Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Interboro ousts Great Valley in semifinal
PROSPECT PARK >> Barb Carosi doesn’t as much play softball as she confronts it, face first, bat whipping, bases passed as fast as she can.
That was her playing third base Tuesday, charging in for dribblers, literally inches away from the hitter. That was her in the batter’s box, determined to take her hacks, refusing, in her words, to dip.
And that was her on the basepaths during Interboro High’s 5-2 softball victory over Great Valley, running for her seventh triple in what has become a special season.
Climbing out of an early hole, the Bucs roared into the District 1 Class 5A championship game with equal parts patience and swagger. They never thought they would lose. Carosi, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a run scored and aggressive defense was a major reason why.
“And what’s cool is to watch her run,” Bucs coach Chuck Pedrick said. “She’s not the fastest thing on two feet, but you know what, she gets a triple.”
Though Carosi didn’t score after her leadoff rip into left-center in the second, the triple did break some early tension. And her two-run single the opposite way in the Bucs’ fourrun fourth all but made it vanish.
“I knew we couldn’t get down,” said shortstop Kate Patton, whose leadoff single began the rally. “We had to stay hyped. We had to keep our momentum up. And so that’s exactly what we did. Little hits and making the routine balls is what we needed to do. And that’s exactly what we did.”
In improving to 17-6, the Bucs advanced to the district championship game, scheduled for Thursday afternoon at 4 at neutral-site Harriton against the winner of the postponed West Chester Henderson-Bishop Shanahan game. Great Valley (12-10) is scheduled to play Thursday in the consolation game. All four of the semifinalists will advance to the PIAA state tournament.
The key, from here, is as it was Tuesday: No panic.
“Yes,” Carosi said. “We have to stay calm, concentrate and make the simple plays. That’s it.”
The Bucs remained calm Tuesday after Kasey Bryan began the game with a bloop triple into right, then scored on a single from Erin Bevec. Bryan would go 2-for-4.
The Patriots doubled their lead in the third when a throwing error sailed deep into the outfield, allowing Bevec to circle the bases.
But the Bucs finally touched hard-throwing right-hander Morgan Orlowski in the fourth when Patton and Amber Seamen singled, and Carosi’s hit evened the score. Lily Bonner followed with a triple to left to plate Carosi with the go-ahead run. Courtesy runner Bri Mathis scored and Emily Gavin singled amid the rally.
Interboro made it 5-2 in the fifth when Patton reached on an error and eventually scored on a passed ball. That was plenty for right-hander Bridget Bailey, who struck out five while allowing one earned run to register the victory.
“We get a shot for a playback game to see where we end up,” Great Valley coach Jeff Cellucci said. “And then, it’s all good. Look, they hit the ball hard when they had to. We took a lead, but we stopped hitting. A lot of our kids are new to this. Coming this far is really a heck of an accomplishment for them.”
Orlowski finished with eight strikeouts and one walk. She allowed six hits, none after the fourth inning, and mixed in a base hit. By then, the Bucs had followed Carosi’s lead and grabbed control.