TUNKHANNOCK — The last out seemed fitting Thursday — Hazleton Area third baseman Jess Bernotas reaching over head to spear a line drive off the bat of Erin Dunn.

Every time Tunkhannock needed a hit, it just never happened. Not in the fourth, the fifth, the sixth or the seventh innings.

The result was a 4-0 Hazleton Area victory, which was propelled by timely hitting and solo homers by Hope Kinney and pinch hitter Kasey Biever.

“We just couldn’t get any timely hits,” said Tunkhannock coach Bob Hegedty, whose team outhit Hazleton Area 7-5. “We couldn’t get any in a row. Celine (Podlesney) did a good job with us. We got a runner to second a couple times, but couldn’t get any timely hits.”

The trickle down effect was Tunkhannock falling into a first-place tie with Nanticoke in Division 2 of Wyoming Valley Conference softball. Both teams are 7-2. Hazleton Area improved to 9-0 and stayed well ahead of the rest of Division 1.

“We’re not even thinking about it,” said Hazleton Area first-year coach Heather Dale, whose team is on the cusp of a fourth consecutive WVC Division 1 championship. “We’re just playing.”

At least the Cougars are playing after the endless rain recently.

Hazleton Area last stepped on a softball field last Friday and it wasn’t for long. The Cougars took infield practice before their game at Nanticoke and then the rain started. So they hopped back on the bus and headed home.

Hazleton Area didn’t get its first hit until Katie Johnson started the third with a ground single up the middle. The Cougars, though, had the only run they would need by then as Rebecca Rossi scored on Megan Trivelpiece’s groundout in the first.

Consecutive doubles by Podlesney and Taylor Kost bump the lead to 2-0 in the fourth. Kinney launched a solo homer to left in the sixth and Biever did the same in the seventh.

Meanwhile, Tunkhannock failed to capitalize on back-to-back singles by Kendra Schultz and Jenna Simmons in the first with two outs.

There were more squandered opportunities later in the back. Schultz (fourth), Paige Mokychic (fifth), Faith Jones (sixth) and Kailey Reposa (seventh) all led off innings with base hits. Only Schultz and Meghan Straley, who ran for Mokychic, managed to reach second.

Holy Redeemer 6,

Northwest 0

Morgan Bienkowski threw a no-hitter, striking out 15, as Redeemer defeated Northwest in a Division 3 game.

The only Rangers to reach base were Trista Babcock, who was hit by a pitch, and Liz Gurzynski, who walked. Northwest fell to 5-4 in the division.

Abbey Shorts knocked in three runs for Redeemer (9-0). Tiana Wren was 3 for 4 with three runs scored.

Nanticoke 7,

Berwick 6

Cassie Novakowski hit a three-run homer in a five-run fifth inning as Nanticoke defeated Berwick to move into a tie for first place in Division 2.

Kiera Brown was 4 for 4 with two runs scored and Jenna Lipowski was 3 for 4 with two RBI for Nanticoke, which is now tied with Tunkhannock. Both teams are 7-2.

Kylie Levan hit a two-run homer for Berwick (3-6 Div. 1). Shea Petty added a solo shot in the seventh to move the Dawgs within a run.

The game was scheduled for Nanticoke but moved to Berwick due to field conditions.

Lake-Lehman 11,

Coughlin 1, 6 inn.

Lake-Lehman scored seven times in the bottom of the fifth to end the game due to the 10-run rule.

Abbey Hogan led the Lehman hitting, going 2 for 4 with four RBI. Miranda Purdy was 3 for 4. Corrina Sobeck was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI. Chloe VanGordger tripled and doubles. The Black Knights improved to 2-8 in Division 2.

Molly Poray was 2 for 3 for Coughlin, which fell to 0-9 in Division 1.

Hanover Area 8,

Meyers 0

Mary Kate Penczkowski threw a two-hit shutout, striking out six, as Hanover Area improved to 8-1 in Division 3.

The Hawkeyes sealed the game with a four-run seventh inning.

Wyoming Valley West 6,

Dallas 4

Morgan Klosko hit a two-run homer and Audi Welles was 3 for 3 with a double as the Spartans scored early and held off Dallas.

Chloe Ruckle pitched four innings to get the win. Christina Schappert paced Dallas by going 3 for 3.

Hazleton Area 4, Tunkhannock 0

Hazleton Area`AB`R`H`BI

Yori ss`2`0`0`0

Rossi cf`2`1`0`0

Trivelpiece 2b`3`0`0`1

Kinney c`3`1`1`1

Podlesney p`3`0`1`0

Braskey cr`0`1`0`0

Kost dp`3`0`1`1

Book 1b`2`0`0`0

Biever ph`1`1`1`1

Johnson rf`3`0`1`0

Bernotas 3b`3`0`0`0

Gebhardt lf`0`0`0`0

Totals`25`4`5`4

Tunkhannock`AB`R`H`BI

HJones cf`3`0`0`0

FJones ss`3`0`1`0

Schultz p`3`0`2`0

Simmons dp`2`0`1`0

Reposa 2b`3`0`1`0

Traver rf`3`0`0`0

Mokychic 1b`3`0`2`0

Straley pr`0`0`0`0

Faux lf`1`0`0`0

Dunn ph`1`0`0`0

Krispin 3b`2`0`0`0

Farr c`0`0`0`0

Totals`24`0`7`0

Hazleton Area`100`101`1`—`4

Tunkhannock`000`000`0`—`0

2B — Podlesney, Kost. HR — Kinney, Biever.

Haz Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO

Podlesney (W)`7`7`0`0`0`7

Tunk`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO

Schultz (L)`7`5`4`4`1`4

Nanticoke 7, Berwick 6

Berwick`001`121`1`—`6

Nanticoke`101`050`x`—`7

Pitching — NAN, Leandra Ramos (W) 7 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K; BER, Kylie Levan (L) 6 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.

2B — BER, Sammi Starr, Emma Stoker; NAN, Ramos, Brinley Sobeck. HR — BER, Levan, Shea Petty; NAN, Cassie Novakowski.

Top hitters — NAN, Kiera Brown 4-4, 2 runs; Jenna Lipowski 3-4, 2 RBI, run.

Lake-Lehman 11, Coughlin 1 (6 inn.)

Coughlin`000`10`—`1

Lake-Lehman`201`17`—`11

Pitching — COU. Brittany Nastawa (L) 4.2 IP, 11 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 9 BB, 4 K; LL, Abbey Hogan (W) 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K.

2B — COU, Tori Martin; LL, Corrina Sobeck, Chloe VanGordger, Hogan. 3B — LL, VanGorder.

Top hitters — COU, Molly Poray 2-3; Kendall Pearage 1-3; Martin 1-2, run; Sandrina Cinti 1-2, RBI. LL, Jordan Hodle 2 runs, RBI; Sobeck 2-3, 2 RBI, run; VanGorder 2-4, RBI, 2 runs; Hogan 2-4, 4 RBI, run; Jill Ambrose 1-1, run; Miranda Purdy 3-4, run.

Hanover Area 8, Meyers 0

Hanover Area`002`002`4`—`8

Meyers`000`000`0`—`0

Pitching — HA, Mary Kate Penczkowski (W) 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K; MEY, Lexi Bruno (L) 7 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 10 BB, 8 K.

2B — MEY, Devon Keiper. 3B — HA, Michelle McNair, Emilee Bobos.

Top hitters — HA, McNair 1-3; E.Bobos 2-3.

Holy Redeemer 6, Northwest 0

Holy Redeemer`010`310`1`—`6

Northwest`000`000`0`—`0

Pitching — HR, Morgan Bienkowski (W) 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 15 K; NWT, Alicia Carr 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K; Brooke Harvey (L) 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Ang Ruckle 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K; Nikki Cragle 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.

2B — HR, Abbey Shorts.

Top hitters — HR, Allyson Laiuvara 2-3; Tiana Wren 3-4, 3 runs; Shorts 2-3, 3 RBI, run; Randie Kuhar 1-3, RBI, run.

Taylor Baloga pitches against Tunkhannock. 4/19/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_SOFTBALL.jpg.optimal.jpgTaylor Baloga pitches against Tunkhannock. 4/19/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

By John Erzar

jerzar@timesleader.com

Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar