Harbor Creek opens District 10 Class 3A softball playoffs with mercy-rule rout of Fairview
The Harbor Creek softball team is eager to make a deep playoff run over the next four weeks.
The Huskies, however, exhibited plenty of patience on Tuesday in a 14-0 win over Fairview.
“We had to wait back on pitches and be patient and it showed in how well we hit the ball,” said Harbor Creek senior leader AB Cipalla. “We played with a lot of energy and we played well together.”
Harbor Creek collected 13 hits, including six doubles, to rout the Tigers in the District 10 Class 3A quarterfinals at Penn State Behrend.
The Huskies (17-4) move on to the D-10 semifinals on Thursday against Corry back at Penn State Behrend at 1 p.m. with a trip to the D-10 championship and PIAA playoffs on the line.
Fairview (10-10) had a chance to make a statement in the top of the first inning as the Tigers loaded the bases with two outs, but Addison Lucas recorded the first of nine strikeouts to end the threat.
District 10 playoffs: View baseball, softball results, box scores, schedules for May 20-25
Harbor Creek countered with five runs in the bottom of the inning to grab the momentum. After a Fairview error allowed a run to score, Lucas blasted a two-run double to make it 3-0. Hannah Smith reached on a fielder's choice to allow another run to score and Rylee Vogt lifted a sacrifice fly to right to complete the rally.
“The first inning was big because they had three runners on and didn't score which turned into momentum for us in the bottom of the inning,” said Harbor Creek coach Tim Caputo. “We were able to get a lead right away which was big because beating a team three times is never easy. They are well-coached and we had to stay disciplined at the plate and show patience.”
Lucas struck out the side in the second inning and rolled through the third inning in the circle.
“We had a different approach at the beginning and they found what they like and we found what we like,” said Lucas about pitching against Fairview a third time. “Once I found what was working the best I threw that the rest of the game.”
Harbor Creek tacked on five more runs in the third inning to pull away, including an RBI double by Smith and a three-run double from Cipalla. Freshman Brooklyn Cipalla had three hits, while Lucas drove in three runs and AB Cipalla had four RBIs.
“We're excited to be in the semifinals,” said AB Cipalla. “I've never faced Corry before so I'm excited to see how it goes.”
Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNreisenweber.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: District 10 softball: Harbor Creek opens playoffs with rout of Fairview
