After Derry hit its second home run in the top of the sixth to pull ahead of top-seeded Elizabeth Forward in their WPIAL quarterfinal battle Tuesday, veteran coach Harry Rutherford had a simple message for his team.
“They’re No. 1 for a reason, and that’s what I told them: ‘Act like you’re No. 1. That’s it. Go out and do the job,’” Rutherford said during the middle of the sixth.
It was a simple message, but it resonated with his squad.
The top-seeded Warriors exploded for seven of their 10 hits and seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to take their first lead of the day in an 8-4 victory that sent them to the WPIAL semifinals against No. 4 Hampton on Thursday.
“She’s a good pitcher, and she’s seasoned. She has playoff experience,” Rutherford said of Derry pitcher Haylee Myers. “Berlyn (Holibaugh) kind of showed how unseasoned she is in these situations, but she was able to hold it together and get the job done. We had some trouble until we started getting back in the box, watching the pitch and taking those inside pitches to left field because we knew we could do some extra damage there.”
Elizabeth Forward (18-2) kept left fielder Violet Soltis busy during their offensive outburst. Julia Resnik led things off with a single and scored the tying run before eventually reaching base again on an error that finished the EF scoring. Resnik finished 2 for 4 while Hannah Evans starred with a 2-for-3 day with three important RBIs. Holibaugh, who earned the win in the circle, was 0 for 3 before she crushed a two-run triple during the sixth.
The junior pitcher, who has been stellar filling in for the Warriors all season long, gave up 11 hits but just four earned runs in seven innings while striking out 10 batters and walking three.
Myers was dominant up until the sixth inning that tagged her with the loss. She allowed 10 hits and eight runs (seven earned) while striking out six and walking just one.
She joined teammate Alexa Darazio in hitting solo home runs while Kameryn Dunlap also tallied an RBI. Dunlap, Myers and Kali Henigin each had two hits.
Offense was hard to come by early on as Holibaugh and Myers were dialed in. Only Resnik and Myers had hits through three innings as each managed a double, but they were stranded to keep the game scoreless.
Things finally opened up in the fourth as Myers took her second at-bat of the game and left the yard with a solo shot that gave the No. 9 Trojans (11-5) a 1-0 lead. Bailey Legge, Henigin and Dunlap managed singles after that home run, but Holibaugh battled back to keep the deficit at one by forcing a groundout.
Myers continued to dominate in the bottom of the fourth and quickly put up two outs, but the Warriors finally got to her through two extra-base hits. Sophie Pasinsky delivered a double to center before Evans matched her with another double that went to left and tied the game at 1-1.
After a scoreless fifth, Derry put more pressure on the Warriors when Darazio tacked on her team’s second run of the game with another home run.
But after Rutherford addressed his players in the middle of the sixth, they were ready to go.
Resnik and Addy Nigut opened things up with singles and a double steal before Myers settled down with a strikeout. Evans put the pressure right back on with another clutch double as she drove in three.
“I feel like I’ve been swinging really well recently,” Evans said. “I’ve been seeing the ball really well, and pressure makes diamonds, so that’s kind of what I was thinking in that moment.”
That gave EF its first lead of the day, but it was far from done. Aubri Cimba hit another double right after Evans to bring her in and make it 4-2. Morgan Telegdy and Claire Balint singled, with Balint’s effort tacking on another run. After the second out, Holibaugh tripled to left to score Telegdy and Balint, bringing the lead to 7-2.
Resnik helped score one more run on a hard-hit groundball that resulted in an error, bringing Holibaugh home and capping off the EF scoring at 8-2.
Pinch hitter Payge Donovan and Dunlap helped bring runs in during the seventh as the Trojans fought hard to try and rally, but it was too little, too late as the Warriors finished their win with a groundout.