Monday: Avery vs. Cranberry County rivals Cranberry and Avery squared off against each other in baseball and softball Monday night, with Avery notching wins in both sports.
Avery's softball girls held off a late-surging Cranberry team by a final score of 12-10.
Avery (3-5) was up 11-2 going into the sixth inning, but Cranberry scored eight in that inning to make it close.
"We definitely lost our focus," said Avery coach Chris Lecka. "But we hung in there."
Avery scored once more in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 12-10.
Cranberry (0-8) even had the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, but got its third out before any more scores.
Lecka gave Cranberry a lot of credit, saying "they did not give up."
"They all did really good today," Cranberry coach Angel Dugger said of her girls.
Shannon Smith led Avery scorers with four runs, and Ellie Lecka, Ashley Yoder, and Christian Burleson had two runs.
Yoder, Smith, and Morgan Lecka pitched for Avery, while Emily Brown pitched the entire game for Cranberry.
Over at the Newland Elementary field, Avery's boys beat Cranberry 11-1 in six innings.
"I think we should have done better," said Greene, acknowledging his team's errors.
Avery coach Donnie Johnson said his team's strength during the game was base-running.
"I thought we were aggressive on the bases," he said. Johnson also noted that his guys played with a lot of confidence.
Polsgrove pitched for Avery (2-7), striking out 13 batters. Stetson Stafford started for Cranberry, and Hunter Guinn finished the game.
Avery hosted Harris in both sports Wednesday of last week. The Lady Panthers won their second game of the season on Wednesday, a 12-9 decision in six innings.
Avery started slowly, as Lecka said his team is prone to do, and was down 4-0 at its first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning.
An Avery double play ended the top of the second, and momentum shifted the Panthers' way as they scored eight runs in the second inning and never trailed the rest of the game.
Many of those first runs came on Harris walks or errors.
Shannon Smith, after relieving starting pitcher Morgan Lecka in the third inning, held Harris scoreless until the top of the sixth when the Devils had four late scores. (Avery's largest lead, 12-5, was just prior to those scores.)
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The other was Ashley Yoder, who he said "really did a good job catching."
"Overall I was pleased," he said of his team's performance.
Coach Lecka wanted to recognize his assistant coach, Phil Leaman, for his help this season. "He's done a wonderful job," said Lecka. "Couldn't do it without him."
The boys, meanwhile, lost 11-7 to Harris, but all of Avery's points came in the last four innings.
Upcoming games
Cranberry hosts Harris (both sports) on Wednesday at
