WHITEHALL — Whitehall edged Hart Tuesday in its season opener, 4-3, before the Pirates exploded for a 15-run third inning to earn a 22-7 win and a doubleheader split.
The first game was a strong one for Whitehall’s pitching and defense, particularly considering it was the opener. Megan LeaTrea was effective in the circle, limiting Hart to only three hits, and the Viking defense made just one error.
Whitehall trailed twice in the first game, but both times rallied in the bottom half of the same inning. Annabel Kevwitch opened the Vikings’ scoring in the second by reaching on a called third strike, then stealing second and third before coming home on a Hart error. In the third, Kierra Hyrns answered a Pirates’ run by ripping a triple to center fielder, scoring Bella Fogus, who singled the previous at-bat. Hyrns scored on a passed ball later in the inning, giving the Vikings the lead for the first time at 3-2.
Janie Fagan added to the lead in the fourth, doubling down the left field line, reaching third on the throw, and stealing home. That insurance run proved valuable when Hart’s Gabby Schmieding smashed a solo home run to left center in the sixth. The Pirates put two runners on base later in the inning, but LeaTrea induced a groundout to escape trouble and set Hart down in order in the seventh to secure the win.
It appeared the Vikes were in terrific shape for a sweep when they ripped off four first-inning runs to open the second game. Evelyn Darke laced a two-run double and Brianna Eskew drove her in with a single in the inning. However, Hart’s bats, held in check in the opener, burst through the floodgates in game two, going for five runs in response. Kevwitch put Whitehall back on top with a bases-loaded three-run double in the second, but it was the last time the Vikings would lead as Hart tied it in the bottom half of the inning, then exploded for 15 runs in the third to end the game by mercy rule. Kelsey Copenhaver and Abby Hicks led Hart’s offensive assault with three hits apiece.
