Solanco softball emerges from District 3 Class 5A final with silver medals

It was the biggest test of the season for South Western’s softball team. The Mustangs passed — perhaps not with flying colors, but certainly with flying softballs.

Jayda Koontz and Kelsey Smith homered, Koontz’s a two-run shot, Smith’s a three-run blast, and the Mustangs defeated Solanco for the District Three Class 5A championship 8-4 Thursday evening at Millersville University’s Seaber Softball Stadium.

It is the second district softball title for South Western (24-0), the Mustangs’ first since 2006.

Playing in their first district championship, the Golden Mules (19-5) made a game of it and were never out of contention until Kira Roark, the potential tying run, popped softly to second baseman Emma Baney for the final out.

Solanco’s season continues Monday as they host WPIAL (District Seven) runner-up Thomas Jefferson in the first round of the PIAA playoffs. Game time is TBA, but likely to be 4 p.m.

“We were ready,” Mules coach Jason McClune said. “It just didn’t go our way today. We had our chances, just about every inning (with) runners in scoring position.”

The Mules posted single runs in each of the first three innings on Sarah DeFrancesco’s RBI double, Ella Sensenig’s RBI single and Ava Martin’s RBI groundout.

In all the Mules roughed Koontz for 11 hits. “They really did a good job of putting the ball in play a lot,” Mustangs coach Megan Pilarcik said. “(Koontz is) not used to having teams hit her as hard as they did.”

Trouble was, South Western hit the ball hard too, and far. Six of its 10 hits went for extra bases. Koontz put her team on the scoreboard with an RBI groundout in the first inning.

When she came to bat again, in the bottom of the third, her catcher, Kinsley Proepper, was on third base. Koontz took ball one from Roark, then launched a high fly ball well out of right-center for her fifth homer of the season.

Two innings later, after Proepper tripled and Koontz was intentionally walked, Remi Yates drove in Proepper with a groundout. Smith, who had popped out to right and flied out to center, lined Roark’s 0-1 pitch way over the fence in left for her third homer of the season and a seemingly insurmountable 8-3 lead.

Not insurmountable with the way Solanco hits, and they made some of the best contact of the night in the seventh.

Emily Sims singled to open the inning. Fedoruk forced her at second, but DeFrancesco singled up the middle, as did Martin, scoring Fedoruk. Courtesy runner Zoey Evans took third on Delaney Gote’s single up the middle loading the bases.

Koontz would get the final two outs however, triggering the celebration.

“We knew what we were getting into,” McClune said. “We knew we needed to jump on them early. And we did. They just hit a couple balls out. That’s the difference in the game.”