Cochranton defeated Rocky Grove 11-6 on Monday at the Robertson Softball Field of Allegheny College. Cochranton struck early and often in the victory.
The victory in the Class 1A District 10 quarterfinals means that Cochranton will face region rival Cambridge Springs in the semifinals on Wednesday at an undetermined time and location.
On Monday, the Cardinals tallied four runs in the first inning as a result of outfield fly balls. Zoe Hansen and Mara Swartz’s doubles, Brooklyn Needler’s triple, and a Rocky Grove error propelled the Cardinals to a 4-0 lead.
In the second inning, Macie Williams added a fifth run by scoring on a passed ball.
Cochranton’s solid defense prevented the Orioles from mounting a comeback.
“I thought our performance was solid and balanced. Mark McGuire, head coach of Cochranton, remarked, “Defense-wise, we made some non-typical errors from non-typical players.” We had a few stumbles here and there, but we never gave up. We just continued moving forward. At this juncture in the season, we must accomplish this. You cannot give up or allow things to bother you. I’m extremely pleased of them.
In the fifth inning, Rocky Grove tallied three runs, but Needler prevented further damage with one of her eight strikeouts.
Dani Hoffman led off the bottom of the sixth with a single home run over the center field fence. As the Cardinals led 11-4, the sophomore danced across home plate into the arms of the jubilant team.
“She is the one who bobbles the ball for three or four innings while pondering, ‘What am I doing wrong?’ I never bobble the ball. I advised her to find an alternative,” McGuire said. “During her at-bat, she hit a hard ground ball to the left side, and then she hit a ball out of the park.” Keep the ball rolling to compensate for a bobbled ball.”
Hoffman batted 3 for 4 and scored four runs while driving in one. Williams scored four runs while going 4-for-4 with three RBIs.
Katelyn Ewing and Needler also produced multiple successes.
Rocky Grove (6)
(AB-R-H-BI) Jacoby 4-3-3-1, Rice 4-2-3-2, Montgomery 4-0-1-2, Mawhinney 3-0-1-1, Cresswell 4-0-2-0, Knapp 4-0-0-0, Tucker 3-1-1-0, Faust 3-0-0-0, Taylor 3-0-0-0. Totals 32-6-11-6.
Cochranton (11)
(AB-R-H-BI) Douglas 4-1-1-1, Ewing 4-0-2-1, Freyermuth 3-0-0-0, Hansen 3-1-1-1, Needler 4-1-2-1, Hoffan 4-4-3-1, Swartz 3-1-1-1, K. Miller 3-1-0-0, Williams 4-2-4-3. Totals 32-11-14-9.
Rocky Grove 002 020 2 — 6 11 4
Cochranton 412 031 x — 11 14 1
BATTING
2B: RG — Jacoby, Tucker; C — Douglas, Hansen, Swartz.
3B: C — Ewing, Needler.
HR: C — Hoffman.
PITCHING
(IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB) RG — Mawhinney LP 6-14-11-6-5-3; C — Needler WP 7-11-6-6-8-1.