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Spring Grove blasts four homers in victory against Susquehannock


Wednesday's cold front brought a gusty wind that blew out to center field in Spring Grove, and the home team took full advantage.

The Rockets blasted four home runs, scoring all seven of their runs via the long ball, and picked up a much-needed 7-4 win against Susquehannock.

Coming off two consecutive one-run losses, the Rockets made it a point to come out aggressive at the plate, manager Mark Hull said.

"We wanted to attack them and keep pressure on them," Hull said of the Warriors, who were coming off a 16-2 loss to Central York. "I think we came out and did that with some early runs."

With two outs and the bases empty, senior Hayley Norton laced a first-pitch fastball into center field, sparking a two-out rally. Julia Wivell followed Norton's single with a home run to the deepest part of the park. Two more Rockets reached base, then Kira Hull drove them home with a three-run shot to left center field that brought her teammates out of the dugout to celebrate.

Norton and Wivell pushed the lead to 7-0 with back-to-back homers to nearly identical spots over the center field wall that chased Susquehannock (7-6, 5-5 YAIAA Division II) starter Megan Green from the game in the third. Norton's second home run of the season came again on the first pitch of the at-bat.

"I kind of just saw the ball and hit the ball," Norton said with a laugh. "Sometimes I do get too anxious at the plate, and I do need to see pitches more, but I just saw it and hit it."

Maddy Staub replaced Green in the pitcher's circle and kept the Rockets (5-7, 4-6 YAIAA Division I) off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

"She has a release that throws some people off," Hull said of Staub. "Our girls were watching her arm instead of the release and not seeing the ball too well. That's why a lot of our contact was off the end of the bat."

While Staub stymied the Spring Grove offense, Susquehannock's offense started chipping away at the lead.

The Warriors got one run back on an Ally Kerr RBI double in the fifth, then rallied for three runs in the sixth.

"They definitely scared me and had me nervous," Hull said of the sixth inning. "They're a good team, they have some good hitters, and we let them come back a little bit."

Susquehannock's 8-9 hitters reached on a single and hit by pitch with one out, then scored on a throwing error by Wivell, who was pitching for the second-straight day.

"I think she was getting tired at the end," Hull said of Wivell. "She was trying to aim it, and they hit her a few times."

Kerr made it 7-4 with an RBI sac fly, and Hull made a trip to the mound.

"We were a little nervous but we all came together in the pitcher's circle and picked each other up," Norton said. "We said, 'We needed our best, and we needed to finish it.'"

Wivell induced an inning-ending fly ball before any more damage was done, then retired the bottom of the order in the seventh, sealing Spring Grove's fifth win of the season.

"We got a lead, but then we still let them hang around instead of putting them away," Norton said. "This is a great win to have, though, and it's a big confidence boost for the people who had their head in the dumps."

Spring Grove 7, Susquehannock 4

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Sus, Megan Green, Maddy Staub (3) and Lily Yoakum, SG, Julia Wivell and Jayme Hoover

SO-BB — Sus, Green 0-1, Staub 4-2, SG, Wivell 1-3; W — Wivell; L — Green; 2B — Sus 2 (Ally Kerr, Kristi Langhans); HR — SG 4 (Wivell 2, Hayley Norton, Kira Hull);