Corning shuts out Elkland for title
BY COLLIN WRIGHT THE LEADER

JASON COX/THE LEADER Corning's Rachael Horton slides into home plate Sunday during the title game of the 16- under Cinderella World Series as Elkland's Layci Wat ts awaits the throw.

CORNING - Sarah Gridley threw a complete game four hit shutout and Corning scored seven runs in the fifth inning to defeat Elkland 12-0 and win the 16-and-Under Cinderella World Series Sunday, July 29.

Corning advanced to the finals with a 7-2 win over EVPP, in which Gridley struck out 12 batters and gave up only two hits.

She continued her dominance in the championship game by retiring the first 11 batters she faced in order.

Corning's offense also started quickly in the final.

Brittani Knowles drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second when Emily Gridley reached on an error. Following a double play, with Emily Gridley on second, Amber Baker ripped a double off of the glove of Elkland's left fielder, bringing Gridley home and giving Corning a 1-0 lead after one inning.

The Corning offense stayed active in the second, when Rachael Horton drove a one out single into left before scoring when Samijo Scheer reached on an error, pushing the lead to 2-0.

Elkland's offense came to life in the fourth inning, when after 11 straight outs Makenzi McNett, Alex Kohler, and Savannah Collier hit consecutive singles to load the bases. The rally was proved unproductive, however, when Logan Collier grounded a 0-1 pitch to short for the third out of the inning.

Corning wasted no time in extending it's lead in the home half of the fourth. Casey Keenan led off with a single and moved to second one batter later when Sarah Gridley's grounder was booted. Horton then singled to left, scoring Keenan and sending Gridley to third. Brooke Knowles drove in both runners with a double to left to end the scoring and extend the advantage to five runs.

After Elkland went down in order again in the top of the fifth, the seven of the first eight batters of the home half scored, punctuated by a threerun double from Jordan Pierri. Corning recorded five hits and sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning.

With a comfortable 12-0 cushion, Sarah Gridley faced only one batter to reach base over the final two innings to wrap up the championship for Corning.

In the win, Gridley struck out six batters while only allowing four hits and issuing no walks. She also scored a pair of runs to help her own cause. Brooke Knowles led the way offensively for Corning, finishing with three-RBI and a run scored on two hits. Baker also had a pair of hits in the win.