Avon Grove falls in 4A softball final

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Maggie Balint looked like she always does on the mound Friday.

Imposing. Unflappable. Confident.

The bases were loaded in the eighth inning, and the Avon Grove senior didn't look worried. Instead, she looked to her infielders and pointed. The Red Devils were going to go home with the ball.

Nothing about the scene at Nittany Lion Park seemed final or absolute. It was all rather ordinary, in fact, a scene that had played and been replayed hundreds of times.

Then the batter hit the ball to left field - a sacrifice fly out.

And just like that, it was final. The game was over, and Avon Grove lost, ending the remarkable career of one of the most successful players in state history as the Red Devils fell to Hempfield, 1-0, in the PIAA Class 4A championship game, 1-0.

"That's not how I wanted it to end," junior leftfielder Meg Nolan said of the contest that needed one extra inning. "We should have won. Second place isn't good enough. When we lost in districts we came back on the bus, and right away we bounced back. This one is definitely harder to lose."

It was harder because the Red Devils (24-4) could muster only one hit.

It was harder because Balint tossed a one-hitter and struck out nine in seven innings of scoreless softball.

It was harder because there were a few moments when Avon Grove was so close to breaking through in the program's first state championship game appearance.

"If we didn't let them score that run we would have come back and won it," Nolan said. "We were all so ready. . . . We were so ready, and I guess we just got ahead of ourselves.

"If we just gotten one base runner the outcome could have been very different."

But the Red Devils only had one base runner in the entire contest, when second baseman Olivia McGarvey singled through the right side in the third inning.

"A lot of our girls don't usually chase the rise ball. For some reason today hers just came right there, and it looked good," McGarvey said of Hempfield pitcher and Notre Dame recruit Morgan Ryan.

"Everyone was swinging at it. I don't know why, but that's really what caught everybody off guard."

Afterward, Balint and her teammates lined up to get their silver medals before they were presented with a silver trophy. The color of the hardware was not the one they were hoping for.

Nolan and Balint shared an elongated hug, one last moment for the co-captains. They each whispered good luck to one another.

And with that, the chapter concluded. It was really over.

Avon Grove 000 010 00 - 0 1 2

Hempfield 000 000 01 - 1 1 2

WP: Morgan Ryan LP: Maggie Balint