Krunch came up big at crunch time
By DANA SULONENArticle Photos
BOARDMAN - Throughout the 12-and-under PONY National Fastpitch Softball Tournament, there were rumblings about the Central Pennsylvania Krunch, the towering, powerful team from Dauphin, Pa.
On Thursday, the Krunch showed what all the talk was about.
The Krunch used heavy bats and quality defense to breeze through the championship bracket. Their final game was an 8-1 victory over the East Coast Tsunami for the title.
"These girls played stellar all week," said Krunch coach Steve Mumma. "They've been working this hard since January and they have done everything I asked them to do."
The Krunch finished the tournament without a loss. The only time the Krunch were not on the winning side of the scoreboard was a 1-1 tie to the Tsuanmi in pool play.
The Krunch got on the scoreboard first, with Maddie Kotchey leading off the inning with a walk. After advancing on a single and a ground out, Kotchey scored on a Megan Kisela ground out, giving the Krunch the 1-0 advantage.
The score remained that until the fifth inning, when the Tsunami tied the game. Nicole Hand led off the inning with a walk, then used three passed balls to even the score.
But that's all the Tsunami could muster. Beside the fact the Krunch scored three runs in the sixth and added four in the seventh, the Tsunami didn't help their cause, leaving eight runners on base, including bases loaded in the sixth.
"Yeah, when we left bases loaded and had that chance to score that closed the door on us," said Tsunami coach Jimmy Castelli. "We just didn't hit the ball when we needed to."
The Krunch however did. In the final two innings, the Krunch racked up six hits to go along with their seven runs. In the final game, Rachel Zimmerman and Tara Klee led the way offensively. Zimmerman was 2-for-2 on the day, with two hits, two walks and two RBIs. Klee also drove in two runs.
During the entire final day of play, the Krunch bats were on fire. In their opening game against the Valley Extreme, the Krunch put up 15 hits in four innings. Then came the Furies, which were undefeated until meeting the Krunch. Even they couldn't stop the Krunch bats, giving up seven runs.
The third game of the day showed the power the Krunch had, as designated player Sam Wetzel hit two home runs, one over the right field fence and the other to left, driving in six of the Krunch's 14 runs. In all, during the championship bracket, the Krunch outscored their opponents 47-9.
"Yeah, our bats were working well today," Mumma said. "These girls were in bed early, ready to go."
For the Tsuanmi, the runner-up finish was just another trophy to add to the many the team from Central Grove, N.J. had collected in 2008. They had won eight out of nine tournaments played during the season.
"I'm so proud of these girls," Castelli said. "They battled every time and they never gave up."
For the Krunch, the PONY National title is the first national title in the team's history. They are also the first Pennsylvania team to win the PONY Tournament since its been in the Mahoning Valley.
