PINE GROVE — For two innings in Friday’s District 11 Class 1A softball semifinal between Marian and Weatherly, it was a tug-of-war.

But in a tug-of-war, one brief lapse can send a team reeling.

And that’s what happened.

The Fillies combined powerful hits with walks and opponent miscues to score six runs in the third, and the Wreckers could never catch up.

Marian won the contest 10-3 at Pine Grove to advance to Tuesday’s district championship game.

“It took us until the third inning to get going,” said Marian head coach Lyndsey Reinoehl.

The first base hit of the game for Marian didn’t occur until that third when sophomore team captain Hailey Treskolasky drilled a line drive single up the middle. At that time, Marian had a 1-0 lead thanks to a walk, an error, and a fielder’s choice. But Treskolasky’s single allowed teammate DeAnna Pugh, who was on second, to score.

Next at the plate was senior slugger Malina Letcher, who came into the game with a .523 batting average, and also unleashed an RBI single.

Another run-producing single in the frame came from sophomore Chloe Cannon.

The Fillies added one in the fourth and three in the fifth but finally was silenced again in the last inning by Weatherly.

“Marian has a good coach,” said Weatherly mentor Will Bartel. “They’re well coached, they’re solid ball players, and my girls did everything they could to hang in there with them.”

Bartel was still proud of his players

“They put the ball in play,” he said. “They hit well. They ran the bases well when they had the opportunity. We just didn’t make enough plays.”

It wasn’t until the fifth that Weatherly finally got runs.

In the inning, Elizabeth Digenaro hit a two-out single, stole second, and scored on a single by pitcher Abby Binder. Binder scored on a single by Abby Weston.

It looked like the Wreckers were going to be contenders in the last inning when Digenaro hit another single and later scored on a hit by Weston. Some walks left the bases loaded but a strikeout by Marian pitcher Kayla Birrer ended the game.

Birrer, who has been switching pitching duties all season with fellow junior Emily Upanavage, struck out six while going the distance. In the first four innings, she allowed just one base runner. She walked three, two in the seventh.

This was the third meeting for the two Schuylkill League teams. In the first meeting, Marian won 6-0. The Fillies won by 10 runs in the second outing.

Weatherly’s softball team has, during the entire season, either won or lost each of their games by a hefty margin. Their closest game was that six-run game tow Marian. All but three of their 20 regular season games were decided by the mercy rule, whether a win or a loss.

“They improved tremendously,” Reinoehl said of the Wreckers looking back at the first two meetings.

Bartel said he thought his girls did very well.

“I’m glad that they competed,” he said. “We didn’t get all the breaks that we needed. But they dug deep and when our pitcher got blasted, she answered the bell and came right back and pitched strong after that. She’s a tough kid.”

He was referring to a line drive that hit Binder in the shoulder in the fifth inning. Despite the direct hit, she never left the game.

“They’re all tough,” said Bartell. “Right down to the very end we had the bases loaded.”

Marian’s Treskolasky and Malina Letcher both hit triples. It was Treskolasky’s fourth triple of the season and Letcher’s third.

Treskolasky was 3-for-4, while Upanavage was 2-for-2.

GREAT OFFICIATING ... Umpiring the game were Dan Rossino, at home plate; Len Hardy and Steve Corrich. No complaints were heard about any of the calls the entire contest.

TOUGHNESS AWARD ... Weatherly’s senior pitcher Binder displayed unbelievable toughness in the fifth inning when a line drive hit her square in the joint of the shoulder. Despite having a welt, she insisted she was fine and stayed in the game. In the ensuing inning, she proved it with three quick outs, including one strikeout. Binder will be going to Cedar Crest College where she anticipates playing softball.

NEXT UP ... Marian was seeded second in the District 11 tournament. On Tuesday they will meet top-seeded Tri-Valley, who defeated Nativity in the second game of a triple-header at Pine Grove, 12-2.

Weatherly 000 020 1 - 3 6 4

Marian 006 130 x - 10 6 1

Binder and Makowiec, Birrer and Treskolasky. W - Birrer. L - Binder.

Records: Weatherly (9-12); Marian (12-9).