Cochranton LL girls rally

June 26--SADSBURY TWP. -- The Cochranton Little League All-Stars got knocked down. But they got up again, rallying from a three-run deficit to defeat Lakeland 7-4 during a District 1 softball showdown on Thursday at the Sadsbury Recreation Complex.

"That was a heck of a softball game," said Cochranton head coach Josh Miller. "We gave up three runs real early. But after that we gave up one run the rest of the game. The girls circled the wagons, stuck together and battled."

Cochranton now moves on to Saturday's winner's bracket final at 1 p.m. The ladies in red will take on Saegertown, which defeated Lakeview/Commodore Perry 11-2 yesterday. The winner of Saturday's game will move onto Sunday's championship.

Lakeland, meanwhile, drops to the loser's bracket. The team will go back to work today at 6 p.m., hosting Conneaut Valley.

"We're still alive," said Lakeland coach Mike Kiser. "That was out first loss. We told the girls to regroup, don't hang your heads. They battled hard. We know we're good enough to be here."

Lakeland certainly got off to a strong start during yesterday's game. The first four batters got on base. Bailey Arkwright led it off with a single. Michala Weidler was hit by a pitch. Kierston Shrock hit into an error. And Caleigh Kiser singled.

Arkwright scored on a passed ball. Weidler scored on Kiser's hit. And Shrock came home on another passed ball to give Lakeland an early 3-0 lead.

Cochranton answered with a run in the bottom of the first. Kaleigh Danielson walked to lead off the inning. Kayla Freyermuth bunted her over to second. And then Kendall Miller brought Danielson around with a single.

Lakeland pushed it back to a three-run game with a run in the second inning. Arkwright notched her second of three hits in the game. She then moved to third on an error. And Shrock brought Arkwright home on a fly-out.

Yet that would end up being all the offense for Lakeland. Freyermuth, Cochranton's pitcher, held Lakeland to just three more hits the rest of the game. She ended up recording the win, allowing four runs on six hits while walking two, hitting one batter and striking out five.

"Kayla Freyermuth had a great game in the circle," said Miller. "After that first inning she settled in and pitched really well."

With Lakeland's offense stalled, Cochranton commenced to chip away at that lead.

In the third inning, Freyermuth led off with a single, then moved around the bases on a couple passed balls, and then scored on a wild pitch to make it a 4-2 game.

Cochranton then took the lead with three runs in the fourth. Madison Fox and Kristen Woolstrum drew back-to-back walks to lead off the inning. Megan Mudger, running for Fox, scored on a wild pitch. Woolstrum scored on a single up the middle by Vincena Reese. And Reese made it home on a fielder's choice grounder by Danielson.

"The second time through my seniors -- I call them seniors -- my older girls made some adjustments and had better at-bats," said Miller. "They put the ball in play. And we ran the bases well. We took advantage of opportunities when they were given to us."

Cochranton added a couple insurance runs in the fifth inning. Kendall Miller hit her second single of the day. Then Elise Miller got on board thanks to a Lakeland error. Kendall Miller scored on an RBI groundout by Megan Wright. And Elise Miller made it home on a passed ball.

Lakeland had a chance to score some runs in the fifth, getting three batters aboard. But Wright, Cochranton's catcher, gunned down one runner trying to steal second. The other two were left stranded as Cochranton's defense made plays.

"The girls battled hard," said Lakeland's coach Kiser. "We got up early, but Cochranton started hitting the ball. They were finding gaps. You'll have that in softball. Cochranton's a tough team. My hat's off to them."

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