Tuesday’s Region 5 softball slate brought potential drama to District 10.
Cathedral Prep and Meadville each played their final conference game knowing a victory would win them a share of Region 5. McDowell, meanwhile, needed some help.
Meadville raced past General McLane to capture its share of the league. As the Bulldogs enjoyed a 12-run advantage, however, Prep was locked in a battle with Conneaut.
The Ramblers trailed early after three fielding errors but rallied to tie it in the fourth. After a two-run single by Cam Chimera in the fifth, Madison Simmerman closed the door on Conneaut in a 5-2 victory at Rambler Field.
The result?
Prep and Meadville would, indeed, share the Region 5 crown. McDowell was out of luck.
“Winning the region was really important to us so we had to come through even though we have a couple losses,” said Chimera, a senior infielder. “We learned a lot by becoming sisters to each other.
"We weren’t that close at the beginning of the year but now we’re a really close group of girls.”
D-10 tracker:Dig into District 10 softball and baseball box scores, schedules, results for May 13-18
Closing the deal
Chimera’s fifth-inning single preceded an RBI single by Mya Kaliszewski, the latter’s second RBI knock of the evening. Those three runs provided Prep’s first lead after an RBI single by Conneaut’s Jill Mihoci gave the Eagles the initial advantage.
Emalie Thomas, Mackenzie Moore and Paige Simmerman each delivered two hits for Prep.
Last week:District 10 softball: McDowell completes sweep of Cathedral Prep, keeps region hopes alive
“I knew I had to pick up my girls and that we were still in the game,” said Thomas, a senior catcher. “It’s just keeping it positive, being energetic and cheering on our team just to pick it up. We knew we could pull out the win.”
Simmerman struck out 11 in her first pitching appearance against Conneaut this year. The Ramblers beat the Eagles 10-5 on April 18.
Sharing the crown
Meadville’s 12-0 victory over McLane on Tuesday won the Bulldogs their second region title in program history (2005). It’s also Prep’s fourth consecutive regional title — including two as the now-closed Villa Maria school — and fifth overall.
Both sides finished 10-2 in Region 5. Prep beat Meadville head-to-head twice, including a 15-1 shellacking May 7. Prep was swept by McDowell (9-3), however, and only a 12-10 loss to Conneaut kept the Trojans from splitting the region three ways.
Contact Jeff Uveino at juveino@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @realjuveino.
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