Bristol edges Truman on 11th-inning wild pitch

Morgan Cullen scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning Thursday night to give Bristol a 2-1 victory over Harry S Truman in one of the weirdest finishes of the high school softball season.

With the score tied, the Warriors began their half of the inning with Cullen on second base as part of the tiebreaker rule. She moved to third on Kelly Pond's sacrifice before scoring.

The matchup was part of a doubleheader at Bristol Memorial Park. Neshaminy and Pennsbury played in the second game, which ended too late for this edition.

It took some good defensive work, particularly by second baseman Miranda Colon in the 10th inning, to keep the Warriors (18-1) in position to win.

Colon threw two Truman runners out at the plate on force plays after Truman had taken a 1-0 lead in the 10th. In one case, she fielded a batted ball off winning pitcher Ashley Cantiello's glove and made the play to the plate while kneeling on the ground.

"I breathed a little easier after Miranda made that play," said Cantiello, who had a perfect game going through six innings.

Cantiello couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams how Bristol would tie the score in its half of the inning. With Leighanne Worth on second base under the tiebreaker rule, she moved to third on a sacrifice. A high throw back to the mound by freshman catcher Bridget Hunt flew into center field, allowing Worth to score.

"It's been like that all season," said losing pitcher Rachael Alligood, who tossed a one-hitter. "Hopefully, the players coming back next year have learned something from this. We've had a lot of weird happenings this year."

The loss gave Truman an 8-11 record for the year. The Warriors, champions of the Bicentennial League Independence Conference, improved to 18-1. They are the top seed in the District 1 Class A playoffs, which will open next week.

Truman had gotten its run in the 10th on a bunt single by Nicole King, a walk, and a couple of fielder's-choice plays.

Truman had threats in both the seventh and eighth innings after breaking up Cantiello's perfect game. Bridget Hunt led off the seventh with a single. She advanced to second on a sacrifice but stayed there as Cantiello retired the next two batters.

The Tigers had another chance to end it in the eighth after Danielle Jones led off with a triple to right-center field. She was left stranded, however, when Cantiello struck out the next three batters.

Truman   00000000010 - 131

Bristol   00000000011 - 210

WP: Ashley Cantiello. LP: Rachael Alligood. 3B: T-Danielle Jones.