Mules eliminate Mounts

If the game had the feel of a state playoff, it’s because, for all intents and purposes, it was.

With a berth in the Class 5A state softball championships at stake Thursday afternoon, Ephrata and Solanco met for the fourth time this season, this time in Quarryville for the District Three Class 5A quarterfinals.

On a perfect day for softball, under sun-splashed skies, the Golden Mules (22-2) punched their ticket with a 4-1 win.

It’s their fourth time in states overall and first time back since 2018 when they fell to eventual champion Lampeter-Strasburg in the state semifinals.

With the win, the top-seeded Mules host No. 5 seed Northern York on Tuesday in the 5A semifinals in Quarryville. The top four finishers in 5A advance to states.

The Polar Bears (18-4) stunned fourth-seeded Donegal (20-4) 11-0 on Thursday in Mount Joy.

The importance of Thursday’s game — win and be guaranteed three more games at the least, lose and hand in equipment — was not lost on the Mules.

“It’s a big win for such a young squad,” said Mules coach Brett Miller, who has four freshmen, two sophomores and three juniors in his lineup. “And we get to play at home.”

“We knew,” said junior Josie Janssen, who had one of the shortest sacrifice fly RBIs ever. “We were a little nervous coming in, actually, because we played them three times and all three times it was a close battle till the end.”

Nor was it lost on Mules freshman leadoff batter Kira Roark, who slugged the fifth pitch she saw the opposite way down the left-field line.

When the ball got by Lanie Reinhold, a track meet broke out as Roark jetted around the bases, stomping on home plate with enthusiasm.

The enthusiasm was matched by Ally Williams, who sent a ball into the expanse of center field with two out in the third inning, her mad dash tying the game at 1-1 for the Mounts (15-8).

The Mules’ Ava Martin singled leading off the bottom of the third, taking second on an error and advancing on Janssen’s sacrifice before scoring on a wild pitch to reestablish the Mules’ advantage, 2-1. Then came the turning point.

Ellie Meier led off the top of the fourth with a single. Courtesy running for Meier, Jordin Rojas took second on Addy Snyder’s sacrifice, moving up to third on Kaliana Auchey’s bloop single into center.

Maddie Russell lined out to right, the ball deep enough to allow Rojas to tag and score, but Martin spied Auchey away from the bag at first and fired a strike to Olivia Musser for the double play.

“It’s a freshman out in right field, catching the ball and knowing exactly what to do,” Miller said.

“It’s nice when you see things you practice. You need those little things to ... happen to win a game like this.”

“That was a really big play,” Sexton said. “Having that double play really boosted us, brought them down and made me feel like I definitely have my team behind me.”

Meier pitched out of a bases- loaded, one-out situation in the bottom of the inning, but couldn’t escape her fate the next inning.

With one out Janssen reached on an error, stole second and went to third as Holly Grube reached on an error, then stole second.

Sara DeFrancesco popped up to Auchey in the hole at second for the second out, and got the RBI when Janssen tagged and scampered home.

“I tagged and took my lead to try to draw a throw home,” Janssen said. “Next thing I know I hear ‘Go! Go! Go!’ behind me, and I’m like, ‘I guess that means I’m going.’ ” “She’s that fast,” said Miller, the source of the Go, Go, Go. “It’s a tight game. In clutch playoff games you only get so many options.”

The inning continued as Sexton reached on an error — the Mounts were guilty of five for the game — allowing Grube to score the second of two unearned runs in the inning.

Meier finished with eight hits allowed and two earned runs. She struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter. She had just two three ball counts.

“That’s the best game she threw all year against us,” Miller said.

Pitching with the lead, Sexton retired nine of the last 12 batters, allowing Reinhold’s infield single in the fifth and Meier’s second hit of the day, a leadoff safety in the sixth.

Sexton induced Snyder to pop to short and erased Rojas, courtesy running, on a great pick by Roark at third for a fielder’s choice, before Zoey Evans tracked down Russell’s foul fly to left. In all Evans handled all four chances she had.

Sexton allowed just five hits, striking out eight. “Waking up this morning I did feel like it was a pretty good day,” Sexton said. “I thought it was going to turn out the way it did.”