A magical season for Montour came to a heartbreaking end in the PIAA Class 4A championship at Penn State’s Beard Field on Thursday afternoon.
The Spartans took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, but District 11 champion Blue Mountain (25-3) put together a three-run rally to eke out a 3-2 win for its first state title. Montour (18-5) was also seeking to capture its first PIAA crown while making its second appearance in the state title game.
Blue Mountain pitcher Marla Freiwald was at the top of her game on Thursday, finishing with 10 strikeouts while allowing two runs on six hits. She cruised through the first four innings, then Montour finally broke through for a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. But Freiwald managed to leave the bases loaded to avoid any further damage in the inning, and she stranded the tying run on third base in the seventh by retiring Spartans star Mia Arndt to end the game.
“She kept us off-balance, throwing the curve outside and moving the ball around,” Montour coach Ken Kutchman said. “She was good, she was very good.”
For Montour, senior pitcher Kaitlyn Molitoris turned in another quality start, allowing three runs on four hits with seven strikeouts on the day. She also delivered one of the Spartans’ biggest hits of the game with a go-ahead RBI double in the top of the fifth to break open a scoreless tie.
“She was stellar, as she has been all year,” Kutchman said. “She pitched her heart out. Dealt with the loss, talked with some of the media afterward. As mature as she is, she did a really good job handling that.”
Sophomore Danielle Terpack followed the RBI double by Molitoris with an RBI triple in the top of the fifth to give Montour a 2-0 lead, and the Spartans threatened to add on by loading the bases with one out. But Freiwald managed to escape the jam, and Blue Mountain took advantage of the missed opportunity in the bottom of the sixth.
With a runner on first and two outs, Freiwald singled to put runners on first and second. Paige Bergan and Olivia Labe then followed with back-to-back singles of their own, bringing three runs home to score after the ball got deflected away on a play at the plate. That gave Blue Mountain a 3-2 lead going into the seventh, and although Hailey Staub singled with one out and advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt, the comeback attempt fell just short as Arndt popped out to second base to end the game.
“[Arndt] is the one I wanted up [at the end],” Kutchman said. “But again, it doesn’t always work out the way you wanted.”
Having lost in similarly gut-wrenching fashion in the WPIAL championship game, this pill was a tough one to swallow for Kutchman and his players. Still, they made it where only one team in program history had ever gone before, and made countless memories to look back on while taking out some top-notch competition along the way.
“It feels worse to me [than losing the WPIAL final],” Kutchman said. “Just the finality of the seniors being done who were so instrumental to us. This one was probably worse.”
Along with Molitoris, who allowed a total of six runs in four PIAA playoff games, Arndt and Avrie Polo combined to form a terrific trio of seniors that Montour fans won’t soon forget. A center fielder who will play both softball and volleyball at Point Park next year, Arndt went 0 for 3 with a walk in her final high school game. Arndt and Polo finished the season tied for the team lead with eight home runs apiece.
Although his players were certainly dejected on the long bus ride home, Kutchman is confident that one day, they will be able to look back proudly on all they accomplished on an unforgettable journey in 2023.
“It’s something to build on for the younger kids,” Kutchman said. “Eventually, the older kids will realize how special it is. … Maybe not today or tomorrow, but sooner than later, they’ll realize how special it was.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
