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Frustrated by the seven walks Emily Sprankle allowed in the WPIAL Class A championship game loss to Sto-Rox, Leechburg coach Jim Oberdorf took it upon himself to make some changes in the junior pitcher's delivery.

Her walks decreased, but the end result was the same as the Lady Blue Devils were eliminated in the opening round of the PIAA Class A playoffs with a 3-0 loss to District 10 champion West Middlesex.

"I changed Emily's pitching style (Sunday) because she was doing something that was very, very wrong," Oberdorf said. "Maybe I shouldn't have changed it at such a late date."

Sprankle displayed the same control problems that made her both dominant and erratic at times throughout the season. She lasted 51/3 innings and scattered six hits, walked three and struck out nine. But what hurt Leechburg was that Sprankle lumped her walks together and chipped in a couple of run-scoring wild pitches for good measure.

She was pulled in the bottom of the sixth for Emily Batiz two batters after allowing an inside-the-park home run to Lady Big Red pitcher Nicole Habarka. Batiz walked one and induced a double play, but by that time the Lady Blue Devils were down three heading to the seventh.

"We played at least six or seven teams better than that this year," Oberdorf said. "We just didn't want it."

Habarka provided Leechburg with a conundrum the entire game. The Lady Blue Devils only sent three more than the minimum to the plate and eked out three hits in the game.

"That girl was less than an equivalent of West Shamokin (pitcher Ashley Dimmitt) speed-wise, and all we did was swing at pitches," Oberdorf said. "I thought we would come out with a little more fire and, as much as I hate to say it, the girl from Sto-Rox (Lindsay Vevres) was probably twice the pitcher and we hit her fairly well."

Habarka did not allow a hit until Lindsey Ulizio beat out an infield single with two outs in the third. That potential rally was erased one batter later when Batiz hit a sharp single to right, but Ulizio was cut down trying to take third.

Leechburg's only other hit came when Allison Shepler led off the fourth with a single. The Lady Blue Devils did not get a runner past second base, and only two even got that far.

"I don't want to put anyone down, but if West Shamokin played its normal game, it would beat this team," Oberdorf said. "We should have hammered this team, and we didn't."

Habarka was anything but a dominant strikeout pitcher like Vevres. She only fanned five but did not issue a walk, and only the hits by Batiz and Shepler and a seventh-inning fly out to center from Sprankle left the infield. She induced four pop outs to catcher Lisa Donner and nine ground-ball outs.

"This game was hard because the pitching was a lot slower and we've been trying to adjust to faster pitching," Leechburg third baseman Melissa Geer said. "It was kind of hard to hit her because she was so slow, and that kind of hurt us."

So did Sprankle's inconsistency. Though she struck out two batters in each of the first four innings, she did not retire the side in order until the fourth. By that time, Leechburg was already in a 2-0 hole.

With one out in the top of the second, Jodi Womer walked and was replaced on the base path by Marisa Habarka. After Dina Macchia singled and Stephanie Dunworth walked to load the bases, Sprankle whipped a pitch over the head of catcher Karlee Fisher to plate Marissa Habarka with what turned out to be the winning run.

West Middlesex added an insurance run in the third with a repeat performance of the second.

With one out, Nicole Habarka singled and was replaced by courtesy runner Katie Bowser. She moved to second on a wild pitch, tagged up and went to third on a fly out to center and scored on Sprankle's second wild pitch of the game.

Still, with a team that will only lose Geer for next year, this could prove to be just another stepping stone as Oberdorf eyes his first WPIAL and state titles since 1995.

"We were one of 16 teams left in the state, and somebody has to lose," Oberdorf said. "Being one of the top 16 teams in the state and the top two teams in the WPIAL with the team such as we had as young as we had, yeah, I couldn't be happier. I sure would have like to play longer, but the softball gods didn't see it that way."

Maybe they will next year.

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