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Runs hard to come by in Spring Grove's win


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Spring Grove junior Briana DiCandeloro smoked a double to the gap in right-center that plated Chloe Sullivan with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth and the Rockets went on to defeat Dallastown, 3-2, in YAIAA I softball action Thursday afternoon at Spring Grove.

DiCandeloro also singled in the bottom of the first and eventually came home on a wild pitch for the game's first run.

"They have a really good pitcher, Kelsie Merriman and she's very tough to hit," DiCandeloro said. "I knew that I had to find a way to get the run in there."

Spring Grove (10-2, 9-1 YAIAA I) led 1-0 into the bottom of the fourth when Bailey Rapson's bloop single plated Caroline Cornman to double the advantage.

Merriman sliced the deficit in half in the fifth when she banged a ball off the left field fence that scored Lyndee Anders, then a sacrifice fly by Debony Kolb scored courtesy runner Olivia Sitter to even things.

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With two down in the seventh, Merriman singled, then Kolb ripped a ball down the third base line that freshman Hannah Gartrell flagged down and fired across the diamond to retire Kolb to end it.

"This was a very exciting game. It couldn't have been any more even than it was," Spring Grove coach Mark Hull said. "Two excellent pitchers and I expected this to be a tight, tough game."

Hailey Kessinger picked up the victory for the Rockets as she went all seven frames and allowed two runs and eight hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Merriman was stout in defeat for Dallastown as she also went the distance and allowed two earned runs and eight hits with five strikeouts and one walk.