In a rematch of the District Final between Pennsbury and Hatboro-Horsham, the two combatants squared off one more time for the PIAA Class AAAA title game on Friday afternoon at Penn State.
Tied 1-1 in the fifth, Pennsbury's Melissa George hit a triple down the right field line. A throwing error allowed her to score to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead.
They added an insurance run in the sixth.
Find out what's happening in Levittownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Up 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Pennsbury needed just three outs for their sixth state crown in school history.
Sophomore pitcher Val Buehler was working on a one-hitter.
Find out what's happening in Levittownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Instead, it was Hatboro-Horsham who walked away with a 4-3 win after scoring three runs in the inning.
In stunning fashion, things unraveled quickly for the Falcons who committed three errors in the final frame.
With already one out in the inning, a fly-ball to the outfield fell as Michelle George and Kelsi Bunda collided into one another.
The Hatters then laid down three consecutive bunts.
The first came on a bunt single by Jackie Dipietro to put runners on first and third.
The second bunt by Melissa Spinossa was misplayed, which allowed the first run to score; 3-2 Pennsbury with runners at second and third.
With two strikes, Chrissy James laid down a suicide squeeze to tie the score at three. The out was recorded, but with two outs, the winning run stood at third.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
In an attempted pick-off of third base, Falcons catcher D'Anna Devine threw the ball away. Spinossa crossed home plate, and just like that, the season was over.
Falcons coach Frank McSherry took the sole blame in the loss stating that he called the pick-off at third.
Earlier in the week McSherry stated that the Falcons needed to play one of their best games of the season.
Pennsbury played well enough for five innings to win, but unfortunately for the Falcons, they didn't play well enough for six innings.
