Valley Sports ReportATHENS — Hadley Liechty pitched a 3-hitter, and Amelia Braunbeck and Riley Shores delivered key hits to lift Athens to a 2-1 win over Towanda here Friday evening in the semifinals of the District 15 Little League softball Minors Division playoffs.
Liechty played with fire in the first three innings, but left six runners stranded on base, including five in scoring position.
In the first inning, Towanda loaded the bases with one out, but had a runner forced out at home on a comeback to Liechty in the pitcher's circle, and a runner cut down at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch.
In the second inning, Towanda put runners on second and third with no outs, but Liechty fanned the next three hitters to keep the game scoreless.
In the third inning, first baseman Lindsay Ahern turned an unassisted double play on an infield pop up. After a double and a wild pitch put a Towanda runner at third, Liechty registered another strikeout to end the inning.
Athens broke through in the home half of the third inning with back-to-back-to-back singles by Carly Bishop, Shores and Braunbeck to take a 1-0 lead.
Athens added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Cece Shangraw led off with a bunt single, and scored on a two-out single by Shores to make it 2-0.
Towanda avoided the shutout with a two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth, but Liechty hauled in a pop up moments later to end the game.
Liechty fanned eight and walked seven in six innings to earn the win.
Braunbeck and Shores each had two hits and one RBI to pace Athens at the plate, while Shangraw and Bishop each singled and scored one run.
Ahern, Ava Rhodes, and Livia Powers added singles for Athens in the win.
Athens will host Southern Tioga, which beat RTL 12-2 in the other semi-final game, Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
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PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
