Daniel Boone avoids upset, powers past Governor Mifflin in District 3-5A first round

BIRDSBORO >> Last year, second-seeded Daniel Boone was upset in the opening round of the District 3-5A Tournament. This time around, the Blazers allowed little chance of a quick exit when they scored six runs in the first inning Tuesday afternoon and went on to an 8-3 win over visiting Governor Mifflin.

Caitlin McCrone took a shutout into the seventh inning for fifth-seeded Boone (18-4) and Kristen DiNolfi had two of the eight hits for the winners. The Blazers will face fourth-seeded and defending champion
Twin Valley (22-2), a 10-5 winner over 13th-seeded Manheim Central, on Thursday at a time and place to be determined.

Angelina Garwood homered and Kendall Shank allowed only two hits after the first inning for the 12th-seeded Mustangs (14-8).

“We were nervous,” McCrone said, thinking of last year’s 5-4 loss to 15th-seeded Northeastern. “And also, they (Mifflin) beat Twin Valley. So that was in the back of our mind.”

DiNolfi reached second base to open the first when her well-hit fly to left was dropped. Then Liz Nitka and Dani Hayes doubled and McCrone singled to right for a 3-0 advantage with nobody out.

Hannah Johns doubled with one away and scored on an infield hit by Hailey Kaba and bunts by Amber Williams and Savannah Weller plated the final two runs of the inning.

“It kind of gives us a little leeway to make errors and also gives us confidence,” McCrone said concerning the big first.
“They hit a couple good balls and the outfield was just a little bit off tracking them down,” said Mustang coach Dave Connor. “We kept battling and got some runners on base. Our pitcher game back and fired. I was proud of her.”

McCrone, who walked two and struck out three, scattered five singles through the first six frames and lost her shutout on a walk, an infield hit by Ellie Litwin (3-for-4) and a three-run shot to center by Garwood with two outs.

“It happens,” said McCrone. “I just trust my defense and the rest comes together. I’m confident in our defense. If they hit it, I know they’ll get it.”

Daniel Boone coach Lee Trythall wasn’t sure if the Blazer batters had a letdown after the first inning.

“Maybe,” he said. “It’s tough to figure out what 16-year-old’s are thinking. (Shank) dominated the game. We didn’t want that to happen. We’re very cognizant that she beat Twin Valley once. Her rise ball was pretty much unhittable after the first inning. And a lot of strikeouts (eight). And we didn’t look good on the strikeouts.”

Boone’s other runs came in the fourth on a hit batter, a double by DiNolfi and an error. Mifflin wound up considerably better than last year’s 7-13 mark.

“We had a good season, improved from last season,” said Connor. “That’s the bottom line. I think we were just a little more together. Last year, we only had one senior. This year, we had four (Litwin, Ellie Denlinger, Megan Shaylor and Kim Speece). The seniors were a group we started with in middle school. They set the tone for us.”

The win advanced the Blazers to a quarterfinal meeting with the fourth-seeded Raiders, who defeated Boone 10-5 early in the season and went on to win the Berks County championship.

“We know they’re a very good team,” said Trythall. “It could be a coin flip game. We need to come up with some type of magic to beat that team.”