PLYMOUTH MEETING Reese Dugan and her Palmerton teammates were able to get out of one late-inning, bases-loaded situation.

Unfortunately for the Bombers and their starting pitcher, they couldn't get out of two.Carly Jensen's two-out single in the bottom of the eighth inning chased home the game's only run Wednesday to give the Panthers a 1-0 walk-off win in the opening round of the PIAA Class AA state softball playoffs.The soft flare to left not only ended a terrific pitcher's duel between Dugan and Nichole Eberhard but it also brought an abrupt end to Palmerton's season."Reese threw another excellent game," said Bomber head coach Robert Hock, whose team finished with a 17-8 record. "You couldn't have asked for any more ... She was out there battling and I thought she was going to work out of that last jam. Unfortunately you get into too many jams and it only takes a little hit and that's the ballgame."We came into the season with high expectations. We did well in districts and got to states and that's not an easy thing to do. Sure, they wanted the ride to last a little bit longer but it just wasn't in the cards today. I'm very proud of the group. They have every reason to be proud of what they accomplished this year."Neither team accomplished much in the way of scoring in Wednesday's matchup. Despite having opportunities to score, especially in the later innings, both squads were being done in by the opposing pitcher."It seemed like the pitchers dug down a little bit and shut the other team out when there was a threat," said St. Basil mentor Steve Sonneborn. "Their pitcher threw great. They battled and they're a very good team. My guys just kept battling and I felt my pitcher also threw well."I told our players that our pitcher was pitching a great game, so let's get her a run."While both hurlers were looking for some support, it was the Panthers (14-9) that eventually broke the ice in that eighth frame.After leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh when Dugan got a clutch strikeout, St. Basil put three on again in the home eighth.Two-out singles by Myranda Gormley and Amanda Clark, and a walk to Eberhard set the stage for Jensen. The freshman, who won the Panthers' district championship game with a homer, this time dropped a ball in front of Palmerton left fielder Steph Brinker for the game-winner."Off the bat it looked like it was well hit," said Hock. "But it was off the end of the bat ... Steph tried to get to it but it just dropped in front of her. The girl put a nice swing on it but it was off the end of the bat and it just didn't carry that far.""I'm not sure if she was nervous or not because she's always smiling and having a good time," said Sonneborn about Jensen's last at-bat. "That was big time there. I was just praying it would drop in."That hit was the only one in the game that came with a runner in scoring position. Up to that point, St. Basil had been 0-for-4 in those situations while Palmerton was 0-for-10.In fact, the Bombers had runners in scoring position in seven of the eight innings."We were threatening and had the batters you'd like to see up at those times but we just didn't get it done," said Hock. "Unfortuntely we didn't come through with the big hit."(Eberhard) threw some great pitches when she had to. She would not give in to the batters, no matter what the count was. You have to tip your hat to her for not conceding a strike down the middle and just staying with her game and keeping us a little off-balanced."Hits by Kendra Pekurny and pinch-hitter Shelby Gower in the seventh gave Palmerton one of its scoring threats, but a grounder to Panther second baseman Abby Carter was turned into a double play.In the eighth, the Bombers again got their leadoff hitter on when Jordan Boyer reached on a bunt single. After being sacrificed to second, Eberhard got a pop-up and comebacker to end the frame.Brinker, Janel Tracy and Dugan (a triple) also had hits in the contest for the District 11 champs, but the key hit just never came. Dugan, who at one point retired 12 in a row, struck out six and walked two."They never quit and they stayed together as a team all year," said Hock of his club. "They represented the district, the school and the community very well."Palmerton 000 000 00 - 0 6 2St. Basil 000 000 01 - 1 7 1Dugan and Campbell; Eberhard and Clark. W - Eberhard. L - Dugan.