Balint notches 1000th strikeout in win over Coatesville

By Bill Rudick
Brudick55@gmail.com
CALN—There had been no hotter team in the Ches-Mont than the Coatesville Red Raiders, off to their best start in years and averaging double digits in scoring during the 4-0 start. Avon Grove’s Maggie Balint, meanwhile, entered Tuesday night’s game under the lights at Caln Park eleven shy of 1000 career strikeouts.
On this night, at least, good pitching got the best of good hitting, as Balint whiffed 16 in a two-hit, 4-1 victory.
“We didn’t do a great job making contact and fell behind on too many counts,” said Coatesville coach Bill Mendenhall. “Then we had to go chasing the riseball, and as good as she was tonight, we weren’t going to get many of them. Bottom line, we only got two hits, and it’s tough to win games with only two hits.”
Scoreless through the first two, Avon Grove got on the board in the third. Cam Laterza, the number nine hitter, connected with an Alexis Lichter pitch, and drove it to the wall in right, then cruised into third for a triple. Laterza came home on an RBI ground out from Morgan DeFao.
“I love the outside pitch, and I was waiting for one,” said Laterza. “I finally got one and just drove it and ran hard. We’ve worked on baserunning and getting home on groundouts, and I was pretty sure I was going to score. It’s great to get the win, and I couldn’t be happier for Maggie.”
Balint helped her own cause in the fifth, ripping a two-run home run over the 195 sign in right center.
“I know my head was kind of stuck on getting the eleven strikeouts,” said Balint. “But I remember coming here last year under the lights, and we lost the game because we didn’t hit. I wasn’t going to let that eleven K mark detract from the game, and I just kind of got angy and aggressive at the plate.”
Balint didn’t have to wait long to get the thoughts of “eleven Ks” out of her head, either. In the bottom half of the inning, with one out, Balint got Nicole Ricento to chase one of those riseballs, and strikeout number 1000 was in the books.
“It was one of my goals coming into the season, so it’s great to put in behind us,” said Balint. “Never in a million years would I have thought four years ago that I’d get it. Now we’ll just see how far I can go.”
The Red Raiders lone score came in the sixth. Maggie Kane led off with a walk, moving over to third on a single up the middle from Ashley Traband, then came home on an RBI ground out off the bat of Lichter.
“We just have to have a short memory and put this behind us,” said Mendehall. “I thought we played really well defensively. There’s always room for improvement, and the good news is we play them again in a week and have a chance to change it around. Right now, we’ll forget about this and get ready for Rustin and Downingotwn West this week.”
The Red Devils tacked on an insurance run in the seventh. Laura Thomspon led off with a double to right, and came in to score when Megan Nolan (2 for 4, RBI) tripled to right center.
Box Score

Avon Grove 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 –4
Coatesville 0 0 0 0 0 1 0—1
Avon Grove AB R H RBI

Nolan—LF 4 1 2 1
DeFao—SS 4 0 0 1
Balint—P 3 1 2 2
Butler—3B 3 0 1 0
Wallauer—1B 3 0 0 0
McGarvey—2B 3 0 0 0
Kuninsky—C 2 0 0 0
VanSciver—CR 0 0 0 0
Thompson—CF 3 1 1 0
Laterza—RF 3 1 1 0
Totals 28 4 7 4
Coatesville
Kane—3B 1 1 0 0
Traband—CF 3 0 2 0
Lichter—P 3 0 0 0
Mendenhall—C 3 0 0 0
White—SS 3 0 0 0
D Ricento—1B 3 0 0 0
N Ricento—2B 3 0 0 0
Vetter—LF 2 0 0 0
Henry—RF 2 0 0 0
Totals 23 1 2 1
HR—Balint 3B—Laterza, Nolan 2B—Thompson
Pitching IP R H K BB
Avon Grove
Balint (W) 7 1 2 16 2
Coatesville
Licther (L) 7 4 6 3 2