Snyder's HR Sparks Mounts

It’s the time of the year when every pitch counts. When every mistake, however innocent, is magnified.

Of the 233 total pitches thrown by Ephrata’s Ellie Meier and Elizabethtown’s Breonna Edgell on Monday afternoon, none loomed larger than Edgell’s 0-1 offering to Addy Snyder in the third inning.

Here’s Harry Kalas with the call: “High towering fly to deep center field. Outta Here!!!”

But not by much. Snyder’s third home run of the season dropped just over the fence in dead center at E-town Borough Park, scoring Ellie Meier, who had singled, ahead of her. The round tripper gave the Mountaineers a 4-1 lead on their way, ultimately, to a 9-6 victory.

“I saw the center fielder going back and back,” Meier recalled. “I was thinking, ‘Hopefully it goes out’ and, ‘I have to tag up.’ Then it went over, I saw Addy and I started rolling with her.”

“I was running up the first-base line like, ‘Please get out,’ ” Snyder said. “Then I saw her (center fielder Carli Zerphey) put her glove up and I saw it go over. I was like, ‘Yes!’

“I think I made kind of weird contact, but it was enough to get it over.”

With the win, the Mounts (8-6 league, 12-6 overall) move one step closer to securing the No. 2 seed from Section Two in the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs.

A win this afternoon over Conestoga Valley — in a makeup of a game originally set for last Monday — would create a tie for second place with Lampeter-Strasburg. L-S (9-6, 9-10) finished the regular season with a 3-0 victory over CV in Lampeter on Monday afternoon. The Mounts hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Pioneers.

“We’re still waiting on clarification … on what the tiebreakers are,” said Mounts coach Katie Yohe. “Today was the one we needed today. Now tomorrow’s the one we need.”

With the Bears (8-7, 10-10) playing for their playoff life as well, things began well as Astyn Calaman singled in Zerphey in the bottom of the first. Meier pitched her way out of the jam, getting Sophia Finch, the most dangerous hitter in the Bears lineup, to strike out on a foul tip.

The Mounts tied it up in the second on an unearned run as Emma Zimmerman, who reached on a two-out error, scored from first on Lanie Reinhold’s single.

Ally Williams walked to open the Mounts’ third, going first-to-third on Kaylee Walter’s sacrifice. She trotted home as the throw back across the diamond sailed over third. Meier singled, Snyder homered and it was 4-1.

“That was a big part of just hitting through our lineup,” said Snyder as the Mounts totaled 12 hits for the afternoon. “We’re very contagious when we hit.”

Hitting was contagious for the Bears as well, at least at the top of the lineup. Zerphey was 3-for-4 from the 2-hole, Chloe Wilkinson was 3-for-3 with a walk behind her. They scored all of E-town’s runs.

They stood on second and third with no outs in the third inning and were still there with two outs as Meier struck out Calaman and Finch fouled out on a squeeze play.

But a wild pitch and an error delivered Zerphey and Wilkinson, and Keira Davis’ single made both runs earned.

By the time the Bears threatened again, however, Meier and the Mounts were running from the front after a four-run fourth.

Zimmerman and Aldynne Snyder (3-for-4) singled to start the uprising, turning the lineup over. Williams singled in a run and Walter plated one with a groundout.

Following a Meier single and walk to Addy Snyder, Kaliana Auchey walked to force in a run. Maddie Russell singled in a run to cap the scoring.

The Bears got one back when Wilkinson scored on a wild pitch in the fifth. That was answered by Addy Snyder’s RBI groundout, scoring Walter in the sixth.

Far from finished, the Bears greeted Meier in the seventh with three straight singles, by Zerphey, Wilkinson and Calaman. After two mighty swings and misses, Finch grounded back to the circle, with Zerphey scoring, and lived as the throw was dropped at first.

Despite that, the key to the afternoon was keeping Finch in check. In addition to the first-inning strikeout and foulout in the third, she flew out to center in the fifth.

“They’re very patient at the plate,” said Yohe, “and we had to make sure we put ourselves into a position where we could make the most out of that.”

Trading runs for outs, Meier sandwiched Leah Aldous’ RBI groundout around two strikeouts — she would finish with 12 for the game — allowing the Bears 11 hits.

“She grinds every day,” Yohe said of her junior right-hander.

“Today we made one or two errors, it didn’t cost us the game,” Meier said. “I trust the defense and they make the plays.”