FISHERTOWN, Bedford County — On two separate occasions, Moniteau's softball team was three outs away from advancing to the state quarterfinals for the first time in program history.

In the first instance, the Warriors lost the lead. The second brought an end to their season.

Everett, which had scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to force extra innings, received an RBI-single from Raelyn Rice in the bottom of the ninth, lifting the District 5 champion to an 8-7 PIAA Class AA first-round playoff win Monday afternoon at Chestnut Ridge High School.

Moniteau pitcher Kennedy DeMatteis rode a roller coaster during the game, enjoying three perfect innings while struggling in other frames. She got into immediate trouble in the decisive ninth frame.

Allison Snider singled to begin the inning and Sydney Reffner walked. It was the first free pass issued by DeMatteis since the bottom of the third, but would come back to haunt her.

Kadie Morral singled home Snider to tie the game at 7 and Reffner advanced to third before scoring the winning run on Rice's base hit, which eluded a diving Sara Hull at third base and bounced into left field.

Rice is Everett's clean-up hitter and picked a good time to tally her only hit of the game.

“Rae has come up big for us all season,” said first-year Everett coach Jackie Levy. “I'm confident with her at the plate. I knew she'd be patient and she was.”

DeMatteis ended the game with six strikeouts, eight walks and a pair of hit-batsmen. Entering the state playoffs, she had averaged less than two walks per game this season.

“Kennedy had some trouble settling in on the (circle),” said Moniteau coach Dan Beebe. “It was sand and there was a big rut. You fill it in and it just comes right back out. That's not why we lost, though. The walks hurt, but we're not making excuses. We'll own this loss.”

Moniteau had taken a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth when Gabby Stewart came home on a wild pitch. It was the only run allowed by Morral in the final six innings. She gave up six runs (three earned) over the first three frames.

“I honestly think it was nerves for her at the beginning of the game,” said Levy. “Once she settled in, she was fine.”

From the fourth inning through the ninth, Morral allowed just one run on three hits.

“I think it was a mixture of things,” Beebe said of his team's inability to duplicate its early offense. “We just didn't get enough base runners in the later innings.”

Moniteau had no such problem in the first three innings. Four Everett errors helped spark a 6-0 lead, with Cortney Claypoole, Taylor Hasychak, Alazia Greaves and Kristina DeMatteis each driving in a run.

“We had a big lead early, but Everett is a good team and we knew we would have to score more,” said Beebe.

Everett (15-7) began its comeback in the bottom of the third.

Three walks loaded the bases with one out. Moniteau second baseman Alyssa Dailey kept Everett off the scoreboard momentarily when she fielded a groundball and threw home to get Snider on a force-out. But another walk, an error and a two-run double off the bat of Myranda Zinn helped Everett close the gap to 6-4 by the end of the inning.

Neither team scored again until Everett extended the game with a two-run seventh inning.

Morral singled in one run and Reffner scored when Rice's flyball glanced off the glove of Stewart in right field. With the potential winning run at third base, Kennedy DeMatteis struck out Samantha Leach and the game entered the eighth frame.

Moniteau (20-2) also let a lead slip away in the first round of last year's state playoffs. Against Philipsburg-Osceola, the Warriors held a 6-3 edge after three innings before falling 19-6.

“This one hurts, but we've got a lot of key players coming back,” said Beebe. “We'll learn from this.”

Moniteau 132 000 001 — 7 7 3

Everett 004 000 202 — 8 8 4

No outs when winning run scored

W:Kadie Morral 9 IP (3K, 3BB).L:Kennedy DeMatteis 8+ IP (6K, 8BB).

Moniteau (20-2):Gabby Stewart 2-1B 2R, Cortney Claypoole 1B 3B R RBI, Kristina DeMatteis 1B RBI, Sara Hull R, Alyssa Dailey 2R, Taylor Hasychak 1B RBI, Alazia Greaves 1B R RBI

Everett (15-7):Allison Snider 2-1B 2R, Sydney Reffner 1B 3R, Kadie Morral 2-1B 2RBI, Raelyn Rice 1B R RBI, Hannah Laidig 1B R, Samantha Leach R RBI, Myranda Zinn 2B 2RBI