sure.&#8221;
****
Berwick`AB`R`H`RBI`2B`3B`HR
Moriah Lynn p,3b`5`3`3`4`1`0`0
Kylene Welsh 2b`4`2`3`1`0`0`0
Sara Berlin c`3`2`1`1`0`0`0
Courtney Hummel lf`4`1`0`1`0`0`0
Abbey Remley ss`4`2`2`3`0`1`0
Cass Dianese 1b`3`2`1`1`0`0`0
Abby Kaiata cf`5`1`2`2`1`0`0
Shea Petty 3b,rf`0`0`0`0`0`0`0
Taylor Kern dp`3`2`1`1`0`0`0
Ashton Mensinger rf,p`4`2`3`2`1`0`0
Totals`35`18`16`15`2`1`0
Mifflinburg`AB`R`H`RBI`2B`3B`HR
Kayla Kline ss`5`3`3`0`0`0`0
McKenzie Noll 2b`3`1`1`1`0`0`0
Sara Stauffer 1b`4`3`3`1`1`0`0
MacKenzie Kyler 3b`3`2`2`1`1`0`0
Molly Davis c`4`1`2`2`1`0`0
Margaret Wiand lf`4`0`2`1`1`0`0
Morgan Kyler cf`4`1`2`1`0`1`0
Courtney Boop p`0`0`0`0`0`0`0
Chelsea Mitchell p`0`0`0`0`0`0`0
Kylie Kuhns dh`4`0`1`1`0`0`0
Emily Stauffer rf`4`1`1`0`0`0`0
Totals`35`12`17`8`3`1`0
Berwick`287`010`0`- 18
Mifflinburg`372`000`0` - 12
Berwick`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Lynn`1.2`12`10`10`1`1
Mensinger, W`5.1`5`2`2`0`4
Mifflinburg`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Boop, L`2.2`10`16`15`7`0
Mitchell`4.1`7`2`2`0`0

A sigh of relief for Berwick