Slattery's gem, Hayes' double lift Daniel Boone over Dallastown
UNION >> At this point, Bekah Slattery and her Daniel Boone teammates just want one more game together.
If Slattery pitches the way she did in Tuesday's District 3 Class AAAA opener, the Blazers can postpone writing farewell speeches for several days.
The left-handed ace struck out 13 and took a perfect game into the fifth inning as No. 2-seeded Daniel Boone overcame Dallastown, 1-0, to advance to the second round of the district playoffs. The Blazers will face Chambersburg, a 5-1 victor over Central York, Thursday.
"Bekah is the keystone of our team," Daniel Boone head coach Traci Huddleson said. "Every day she comes out and gives 100 percent. And the energy she provides, the other teammates feed off of it and it's contagious."
Slattery racked up nine strikeouts as she mowed through Dallastown's lineup in order until Mel Grant broke up her perfect game with a leadoff double in the sixth. Even then, Slattery buckled down, as she got out of the sixth unscathed before striking out the side in the seventh to end it.
"I was just trying to get in and get out," said Slattery, a Lock Haven commit. "There's nothing more than that. I was just trying to do my job, get in, get out and go in and hit."
An RBI-double by Daniel Boone's Sydney Hayes was enough to spoil the pitching work of Dallastown's Jaelynn Harbold. Dallastown's attempt to reach the second round of the District 3 tournament for a second straight year unraveled despite a solid performance.
Harbold went the distance, allowing just the one run on nine hits. She walked one and struck out four. The junior righty worked out of jams in the first four innings, forcing the Blazers to strand five runners before allowing the double to Hayes in the fifth.
"Our defense really came through and our pitcher (Harbold) did a fantastic job, she did a fantastic job," Dallastown head coach Jeff Deardorff said. "I'm really proud of the way she pitched. I just wish we could have got a hit or two (more)."
Unlike Slattery, who went the easy route through the first five innings, Harbold saved her best pitches with runners on base. She worked around a Slattery single in the first and a two-on, one-out jam in the second. She had a little bit of luck in getting out of the third.
After Slattery reached first on a single to leadoff the third, Hayes laced a double to deep center field, only to be caught in a rundown as she was caught in the middle of second and third. With Hayes in the middle of a pickle, Slattery tried to race home, only to be nabbed by the sharp throw from Dallastown shortstop Maggie Noll for the first out. Maggie Koch then lifted an offering to right field for a would-be sacrifice fly but the umpire ruled that Hayes left third early to end the inning.
Slattery went 3-for-3 and scored the game's only run on a Hayes' double to left field in the fifth inning. Hayes, a freshman, finished the game 2-for-3 with two doubles.
"Hayes is such a team player, such a competitor," Huddleson said. "All season she's been like a sponge, taking it all in from the upperclassmen and feeding off their energy.
"She can get down and bunt, she can slap, she can put it over the fence. Syd Hayes is the full package, and as a ninth-grader, we're really excited for what's in store for her." Daniel Boone 1, Dallastown 0
Dallastown0000000—01Daniel Boone000010x—19
Dt, Jaelynn Harbold and N/A. DB, Bekah Slattery and Savannah Toth.
W — Slattery; L — Harbold.