Janney Claims Clarion Area Little League Softball Tournament Championship (06/30/14)

Janney added to their Clarion Area Little League Softball Regular Season Championship, by claiming the Tournament Championship, on Saturday (June 28th).

Janney – 2014 Softball Tournament and Season Champions
Front (L-R) Kendall Dunn, Morgan Ross, Aryana Girvan, Sierra Brown, Carlley Hunter, Coach Kim Constantino
Back (L-R) Coach Craig Dunn, Dorothy Kalinowski, Kaitlyn Constantino, Nikki Shumaker, Kyara Girvan, Brenna Campbell, Johanna Suter, Manager Dave Constantino

The day’s action saw four games being played. Game one saw Farmers National Bank defeat C-93 by a 14-9 score. The victory moved Farmers to the Semi-Finals.

In Semi-Final action, C&A Trees defeated Clarion County Community Bank, 8-6 then Janney downed Farmers 18-8, setting up the Championship Game between Janney and C&A Trees. Janney secured the Championship with a 16-1win.

(Janney Manager, Dave Constantino shared the following on the Championship and Semi-Final Game 2. We start with the Championship Game.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Janney 16 C&A Trees 1

Janney jumped out early in the championship game and went on to defeat C&A Trees in the finale 16-1 as they made it a sweep this season by winning both the regular season and tournament championships.

Kaitlyn Constantino started on the mound for Janney and shut down C&A in the top of the first by striking out 3 of the first 4 batters she faced. Janney pushed across 11-runs in their half of the frame. Brenna Campbell and Kyara Girvan each had singles in the inning while Nikki Shumaker and Constantino each had two hits in the frame. Shumaker had 2 triples while Constantino had a single and a bases clearing grand slam home run.

C&A Trees – 2014 Softball Tournament – Second Place
ront (L-R) Abbie Slagle, Olivia Kiser, Payton Simko, Ava Kiser, Grace Adams
Middle (L-R) Rebekah Ketner, Tori Vega, Ali Girt, Hailey Sintobin, Lauren Troutman, Lauren Winters
Back (L-R) Coach Tony Vega, Coach Jeremy Girt, Manager Phil Kiser, and Coach Rodney Winters

C&A Trees was held scoreless in the top of the second but did get a double off of the bat of Ava Kiser. Janney, too, was held scoreless in the bottom of the inning, while getting a single from Kendall Dunn and a double from Constantino.

C&A would go quiet in the third but did get a triple from Tori Vega. Janney would push across 5 runs in their half of the third without the aid of a hit.

C&A scored their lone tally in the top of the fourth. Ali Girt led off with a single to centerfield. After a strike out and ground out moved Girt to third, she eventually scored on a steal home. Constantino then struck out the final batter of the game to set the final.

Constantino went the distance for Janney throwing all four innings. She gave up three hits, walked two, and struck out 8. Payton Simco, Lauren Troutman, and Abbie Slagle shared the pitching duties for C&A.

SEMI-FINAL GAME #2

Janney 18 Farmers 8

In the second semifinal of the day, Janney defeated Farmers National Bank 18-8 in four innings to move into the championship game. Farmers jumped out to a 2 run lead in the top of the first inning on the backs of hits by Natalie Meyers, Abby Himes, and Karleigh Aaron. Janney responded with a 10 spot in the bottom half of the inning. Kendall Dunn, Kaitlyn Constantino, Nikki Shumaker, Dorothy Kalinowski, Brenna Campbell, Kyara Girvan all had hits in the opening frame, but the crushing blow was a grand slam home run by Shumaker to push across the last four runs of the inning.

Farmers countered with a run in the top of the second with Karleigh Aaron driving in the run with a double. Janney scored two runs in the bottom of the 2nd with only one hit and that coming off of the bat of Girvan.

To start the third, Farmers pushed across 4 runs to cut Janney’s lead to 12-7. Sarah Clark and Natalie Meyers had the only hits in the inning and both were able to cross home plate themselves. With the help of Shumaker and Kalinowski singles, Janney was able to push their lead back to 14-7 at the end of three.

Farmers was able to get one run in their half of the fourth. Meyers, who had three hits on the day, had the lone hit in the inning. Janney was able to put the game away in the bottom of the inning. Dunn, Shumaker (who hit for the cycle in the game), and Sierra Brown all contributed hits in the inning with Shumaker legging out a double. Brown drove in the final run on a single to right field to make the final score 18-8 and sent Janney to face C&A Trees in the championship game.

Constantino and Shumaker shared the pitching duties for Janney. Constantino threw the first two innings and Shoemaker the last two. Combined, they gave up nine hits, 9 walks, and struck out 8.
Coach Constantino shared these thoughts on his team and coaches, “It was an absolute pleasure coaching these girls this year. These girls worked hard over the three months of the season. They practiced hard and played hard. They won a total of 18 games this season.
“Every girl on the roster contributed and played a vital role on the team. Kaitlyn was a storm trooper on the mound for us all season and was consistent night in and night out. Nikki Shumaker was a fantastic catcher but also pitched very well for us. Our infield of Kalinowski, Dunn, Campbell, and K. Girvan was solid all season long. Our outfield of Sierra Brown, Aryana Girvan, Morgan Ross, Johanna Suter, and Carlley Hunter played extremely well all season and made super plays throughout the year.
“Every girl on the team contributed offensively over the course of the season and could put the ball in play. But even more important than their abilities on the field, they are good young ladies and fun to be around.

“I also would like to thank my assistant coaches, Craig Dunn and Kim Constantino. They are extremely knowledgeable and served as tremendous role models for the girls. It was a great season all the way around.”
(Thanks to Manager Dave Constantino for this coverage and all the fine coverage he has provided all season. Congratulations to Tournament Champion – Janney, Second Place -Farmers and the other teams for a successful 2014 Clarion Area Little League Softball Season!!!!)