Fun teams to watch can be contagious for community and journalists

Below is a story I wrote for friends in journalism, the Titusville News-Journal website and an ever so slightly different version ended up in The Meadville Tribune today. 

I have fun covering these teams. I try to stay off to the side and just bear witness, but every now and then witnessing leads to questions.

​Last year a couple players did a point-five selfie just a few feet from where I was standing and seemed to having a lot of fun.

Being a very young looking ...ahem cough, cough... old guy I didn't know what a point-five was. 

​So I learned and later that season I had some fun with it during their team picture after winning a championship.

Last night I was enthusiastically ask if I wanted to do it again and of course I did. It is just fun connecting with a group of players even if it is just small way. Life should be fun. Thanks to the Titusville majors for helping me have fun while "working!"

And good luck down in Knox. Keep it up!

Titusville pitcher Mary Lesko rubbed the dirt off the green-yellow softball against her thigh as she stared down at home plate at the middle of the Meadville/Cochranton/Saegertown lineup in the bottom of the sixth inning. 

Her team was up 2-1 and she knew the next three outs were the most important if her team wanted to win the District 1 championship Wednesday night.
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“I’ve got to throw strikes,” she said was all that on her mind.. “You just have to focus.”

And focus she did striking out the side and giving her Titusville teammates another banner with the 2-1 win at the Ed Myer Complex.

This was the fourth championship in a row for the twelve year olds who won two banners as minor leaguers as well.
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“I’m just so proud of these girls,” said head coach Abbe Popescu. “They never let up."

Things didn’t go smoothly for Titusville early on leaving a runner on third in both the first and second innings without scoring.
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MCS also looked like they were going to have Titusville’s number in the first inning when Lesko walked a batter before Olivia Nye singled.

​Lesko walked the bases loaded and then walked in a run. A solid hit by Maddie Dillaman got the MCS crowd excited, but Titusville third-baseman Jemma Wakefield snagged the laser to end the inning leaving three runners on base.

After that it was all Lesko and error free fielding behind her. 
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Gina Beers was busy recording four outs from second base. Capri Warner and Greathouse were a wall, stopping everything else and making solid throws to Aleah Cherry at first.

​Even outfielder Amelia Kline chased down a fly into foul territory for a big out and center fielder Bea Popescu made a nice grab. 
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Meadville pitcher Olivia Nye was solid on the mound keeping Titusville at bay until the fifth inning when a miscommunication between her and catcher Charlee Opet  allowed Bea Popescu to reach first.

​Laila Greathouse had already singled and made it to second on a steal. 

Jemma Wakefield then launched one to left that was misplayed and sailed over the fielders head scoring Greathouse while Popescu went to third.
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She scored a couple pitches later sliding under Nye’s tag after a wild pitch.

Wakefield ended up on third but was unable to get across the plate.
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But it was enough.
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“Jemma has just been critical with her bats,” the coach said. “She just gets these hits at crucial moments and she really comes through for us. It was the second game in a row that it was her bat that brought us forward and got us the win.”
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Titusville started the series with an 18-1 win over the Conneaut/Lake/Valley/Lakeview team. They then had a tough 3-2 win against MCS to make it to the winners bracket final.
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“They just locked in,” coach Popescu said. "Infielders did great, Gina Beers played really well and Mary did an excellent job controlling the pitching.

There were some tough moments and she just got mentally tough and led us to the win.”
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The error-free ball has been a real key to this team's success. They field really well, throw accurately and catch everything they can get a glove on, or at least knock it down.

A key moment was a shot back up the middle headed quickly toward second base and center field that would have scored another run for MCS in the third.

​But Lesko's quick reaction knocked the ball down. She then stared the runner back to second and made a quick throw to first for an out.
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Popescu said Meadville was just a really tough team to play and credited Nye as an outstanding pitcher.

Titusville had four hits to MCS's two.
Nye struck out 10 for MCS while Lesko struck out eight, the most important were the last four batters she faced.
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Titusville moves on to the section tournament next week in Knox with date and time to be determined.

“We know we’re going to see tough competition in Knox,” Popescu said. “We’re ready for it. I think this MCS team really prepared us well for the tournament and we are ready to go.”

And just one more!

PSA (Photographer Service Announcement): Parents, grandparents friends taking team pictures with your phones... get closer and don't use your zoom option. These are your memories, fill your frame with them. Go horizontal--unluss you want full frame on snap or insta-- and steady your phone with both hands to get the most stabile/sharp picture you can for perpetuity.