Back Mountain tore through the District 31 Little League 8 to 10-year-old softball tournament with a dominant pitcher and a deep batting order.
Nina Barrouk tossed a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts July 1 when Back Mountain shut out Greater Wyoming Area, 12-0, in four innings in the championship game.
Back Mountain won three tournament games in four innings on the 10-run rule and its other in three innings on the 15-run rule while outscoring opponents by a total of 61-0 in just 15 innings.
Barrouk threw a perfect game and another no-hitter while allowing just three hits and getting all 45 of her outs by strikeout.
“We have a dominant pitcher in Nina and a dominant catcher in Kirsten (Finarelli),” Back Mountain manager Scott Berecin said. “Those two go hand-in-hand.
“With Nina’s dominance, you need to have a catcher who can handle her. That sets the table for everything defensively.”
Hannah Chipego and Barrouk each had two hits in the championship game. Olivia Oliver drove in two runs.
Barrouk’s perfect game, in which she struck out all nine batters she faced, came June 28 when Back Mountain completed round-robin play with a 17-0 rout of Northwest.
Chippego had four hits. Finarelli and Barrouk added three each.
“We have a very powerful top five of the batting order,” Berecin said of the combination of Chippego, Barrouk, Finarelli, Carolyn Comitz and Sophia Maier.
The team features seven players from last year’s squad that finished tied for fifth in the state in the same age group.
Barrouk, Finarelli, Comitz, Maier, Ashley Hudak, Gracie James and Sophia Lenza are all back.
Back Mountain will take part in the three-team Section 5 tournament beginning Monday at District 32 Wallenpaupack. The remainder of the tournament is hosted by District 17 champion North Pocono, which has a bye on opening night.
