ORWIGSBURG - For four years, Pottsville's seniors have been chasing a Schuylkill League title.
Jolyn Rodrian, Kyra Bulino, Morgan Alisauckas, Caitlyn Herndon and their classmates made sure the Crimson Tide will have yet another chance at a championship.
Those four at the top of the lineup carried the big sticks as Pottsville slugged its way past Marian 10-2 on Wednesday night in the Schuylkill League semifinals at Blue Mountain's Patton Field.
"We were ready for this game for weeks now,'' Bulino said. "We knew we were going to be here, so we just came out with a lot of energy, and we finally got our bats going.''
The Division I champion Crimson Tide (15-5) advance to meet Division II titlist Williams Valley (21-0) for the championship at 7 this evening back at Patton Field. The Vikings earned their spot in the final with an 8-2 victory over North Schuylkill in the other semifinal.
Neither team has won a Schuylkill League championship since the playoffs resumed in 2009.
Still, Pottsville has been to leagues the past four years.
The tournament was rained out in 2011. The Tide lost to Pine Grove in the 2012 final and fell to Tri-Valley in nine innings in the 2013 semifinals.
"Coming off last year with that loss, we really wanted to be in the finals,'' Herndon said. "It means a lot to all the seniors because we were all there last year.
"We're really going to be up for that game so it's going to be exciting.''
Pottsville set the tone in the first inning when Rodrian led off with a bunt single, advanced on Bulino's sacrifice bunt and scored on Herndon's RBI single to center field.
The Tide extended its lead to 3-0 in the third. Alisauckas' RBI triple was the big hit.
Herndon's two-run single in the fifth pushed Pottsville's advantage to 5-0.
"We came here to compete, and for a while I thought we did,'' Marian coach Joe DeAngelo said. "They have some really good hitters. They put the ball in play with authority and kept spreading that lead.''
Marian (16-4) got two runs back in the top of the sixth, trimming the deficit to three. With one out, Gabby Cann and Lindsay Nemeth rapped back-to-back singles, Cann scoring from first base and Nemeth taking third on an outfield error. Bryianna Pearson followed with an RBI infield single to make it 5-2.
Pottsville answered by batting around in the bottom of the sixth inning, sending 11 hitters to the plate. Bulino smashed a three-run triple to the left-field fence. Alisauckas doubled her home and scored on Herndon's RBI single.
Bulino finished 3-for-3 with two triples, three runs scored and three RBIs; Alisauckas went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, two runs and two RBIs; and Herndon was 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
Including Rodrian, the top four in the Tide's lineup went 9-for-13 with seven runs scored and nine RBIs.
"Our seniors really carried us today,'' Pottsville coach Chuck Rinaldo said. "... They've been here before. They know what it takes to get here and to win.''