Big third carries Kennett to win over Avon Grove

WEST GROVE—Down 2-0 after a sloppy start, Kennett sent 13 hitters to the plate in the top half of the third inning. Four hits, a couple of walks and a couple errors later, and the Blue Demons (6-4) had pushed across seven runs. Kennett then settled in and came away as a 12-4 winner over host Avon Grove (6-7)

“That has been so frequent for us this year it’s practically a mantra,” said Kennett coach Lauren Gottstein of her Demons’ rough start. “Today we were lucky enough to put up a lot of runs to get past that slow start. This is a really young team with no seniors, so there are going to be some bumps. But it’s big for us to get the win. Wins over the other division are going to be important.”

The Red Devils took the early lead with single runs in both the first and second. In the first, Lexi Barnhart scorched a one-out triple to the gap in right center, and then scored on a wild pitch. Next inning, Maddie Grablewski worked a lead-off walk, moving up to second on a sacrifice bunt from Becca LeStourgeon, then scored after a couple of wild pitches.

Kennett starter Genevieve Ebaugh struggled with her control in the early going, walking four in the first two innings and uncorking three wild pitches, two of which turned into Red Devils’ runs.

“I just wasn’t mentally prepared as I could’ve been at the start of the game,” said Ebaugh. “I didn’t come out as strong as I could have.”

But after Kennett’s big inning, Ebaugh settled in. She went the distance for the win, allowing four runs—none earned—on six scattered hits. Ebaugh struck out six, and walked five, but issued no free passes after the third.

“Any time you put up runs like we did that inning helps your mental game as a pitcher,” said Ebaugh. “It helps you to relax and just settle in, and I thought I settled in pretty well after that.”

Ebaugh did it with the bat as well as with her arm, pacing Kennett’s 10-hit attack by going 3 for 5 with a homer, three runs scored and three runs batted it.

The Demons also saw multi-hit games from Shannon Harvey (2 for 5, 2R, RBI), and Hannah Slicer (2 for 4, 2R, RBI).

“We came back really strong today,” said Slicer. “We’re all really close, and we’re all going to be back next year. I think every time we step on the field, we’re gaining confidence in ourselves.”

The Demons tacked on three more runs in the fourth on singles from Ebaugh and Slicer, and a couple of Devils’ errors, and another pair in the top half of the seventh on a Harvey single and Ebaugh’s home run.

For Avon Grove, Barnhart finished the day 2 for 4 with a triple, while Le Stourgeon also chipped in a pair of hits along with her sacrifice to finish 2 for 2 on the afternoon.