The Marian softball team came out with an early offensive surge.

It had favorite Schuylkill Haven on its heels early. The Fillies showed energy and confidence from the start.

That momentum didn’t last.

The Hurricanes didn’t back down. They had plenty at stake, especially after coming off a win over Williams Valley, the current leaders in the Schuylkill Girls Softball League Division 2.

Schuylkill Haven regrouped and responded again and again, pulling away for a 12-7 win on the road.

Coach Garry Adams called it a “trap game” for his Hurricanes.

“That’s what we call a trap game, (after) beating Williams Valley for the first time in 10 years,” Adams said. “This is what you call a trap game after that win, so I was very concerned.”

He knew Marian was ready for the challenge.

“You come in here and play a very-well coached team like Marian, you need to be ready for anything.”

The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead before Marian answered with four runs. The Fillies collected four hits and took advantage of an error to grab the early edge.

Gracie Sandatch started the rally with a hit, and Deanna Pugh reached on an error. Sophomore catcher Hailey Treskolasky followed with an RBI single. Senior Malina Letcher then hit a two-run triple, and Emily Upanavage added an RBI on a well-executed safety squeeze.

“That start was a good one for us, our problem was we didn’t play very well in the field,” Fillies head coach Lyndsey Reinhoel said. “You know one game we play defense and no (hitting); we’ve got to find a way to do both hitting and defense.”

That issue proved costly.

Over the next six innings, Schuylkill Haven avoided the upset.

The Hurricanes scored three runs on two hits in the second, helped by two Marian errors.

With one out, Braelynn Strenkoski singled. Octavia Houvig reached on an error, allowing Strenkoski to score, and Allison Scherer followed with an RBI single. Another Marian error allowed the tying run to score.

In the third inning, the Hurricanes took the lead.

Aisley Jenan singled and eventually scores on Strenkoski’s sacrifice fly.

Schuylkill Haven extended its lead to 6-4 in the fourth inning when Scherer triples and later crosses home.

The Hurricanes broke the game open in the fifth, scoring five runs on four hits. They used two walks, three singles and a triple from Kate Russo to build an 11-4 lead.

Marian responded with three runs. Treskolasky hit a double, and Letcher drove in another run with her 100th career hit. A ground out and error accounted for the other runs.

Schuylkill Haven added its final run in the sixth inning on a single and a ground out.

“Oh yeah, I thought the trap got sprung when they went ahead early,” Adams said. “Our girls never stopped hitting, and this might have been our best defensive game. Our pitching was nice and steady ... but (Marian) put the bats on us ... they put the ball in play, they made us work. But I applaud our kids, they kept swinging the bats.”

LEATHER GOODS ... Adams praised his defense, especially third baseman Jenan, who made three standout plays to stop Marian rallies. Marian’s Malina Letcher and Kayla Birrer also stood out defensively.

AT THE PLATE ... Both teams had 12 hits. Letcher led Marian with three hits. Birrer, Treskolasky and Cannon each had two. Additional hits came from Savanah Sirkot, Sandatch and Upanavage. Schuylkill Haven was led by Scherer with four hits, while Jenan and Mole added two each.

Schuylkill Haven 131 151 0 - 12 12 2

Marian 400 030 3 - 7 12 4

Schoffstall, Scherer (6) and Strenkoski; Upanavage, Birrer (5) and Treskolasky. W - Schoffstall. L - Upanavage.

Records: Schuylkill Haven (12-6; 9-3); Marian (9-7; 6-6).