District 11 Softball: North Schuylkill belts Blue Mountain in Class 4A semifinals, qualifies for states
North Schuylkill's players and coaches celebrate after the Spartans defeated Blue Mountain on Saturday in a District 11 Class 4A semifinal at Pine Grove's Susan Y. Stump Field. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
PINE GROVE — The Sluggin’ Spartans did what they do best.
They love to hit, hit … and hit some more. They work for hours and take thousands of reps honing their craft. They take pride in their ability to hit good pitching and put lots of runs on the board.
The Spartans did all of that and more Saturday night, bashing their way to a 14-4, five-inning victory over Blue Mountain in a District 11 Class 4A softball semifinal at Susan Y. Stump Field.
With the win, second-seeded North Schuylkill (17-4) advanced to the championship game to meet No. 1 Northwestern Lehigh (23-2), which edged No. 4 Tamaqua 5-4 on Saturday morning in the other semifinal. Championship game time is 5 p.m. Tuesday at Parkland High School.
In addition, the Spartans also clinched a spot in the PIAA Tournament because the top two teams in District 11 Class 4A will be part of the 16-team state bracket.
“It’s all on these girls,” North Schuylkill coach Jack Flynn said. “These girls bought in back when I got hired in the summer. They worked so hard in the offseason, in the winter, during the regular season, and they wanted what I wanted. And I just want it for those girls because I know how hard they play every day.
“It was one of our goals,” the coach added. “We had a list of 10 goals for the season. One was to get to the district championship. One was to win the district championship, and one was to get to states. So we’re on track for most of those goals.”
Strangely enough, the game couldn’t have started better for third-seeded Blue Mountain (15-7). After an error put a runner on board, Avery Hudock slammed a two-run home run over the fence in left-center field. Just like that, two batters into the game, the Eagles had a 2-0 lead.
Just as strangely, the bottom half of the first inning couldn’t have gone better for North Schuylkill. The Spartans answered by sending 11 batters to the plate, smacking six hits and taking advantage of some Blue Mountain miscues for a six-run outburst that gave them control of the game. After the dust settled, North Schuylkill turned a two-run deficit into a 6-2 lead.
Lindsay Brouse and Jordanna Frie delivered RBI singles, and Monica Selgrade crushed a two-run double to cap the rally.
“The first inning set the tone for the entire game,” Jack Flynn said. “We hit the ball well (Friday against Saucon Valley). We were down two runs in the first inning (Friday) and today, and the girls just believed in themselves. After (Friday’s) game, they knew they could hit any pitcher, and they just showed it today. They were inspired by (Friday’s) game, and coming down here, that first inning was just unbelievable.”
In two district playoff games, the Spartans have scored 24 runs on 26 hits.
The hit parade continued throughout as North Schuylkill scored multiple runs in all four innings in which it batted.
In the second inning, Gianna Capone’s two-run single extended the Spartans’ lead to 8-2.
In the third, North Schuylkill took advantage of some Blue Mountain mistakes to score four times for a 12-2 advantage. Selgrade scorched a triple and Frie laced an RBI single during the inning.
Blue Mountain got two runs back in the fourth inning, but North Schuylkill answered with two in the bottom half to set the 10-run lead. Lyza Holmes’ RBI double and Brigid Flynn’s RBI single produced the Spartans’ runs.
Meanwhile, after giving up Hudock’s homer, Flynn responded by retiring the next 10 batters she faced. Flynn (10-3) finished with a three-hitter, striking out five and walking none.
The story, though, centered around North Schuylkill’s prolific attack. Every starter reached base at least once, and eight different players contributed at least one hit. The Spartans also showed an ability to use the bunt game to get and move baserunners and to create havoc for the opponent.
Top hitters for North Schuylkill included Selgrade, 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, two RBIs and a run scored; Holmes, 3-for-4 with a double, three runs and one RBI; Brigid Flynn, 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI; Brouse, 2-for-4 with two RBIs; and Frie, 3-for-3 with a double, two runs and two RBIs.
Sluggin’ Spartans, indeed!
Game Summary
District 11 Class 4A Semifinal
At Susan Y. Stump Field, Pine Grove
BLUE MOUNTAIN (4) — Fishburn cf 3 1 0 0, Hudock ss 3 1 1 2, Frie 3b 2 0 0 0, Borden lf 2 1 1 0, Boyer 1b 2 1 1 0, Cavadini c 2 0 0 1, Koch rf 2 0 0 0, Leonard p 0 0 0 0, Brown p 2 0 0 0, Peel dp 2 0 0 0, Manbeck 2b 0 0 0 0. Totals 20 4 3 3.
NORTH SCHUYLKILL (14) — Selgrade cf 4 1 2 2, Holmes lf 4 3 3 1, Flynn p 4 2 2 1, Brouse c 4 0 2 2, Miscannon cr 0 2 0 0, Frie 1b 3 2 3 2, Jones 2b 3 1 1 0, Croker 3b 3 1 1 0, Capone ss 3 1 1 2, Meskunas dp 2 0 0 0, Monahan rf 0 1 0 0. Totals 30 14 15 10.
BM (15-7) 200 20 — 4
NS (17-4) 624 2x — 14
E — Blue Mountain 5, North Schuylkill 3
DP — None
LOB — Blue Mountain 1, North Schuylkill 7
2B — Boyer, Selgrade, Frie, Holmes
3B — Selgrade
HR — Hudock
SB — Miscannon 2, Holmes, Flynn
SAC — Jones
Blue Mountain
IP H R ER BB K
Leonard L,6-4 .2 6 6 3 0 0
Brown 3.1 9 8 6 2 2
North Schuylkill
IP H R ER BB K
Flynn W,10-3 5 3 4 2 0 5
WP — Leonard, Flynn. T — 1:22.
NW Lehigh 5, Tamaqua 4
ALLENTOWN — Natalie Conner’s RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted Northwestern Lehigh to a walkoff win over Tamaqua in a District 11 Class 4A semifinal Saturday morning at Patriots Park.
The top-seeded Tigers (23-2) rallied for two runs in their last at-bat to survive an upset bid by the fourth-seeded Blue Raiders (15-8).
Conner finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored for Northwestern Lehigh, which was held to just four hits.
Tamaqua took an early 1-0 lead but trailed 3-1 after three innings. In the fifth, the Blue Raiders tallied three runs for a 4-3 advantage The game stayed that way until the seventh.
