What a way to end a season. Pymatuning Valley defeated Mathews 14-13 on Saturday in one of the most dramatic finishes Andover has seen in years, completing a season sweep of one of the NAC’s most storied programs and claiming the NAC Stars division title outright in the process. Trailing 13-8 heading into the bottom of the sixth and staring at a gut-punch of a deficit, the Lady Lakers refused to fold — rallying for six runs across the final two innings, capped by a Peyton Hudson two-run walk-off home run to left field in the bottom of the seventh that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
It was a game that had everything. PV jumped out to an early lead, built an 8-3 cushion through four innings, then watched Mathews — a program that has owned this conference for the better part of fifteen years — roar back with five runs in the sixth to flip the game completely on its head at 13-8. For a lesser team, that might have been the end of it. For this group, it was just the setup.
The bottom of the sixth was where the Lady Lakers started writing their comeback. Elizabeth Jernigan singled to score McKenna Jordan, and then Kailee Reynolds stepped up and launched a three-run home run to center field, suddenly making it 13-12 and putting the energy back in the Lady Lakers’ dugout. When Hudson stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with Jernigan on base after collecting her fifth hit of the day, she did what she has done all year — delivered. Her two-run shot to left ended it, and the celebration was on.
The individual performances were impressive across the board. Jernigan had as good a day at the plate as you will see, going a perfect 5-for-5 with two steals and five runs scored. Hudson matched her, going 4-for-4 with four RBI, a double, and the walk-off home run, scoring four runs on the afternoon. Together, the two and three hitters in the lineup combined to go 9-for-9 and scored nine runs between them. Reynolds added a home run and four RBI of her own while going 2-for-3, and Jordan was her usual self at the top of the order — three hits, three runs scored, and four stolen bases, with Jernigan adding two more swipes. PV’s top four hitters in the lineup accounted for all 14 runs scored, and the 1-through-6 hitters went a combined 17-for-24 with all 14 RBI. Mackenzie Kribbs and Macie Payne each contributed multiple hits and RBI to keep the pressure on Mathews throughout.
In the circle, Kailee Reynolds started and worked into the fourth inning before giving way to Hudson, who came on in relief. Taking advantage of softball’s re-entry rule, Reynolds returned to the circle in the fifth and stayed on through the final out — allowing nine runs on 12 hits across six and a third innings total while striking out three. It was a grind of an outing, but she kept her team in it and received a hard-earned win. Hudson, meanwhile, saved her biggest contribution for the bat — stepping to the plate in the seventh and ending it with one swing.
Head coach Andy Gray was effusive after the game. “This group never quit,” Gray said. “We were down five runs late against one of the best programs this conference has ever seen, and they just kept battling. That’s who these kids are. To come back and win it like that, against Mathews, to clinch the title outright — I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
With the victory, Pymatuning Valley finishes the regular season at 13-8 overall and 9-1 in the NAC Stars division, claiming the conference crown outright and completing a season sweep of Mathews in the process. It was a fitting end to a year that saw the Lady Lakers weather early losses, a mid-season skid, dominant winning streaks, and a pair of losses to elite programs — all while building something worth celebrating on an overcast Saturday afternoon in Andover.