FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — North Schuylkill’s youth led the way to victory in Thursday’s District 11 Class AA quarterfinals.
Freshman pitcher Haley Burd did the job on the mound and junior Rachel Gricoski provided the offense in a 3-1 victory over Northern Lehigh.
Burd allowed one run on seven hits, striking out seven and walking three for a complete-game win, her 10th of the year.
Rachel Gricoski went 1-for-2 with a walk, crossing home plate on Alex Morgan’s RBI single to tie the game in the fourth. The junior then hit a two-run single in the fifth to give North Schuylkill the lead for good.
“(Burd) pitched very well for a freshman,” Spartans head coach Dominick Grasso said. “These younger kids are stepping up.
“And Rachel’s having a great year. What a great kid. That’s all she does is play softball. Every day of the week, she has something to do with softball.”
The victory advances No. 4-seeded North Schuylkill (14-7) to Tuesday’s semifinals, where they will play No. 8 Notre Dame-Green Pond, a 3-2 winner in 11 innings over Tamaqua. Game time is 4 p.m. at Blue Mountain’s Patton Field.
Northern Lehigh struck first, as Kaitlin Hoffman hit a double, moved to third on a throwing error by North Schuylkill’s third baseman and scored on Amber Thomas’ RBI single..
Burd settled down after that, forcing the Bulldogs to strand eight runners on base throughout the rest of the game.
“Sometimes she gets a little on the nervous side and gets down on herself for giving up early runs like that, but she came back,” Grasso said. “The girls talked to her, told her to keep doing what you’re doing, and she pitched very well.”
Thomas, the Bulldogs’ starting pitcher, was lights-out through the first three frames, hurling a pair of 1-2-3 innings in the second and third.
Thomas allowed three runs on five hits, striking out seven and walking none through six innings.
“We had a scouting report on her, but it was surprising how quick she was,” Grasso said of Thomas. “She did a great job, too.”
In the fourth, Gricoski reached base safely after Northern Lehigh’s shortstop dropped a blooper right to her. Chase Stokes’ single moved Gricoski to second, and Burd’s groundout to the pitcher moved both runners over.
Morgan’s bunt single brought home Gricoski, who beat a play at the plate to give the Spartans their first run and make it a tie ballgame.
North Schuylkill came up big again in the fifth when No. 9 hitter Eliza Schally got on first with a single, and Tiffany Lapotsky took her base after getting hit in the elbow by a pitch.
Kelly Damiter’s sacrifice bunt moved both runners over, and finally Gricoski’s two-run single gave the Spartans a 3-1 lead.
“It was the nine-batter getting on, the first batter getting on, the second batter bunting her over, and the third batter driving them home,” Grasso said. “It’s what you’re supposed to do, but it doesn’t happen like that all the time.”
Burd cruised through the rest of the game, with her only bump coming in the seventh when Maddie Bellesfield led off with a single and Tiffany Yesik drew a one-out walk.
Burd got the next batter to pop up to her for the second out, and got the third on a flyout to Damiter in center field to seal the win.
“I got a little nervous, but my defense helped me,” Burd said. “Honestly, it feels amazing to win a playoff game like that.
“The next team we play is going to be great competition, so we better come to win.”
Game Summary
District 11 Class AA Quarterfinal
At Fountain Springs
NORTHERN LEHIGH (1) — K. Hoffman ss 4 1 1 0, Yesik 3b 3 0 0 0, Hargreaves lf 3 0 0 0, Herman cf 4 0 2 0, Thomas p 3 0 2 1, Toth cr 0 0 0 0, Marlotti 2b 2 0 0 0, Handwerk 1b 3 0 1 0, Hyrowkh dp 2 0 0 0, Hemingway ph 1 0 0 0, Bellesfield rf 3 0 1 0, D. Hoffman c 0 0 0 0. Totals 28 1 7 1.
NORTH SCHUYLKILL (3) — Lapotsky ss 2 1 0 0, Damiter cf 3 0 1 0, Gricoski 3b 2 1 1 2, Stokes 1b 3 0 1 0, Burd p 3 0 0 0, Morgan cf 3 0 1 1, Amato lf 3 0 0 0, Peleschak c 2 0 0 0, Bell ph 1 0 0 0, Schally 2b 2 1 1 0. Totals 24 3 5 3.
Northern Lehigh (13-8) 100 000 0 — 1
North Schuylkill (14-7) 000 120 x — 3
E — Northern Lehigh 3, North Schuylkill 2. LOB — Northern Lehigh 9, North Schuylkill 5. 2B — K. Hoffman. 3B — Herman. SB — Gricoski, Morgan. S — Bellesfield, Damiter.
No. Lehigh IP H R ER BB K
Thomas L 6 5 3 0 0 7
North Sch. IP H R ER BB K
Burd W,10-4 7 7 1 1 3 7
HBP — by Thomas (Lapotsky). PB — D. Hoffman 2. T — 1:20.