Mounts blast Cedars

LEBANON — It was Lou Reed Day at Lebanon on Monday, as Ephrata took a walk on the Cedars’ wild side.

Taking advantage of Lebanon’s issues throwing strikes — two pitchers walked 21 batters and hit four — the Mountaineers posted their first softball win of the season, 22-9.

Fifteen of the 21 free passes issued by the Cedars’ Nicole Klish and Desiree Figueroa came around to score, as did three of the four HBPs, as the Mounts (1-2 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two, 1-3 overall) jumped out early and never took their collective foot off the gas.

“It’s something that we’ve been working on,” Mounts coach Katie Yohe said. “We talked about being patient at the plate.

“I would rather see us be patient than see us anxious, and come away from pitch selection.”

Sydney Molchany scored five runs to lead the way, knocking in two. Alyssa Meier and Riley Simmons each scored four times.

Winning pitcher Lexi Reinhold and Keegan Simmons scored three times, Reinhold driving in three, Simmons two. Cadie Fry scored twice and knocked in two.

Chloe Harting, Sofia Osterland and Rylee Capwell left no footprint on home, but each delivered two RBIs.

Fry led off the game with a walk, stealing second and taking third on a wild pitch during Meier’s walk.

Keegan Simmons lifted a high popup, handled by Klish, but Fry tagged and scored on the rarest of the rare: a sacrifice fly to the circle.

Before the inning was over it was 4-0 and the Mounts were on their way.

While the game was still competitive, Fry also contributed two key assists from her position at second base .

After Auri Lassalle tripled and scored on a stolen base in the first inning, the Cedars (0- 3, 1-3) put two more baserunners on with just one out.

As Chalee Wolfe flied to right, thinking the ball was going to drop in, Deb Gomez took off for home from third, then realized her mistake.

Before she could safely return, Fry’s relay from Osterland arrived in plenty of time for Keegan Simmons to tag the bag and end the inning.

Riley Simmons bobbled Ivana Cumba’s grounder leading off the second, but Fry backed the play and tossed to Simmons to get the out.

Important, because the next batter, Claudia Parker, tripled.

“We’ve talked a lot about ... don’t give up on play one,” Yohe said. “Not just playing for the first play but playing for the first play and the second play.

“We have made a lot of really good, heads-up plays,” she continued, “regardless of the outcome of some of our games, that’s been the one thing.”

Reinhold wasn’t without her own adventures with the strike zone, walking eight. She also struck out 10, several in key situations.

Lassalle stroked the second of her two triples leading off the third inning. She was still there when the inning ended as Reinhold got two strikeouts and a comebacker to the circle.

Up 18-5 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Mounts were one strike away from closing out a mercy rule win three different times.

But a pair of errors opened the door to a four-run Cedars rally, ensuring the game would be played in the regulation seven.