Monday’s first-place showdown in Section 3-A between the softball teams from Serra Catholic and Jeannette was as advertised for the first four innings.

Serra Catholic senior pitcher Kelly Morrissey and Jeannette senior Grace Stein were racking up the strikeouts.

But the Eagles’ bats came alive in the fifth inning, and the tight game became a rout.

Morrissey hit a two-run homer in the top of fifth inning, and the visiting Eagles (4-4, 3-0) rolled to a 13-0 victory.

She also was stellar in the circle, tossing a no-hitter, striking out 14 and walking two.

Morrissey said she looked forward to going head-to-head with Stein.

“I was pumped up,” Morrissey said. “I was up 3-1 in the count, and I knew she had to groove it. “My change-up worked well, and I was able was able to keep them off balance.”

Stein struck out 19, but the Jayhawks (4-1, 6-2) had three errors and Serra Catholic wound up with a couple of hits on balls that probably could have been caught.

“That was horrible out there,” Jeannette coach Tubby Stein said. “We did not make routine catches. Some were good hits. That home run was a shot because Grace left in hanging down the middle.

“We were playing them tough until the fifth inning. We made too many mistakes on our part, and you cannot do that against a team like that. Their pitcher was on fire.”

Serra took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Brianna Dobnak doubled and scored on a two-out hit by Alonna Morton.

Stein worked out of trouble in the first and second innings before allowing the run in the third inning.

After Morrissey’s home run, Morton doubled and scored on a Hannah Domek single.

Serra put the game away with five runs in the sixth inning and four in the seventh.

Domek and Keyara Watkins drove in three runs each.

“Grace is one of the best pitchers in the WPIAL,” Serra coach Denny Willaman said. “We played a rough schedule at the beginning of the season to prepare us for good pitching.

“We made some great adjustments at the plate. We were able to put some balls in play and were aggressive on the base paths.”

Willaman said Morrissey was locked in. Jeannette never got a runner past first base.

“She was in a zone,” Willaman said. “She has been working super hard this year, and it is paying off.”

Coach Stein said the team must get back to work to fix the mistakes.

Jeannette will host Ellis School on Friday and then gets the rematch at Serra Catholic on Monday.

The Eagles host Monessen on Wednesday and travel to Leechburg on Friday.