Softball: Palmyra Rallies Late to Edge Carlisle for 2nd Straight Win

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Palmyra Rallies Late to Edge Carlisle for 2nd Straight Win

After Palmyra defeated Ephrata last Wednesday, the Cougars finally started to see the results of their hard work. In other words, they began to believe. Unfortunately, they had to wait until Monday’s home game against Carlisle to see if they could turn that newfound confidence into another victory.

They did just that.

Palmyra erased a late deficit and came through with a decisive rally in the bottom of the 6th to pull out a 6-4 win over the Thundering Herd.

Carlisle struck first in the top of the 1st when Marks delivered an RBI single following a six-pitch at-bat to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.

The Cougars had to wait until the bottom of the 5th to answer, but they found a way to even things up. Anna Crawfordbrought home a run with a sacrifice fly, and Kate Shenk followed with a groundout that plated another run, tying the game at 2-2.

Carlisle answered right back in the top of the 6th when Kunza launched a 2-run homer to center field, pushing the Herd back in front 4-2 and putting the pressure squarely on Palmyra.

But the Cougars had their biggest response of the night waiting in the bottom half. Emalyn Funck started the rally with an RBI double, Ellie Bullard followed with a run-scoring single, and Crawford delivered the game-changing swing with a 2-run double that gave Palmyra its first lead of the evening at 6-4.

Funck was strong throughout her time in the circle and kept Palmyra in position to rally. Crawford then came on in relief and finished it off, earning the save while striking out the final two batters. Crawford also drove in 3 of the Cougars’ 6 runs in a major all-around performance.

At the plate, Sophie Cunningham and Bullard each collected two hits for the Cougars, while Shenk added a key RBI during Palmyra’s comeback push. Avery Cassel helped create pressure by drawing two walks as the Cougars worked six free passes as a team.

Defensively, Ava Walmer at shortstop and Genevieve Smiley at second base helped stabilize things with strong plays behind the pitchers as Palmyra held off Carlisle down the stretch.

For Carlisle, Kunza went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs, providing a big chunk of the visitors’ offense. King kept Palmyra in check early, allowing two runs over four innings while striking out six and walking five.

Palmyra is now 2-2 and will look to make it 3 in a row when it hosts Lower Dauphin on Wednesday.

Palmyra 6, Carlisle 4

Palmyra Leaders

Sophie Cunningham: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B
Emalyn Funck: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B, BB
Ellie Bullard: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, BB
Anna Crawford: 1-3, RBI, 2B
Kate Shenk: 1-4, RBI, 2B
Avery Cassel: BB
Marie McCracken: 1-2, RBI

Palmyra Pitching
Emalyn Funck: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Anna Crawford: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Carlisle Leaders

S Kunza: 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR
A Martin: 1-4, R, SB
L Marks: 1-2, RBI, BB
M Lilley: 1-4
E Wagner: 1-3
J Wilson: 1-3
A Thorson: BB

Carlisle Pitching
P King: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 6 K
S Kunza: 2.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Full Box Score

Last Game: Palmyra Turns Early Sparks into First Win, Downs Ephrata 12-6