ORWIGSBURG - When the softball schedule comes out, Pottsville circles two games on the calendar - Blue Mountain games.
The Eagles do likewise.
So when Crimson Tide senior Caitlyn Herndon stepped onto Patton Field on Monday afternoon for a Schuylkill League Division I rivalry clash, Herndon knew this was her last "Blue Mountain game.''
She made it one to remember.
Herndon cracked three hits and knocked in four runs to power Pottsville past the Eagles 11-2 and keep the Tide unbeaten in league play.
"We always get up for Blue Mountain, obviously,'' Herndon said. "It's our seniors' last time playing them, so we just came out swinging.''
Pottsville (10-4, 8-0 D-I) swung the bats to the tune of a season-high 16 hits, scoring five runs in the second inning and four more in the fifth to pull away.
Oddly enough, the game was tied 1-1 after one inning.
After Herndon's RBI double put the Tide on top 1-0, Blue Mountain immediately answered in the bottom half.
Amanda Labe worked a leadoff walk and eventually scored on Karissa Elser's RBI single. Elser finished 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI singles. Labe went 2-for-3.
In the top of the second, Pottsville went back to work and went ahead to stay. Kyra Bulino scorched a two-run triple down the left-field line and scored on an error on the relay throw. Bulino, who bats leadoff, finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs.
Later in the inning, Herndon blooped a two-run single to left to extend the Tide's lead to 6-1. Herndon finished 3-for-4, adding an RBI single in the fifth inning.
"Right away. That's our goal in every game,'' Herndon said. "Our bats are coming around now.''
It wasn't like that 10 days ago. Standing at 6-4 with four shutout losses after 10 games, Pottsville needed something to jump-start its season. The spark came from within as the Tide players rededicated themselves to the team and the game.
The result has been a more vocal, energetic and enthusiastic dugout and a four-game winning streak.
"It's all about perseverance and keeping the kids focused,'' Pottsville coach Chuck Rinaldo said. "Come to practice every day and work hard, and play hard. ... We're being more consistent, which is important.
"I told them when we were up and down, this game is for the kids,'' he added. "It's all about them. They have to have fun. ... I think our kids were pressing a little bit. ... They are having fun, and I'm glad for that.''
The fun continued as Pottsville had baserunners in every inning but the sixth.
Morgan Alisauckas went 3-for-4 with a stolen base, a run scored and two RBIs. Her two-run single to center keyed Pottsville's four-run fifth inning.
No. 9 batter Micki Garland also had a big day, going 2-for-2 with three runs scored and an RBI.
After giving up Elser's RBI single in the third that made it 6-2, Pottsville pitcher Sara Tobin found her groove. She retired 14 of the final 16 batters she faced, including striking out the side in the fourth inning.
With the win, Pottsville maintained its two-game lead over Tamaqua in the division. The Tide have four league games left: Panther Valley (twice), Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua. The Division I champion and runner-up (wild card) qualify for the Schuylkill League playoffs the week of May 11-17.
Blue Mountain (5-8, 4-4) has four league games remaining - North Schuylkill, Pine Grove, Panther Valley and Tamaqua - and must win at least two of them to qualify for the District 11 playoffs.
"Our goal is to win Schuylkill League Division I, and we're right there,'' Rinaldo said. "We've just got to stay the course. ... I told the girls that we want to be here (at Blue Mountain) two weeks from today playing in the (Schuylkill League) semifinals.''