ORWIGSBURG - Pine Grove wanted a chance at redemption.

The Cardinals had an exceptional run last season, which included a District 11 Class 2A championship.But one thing was missing from Pine Grove's resume-a Schuylkill League title.However, the Cards' will have an opportunity to fill that void, after an 18-1 rout of Marian in the Spotts Insurance Group Schuylkill League Softball semifinals on Monday at Blue Mountain."The key was to get on early and put some runs on the board," said Pine Grove head coach Ryan Leffler. "We kept putting the pressure on the defense, and it was a big win for us today."The Cardinals scored four runs in the first inning, and then erupted for nine in the second.Katelyn Rittenbaugh, the team's leadoff hitter, did her job and drew a walk to start the Pine Grove party in the second. She quickly advanced to second after a Mackenzie Joy pickoff attempt flew into right field. After Jen Kaufman singled and ended up on second base, Trish Kopinetz ripped a two-run double to left-center to make it 6-0."She did an outstanding job in the No. 3 hole for us," said Leffler of Kopinetz. "When you have the one (and) two girls get on for us, that's our goal-one out of two. She did an excellent job getting her pitch and driving it right back up the middle for us."The Cards were extremely aggressive on the bases, stealing six bags in the big second inning."I thought we did a good job getting good jumps and getting those steals," Leffler said. "Whatever the defense gives us, we try to go. If we see that any girl isn't going to get there, we try to take advantage of it."Pine Grove racked up 15 hits, and its speed kept the Fillies' on their heels."They're a team that constantly puts pressure on you," said Marian head coach Joe DeAngelo. "We're going to regroup and get ready for next week."Pine Grove pitcher Olivia Lehman didn't miss a beat all afternoon, yielding just one hit to Joy in the first inning. She struck out five in the circle, and tallied two hits, two runs, and an RBI at the plate."She's been doing an excellent job all year commanding and hitting her spots," Leffler said. "We've been playing good defense, but we had that one inning there with three mistakes, but I'm glad we were ahead.She had that second pitch going well today. It's something we've been working on with her. Liv is Liv. She will go out there and give you 110 percent every time. She'll go however long she wants to go, every inning you ask her to throw."UP NEXT ... Pine Grove will battle Tamaqua for the Schuylkill League crown at Blue Mountain on Thursday at 7 p.m.SAME CORE ... Last year's Pine Grove team lost just one senior to graduation. The Cardinals are quite seasoned. "It's been an outstanding season," said the Pine Grove coach. "The kids have really been working hard, and they've been determined to get to this point of the season. Last year, we had a great run, and they're feeding off that I think. We're going to have another opportunity to play for the Schuylkill League championship. The goals were set high to this team. The first goal was to win the Schuylkill League, and we gave ourself a great chance to do it on Thursday."Pine Grove 492 3 - 18 15 2Marian 001 0 - 1 1 6Lehman and Kopinetz; Reinoehl and M. Joy. W - Lehman. L - Reinoehl.