For The Dialog
MILL CREEK – The 12th-seeded Charter Force used a six-run fourth inning to upset No. 5 Padua in the opening round of the state softball tournament at Midway Softball Complex on May 28.
The game featured two outstanding pitchers, Padua’s Abby Cunningham and Charter’s Payton Czerwinski, who kept the game scoreless into the bottom of the third. In that frame, Gabriela Frabizzio led off with a single. The next two Pandas, Hannah Williams and Caitlin Baxter, also singled, bringing in Frabizzio. Kierstin Fallers walked to load the bases, but Czerwinski got two popups to get out of the inning.
The Force was fired up, and the offense went to work in the fourth. Katherine Kalinowski singled in Lindsay Johnson to tie the game. Kate Massih walked with the bases loaded to force in a run. The Foce got another run on a groundout to make it 3-1. Katie Wilson picked up two runs batted in with a single, and she scored ahead of a throw home when Czerwinski got a hit.
Padua picked up three runs in the fifth, scoring on a sacrifice fly by Fallers and a two-run base hit by Cunningham. It appeared the Pandas had something going in the sixth with runners on first and second with one out. A bloop by Lynsie Grant looked like it was going to drop in front of the leftfielder, but freshman shortstop Taylor Gillis made a catch-of-the-year candidate over her shoulder and turned a double play to end the threat.
Baxter doubled with one out in the seventh, but the Pandas could not complete their eighth comeback win of the season. They finished the season at 15-4 with a young squad.
Charter will host Red Lion on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Lions upset Cape Henlopen to advance to the quarterfinal.
