Bristol ousted by Millersburg in PIAA opener

HALIFAX — When Bristol sophomore Bryanna Vearling crushed a fourth-inning pitch over the right field fence with a runner on base, the hope was that the Lady Warriors could hold on to a slim 2-1 edge in their PIAA Class A First Round matchup with Millersburg.

It was not to be however as the District 3 champion Indians plated a pair of runs to go ahead in the fifth inning then added an insurance run in the sixth to advance. The 4-2 loss to Millersburg (23-2) ends Bristol’s 2015 campaign at 18-4.

“We hoped (the lead) would hold,’ said Warriors head coach Mike Lalli. “But realistically, we didn’t think a 1-run lead was going to be enough.

“They’re a pretty good team; they won over 20 games. They’re going to get some runs and they’ve got girls who hit the ball.’

“We would have liked to have gotten a couple more runs; we had chances, we just didn’t get the key hit when we needed it.’

The Indians advanced to the PIAA quarterfinal matchup with District 11 champ Williams Valley, whom they also defeated by the same 4-2 score. Millersburg moved on to a PIAA semifinal matchup set for June 8 against District 6 runner-up Conemaugh Valley, a 2-1 winner over District 4 champ Bloomsburg.

Try as they might, District 1 champion Bristol could not solve Indians lefthander Marlo Roadcap, who fanned 11 batters in the contest. When they did manage to get runners into scoring position, the Warriors could not come up with the key hit. Bristol stranded seven baserunners in the contest.