Two of those safeties were an RBI-triple from Sam Burns and a run-scoring single by Abbey Hinson – both with two outs – after Tyler White had contributed an earlier sacrifice fly. The rally was touched off by Sam Gress’ lead-off triple and continued by a Kyler Nelson single.

 “I don’t like to go there. It’s negative motivation,” said Whitman of approaching the contest as an underdog. “We didn’t want to approach it like we had to be perfect to win the game. We didn’t have to be perfect, but if we weren’t focused, it was going to get handed to us. We got it to 2-2, and you don’t know what’s in their (the Rams’) minds. You don’t know if there’s pressure on them. But we gained confidence.

 “Abbey (Krahling) stayed tough,” Whitman continued. “There was some mental toughness to her performance. I think the girls got fired up when we scored our runs. We put more balls in play this time. We fouled more balls off.”

 Palmyra certainly encountered its share of difficulties with Central Dauphin’s hard-throwing starter Gress, and her mesmerizing change-up. Gress retired the first ten Cougar batters she faced, until Kenzie Yingst’s ringing single to left, with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning.

 Yingst would come around to score on a Central Dauphin throwing error, and teammate Sara Boyer’s run-scoring grounder tied the score at two. But Yingst’s hit would prove to be the only one Palmyra could muster off of Gress, as she also retired the last ten hitters she encountered.

 Gress struck out 11 and walked one.

 “Certainly. Absolutely,” said Whitman, when asked if the April 27th meeting in Linglestown played a role in the second contest. “It was in the back of everybody’s mind. We didn’t do anything differently, hitting-wise. But I thought the kids were really confident coming in.

 “I thought Abbey stuck to the game plan,” added Whitman. “She pitched to her strengths and pitched to their weaknesses. Sometimes she tries to do too much. She’s had her share of strikeouts this year, but she knows she has a defense behind her. That was her game plan.”

 Two Cougar errors led to two unearned runs for Central Dauphin in the top of the opening frame. White and Nelson picked up RBIs for the Rams.

 A. Krahling finished what she started, surrendered seven hits, fanned five and did not issue a free pass.

 “I didn’t see nervousness before the game,” said Whitman. “That’s where we wanted them to be. Defensively, we didn’t see a couple of those errors all season. But I wouldn’t put it on nerves. Sometimes balls don’t bounce the way you expect them to.

 “I want them (the Rams) again tomorrow,” continued Whitman. “The improvement from the first game to this one was measurable. Part of the process is playing good teams like them, and playing better.”

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 2019 Palmyra Softball Results

PIAA District Three

 Class AAAAA Power Rankings