Sixth inning heroics lead Tri-Valley softball to 6-3 win over Union Area for PIAA Class 1A state championship

STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania – Tri-Valley fans asked. Brittany Rice heard them and answered the call.

With Tri-Valley leading 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning of the PIAA Class 1A state championship game on Friday, the Bulldog fans at Penn State’s Beard Field started chanting 'let’s go Britt, let's go Britt, let's go Britt.' 

The senior responded by hitting a changeup from Union Area pitcher Mia Preuhs and depositing the softball over the fence in left center for a two-run home run to give the Bulldogs a 6-3 lead and an eventual win by the same score.

“It made my nerves go really high but it feels amazing to have a crowd (chant) like that for me,” Rice said. “And every time I heard that, I thought it was just gonna stop but it never did.”

The Bulldogs had the 4-3 lead before Rice’s homer thanks to the first two hitters of the inning - third baseman Cassi Snyder and center fielder Grace Header.

With the game tied 3-3 going to the bottom of the sixth, Snyder used her to speed to get on base when she hit a grounder to second that was misplayed. She then stole second and came around to score on a double to left center by Header to give the Bulldogs a 4-3 lead.

The junior had faked a bunt on the first pitch, which drew the third baseman to within about 20 feet of home plate.

“I knew they were getting out of position a lot if you fake bunt,” Header said. “I just figured anywhere I can hit it, Cassie will move, she's so fast. I just tried to hit it as hard as I could. I was swinging for the fences, and I guess it worked out.”

The two actually had a moment to chat before the inning started.

“Cassi was like ‘Grace I'm gonna get on and you're gonna hit me in,’” Header said. “I was like, ‘sounds good, great plan.’”

Rice followed Header and delivered the final blow on a 2-2 pitch. But the catcher didn’t think she got all of it as she started running to first because she had to hold herself back to hit the changeup.

“I double loaded like three times before I hit that,” Rice said. “I thought it was a little blooper and then I looked up and it was no longer there.”

Tri-Valley pitcher Emma Maurer went the distance and gave up eight hits and four walks and struck out 11 hitters, including the last hitter of the game on a fastball that had a little more giddy up.

“I was really nervous, and I was shaking quite a bit,” Maurer said of the final pitch. “I knew we just needed one more, so I put all my effort into that last pitch and it worked.”

As the team celebrated, the senior hurler broke down in tears when she hugged her teammates as the thought of it being the last time she would take the field with them in their high school uniforms became a reality.

“I really love them, so it's just tough for me that I'm leaving,” said Maurer, who will play at West Chester University next season along with Rice. “I know my softball career is not over, but I know my high school career is over. I'm glad we ended up with a win. I couldn't ask for anything better.”

The senior spoke to various media members after the game while still fighting back the tears, as the emotions were also due to what Maurer had endured this season after missing time due to a concussion she suffered in mid-April and not being able to return until the postseason.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the game, but each time they took a lead, the Scotties were able to come back until Tri-Valley took the lead for good in that sixth inning.

Tri-Valley scored two runs in the first inning on just one hit, as they drew four walks and a hit by pitch by Preuhs. Snyder scored from first on a single by Rice that was misplayed in center field for an error and then Maddy Schwalm drew a bases loaded walk for the second run.

Union got a run back in the top of the second on an RBI single by Olivia Williams and Tri-Valley answered in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single by Snyder.

The Scotties scored the next two runs to tie the game at 3-3 on a solo homer by Preuhs in the third and another RBI single by Williams in the fourth.

The teams then traded zeroes until Snyder’s right foot hit home plate as the ball hit by Header was fielded at the fence and had just been released by the center fielder. When Header finally reached second base with the stand-up double, she cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed toward the Tri-Valley dugout.

“I just screamed ‘yes’ because I knew Cassi made it home,” Header said. “I knew Brittany was coming up and I knew that we had it.”

And with one swing of the bat, Rice made Header’s feeling come true.