History in the Circle, Hardware on the Mind
By: SportzWire | SportzWire | May 20, 2026 | Photo courtesy Justin Focus
History was waiting for Hannah Chipego.
So was a spot in the district title game.
Lake-Lehman walked away with both.
Behind another dominant performance from its ace and a balanced offensive effort, top-seeded Lake-Lehman rolled past Riverside 10-0 Wednesday in the District 2 Class 3A semifinals to earn another trip to championship week.
The Black Knights, now 18-2, handled the rain delay and everything else thrown at them, putting together another complete performance one win away from district gold.
Chipego entered the afternoon with 832 career strikeouts, needing three more to move past former Pittston Area standout Gianna Adams atop the Wyoming Valley Conference record book.
The chase didn’t last long.
After recording a strikeout in the opening inning, Chipego came back out in the second and quickly closed the gap. Her next two strikeouts officially pushed her into the No. 1 spot in conference history, turning an already important district semifinal into a memorable afternoon.
And she wasn’t finished.
By the time the final out was recorded, Chipego had piled up 12 strikeouts, bringing her career total to 844 and counting, while allowing six hits and keeping Riverside off the scoreboard across six innings.
The Black Knights made sure to give their ace early support.
Kaitlyn Brudnicki got things started in the first inning with a solo home run to center field on an eight-pitch at-bat, putting Lake-Lehman ahead before weather briefly paused the action after the opening frame.
Once play resumed, the Black Knights picked up right where they left off.
Lake-Lehman added three runs in the second inning as Gracie James brought home a run, Hayley Wallace lined an RBI triple to center, and another run scored following a Riverside miscue.
The offense continued to build from there.
A run crossed in the third before Wallace added another highlight in the fourth, circling the bases for an inside-the-park home run as the Black Knights kept extending the lead.
Lake-Lehman finished with 11 hits and showed patience throughout the afternoon with five walks.
Jenna Sholtis led the offense with a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate, while Chipego and Wallace each drove in two runs. Brudnicki added the early homer and reached base multiple times as part of another balanced effort.
Riverside was paced by Shelby Lewis, who collected two hits in two at-bats.
Now the focus shifts to a familiar face.
With the victory, Lake-Lehman advances to Tuesday’s District 2 Class 3A championship game where a rematch against No. 2 Mid Valley awaits, with district gold on the line.
Top Performers
Lake-Lehman
• Hannah Chipego: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 12 K | 2-for-4, 2 RBI
• Jenna Sholtis: 3-for-3, RBI
• Hayley Wallace: 2-for-3, inside-the-park HR, triple, 2 RBI, 2 runs
• Kaitlyn Brudnicki: Solo HR, 2 BB
• Gracie James: RBI
Riverside
• Shelby Lewis: 2-for-2
• Emma Chilek: Hit
• Riley Monahan: Hit
• Kenzie Reynolds: Hit, walk
• Madison Keller: Hit
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