So many of those previous 109 hits were big ones; several were game-changers. But none ever meant so much as this next one.

Reidy lived a softball player’s dream and crushed a go-ahead, two-run home run, giving South a two-run fifth inning lead it never relinquished. Reidy likely will keep that ball in a safe place because it sure was a special hit in a fabulous high school career filled with key ones. It pointed the way to victory as South defeated Williams Valley, 9-5 in Monday’s Class AA state semifinals at Central Columbia.

Up next is a second straight state championship appearance Thursday at Penn State.

“It was a great feeling because it got us back up. It’s good to help contribute to that kind of stuff,” Reidy said. “Every at-bat is that at-bat. You just have to go up there and produce for the team.”

Lily Reidy of South Williamsport slides into home plate during the third inning against Williams Valley at the Central Columbia sports complex Monday afternoon. South won 9-5. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Reidy has done that her entire softball life, first helping South Little League finish third in the country at the 2019 Little League World Series before helping it win four straight district championships and reach consecutive state finals. A career .410 hitter, Reidy also has totaled 91 RBIs.

But in what could have been her last game, Reidy delivered her most clutch hit yet. Williams Valley had just erased a 5-0 deficit but Reidy following Schuler’s lead-off single with her titanic blast over the right-center field fence changed everything.

That feeling seeing the ball go over the fence, the crowd explode in happiness and her teammates storming out of the dugout to embrace her? Those are feelings Reidy always will remember. And what a time to create an unforgettable moment.

“That’s one she’s always going to remember. They used to keep that stat game winning RBIs and that’s what that was,” South coach Tom O’Malley said. “Lily is such a competitor. She’s had a lot of big hits in her life but that has to be right up there, if not the biggest. That was a no doubter.”

It sure was.

Reidy walked and singled in her first two at-bats. This time she faced a 2-2 count when she jumped on the next pitch. A player who displays tremendous power to all fields, Reidy muscled this one the opposite way and, seemingly everyone knew it was gone after bat met ball.

Obviously, it was a massive hit because it put South ahead. But the electricity and belief it produced meant just as much. After Williams Valley had fought all the way back, Reidy took all the momentum away with one mighty connection.

“It was like a weight lifted off our shoulders,” Abby Lorson said after following Reidy with her own dramatic, memorable two-run home run three batters later. “It definitely turned our momentum around and gave us more of a will to just keep hitting the ball.”

“It provided so much energy. We were almost hitting our heads (on the dugout ceiling) we were jumping so high,” Schuler said after earning the win. “We were so happy for Lily because that’s a really big hit of the game. Knowing it came from her, it felt amazing.”

Reidy’s home run dramatically altered the game’s complexion. She fanned the flames and Lorson turned into a five-alarm blaze after she followed her cousin Sage’s walk with her own two-run home run. Schuler also locked in and shut down Williams Valley, retiring the last six batters she faced, striking out three of them and not letting them hit a ball out of the infield.

South knew it needed to mount a response after Williams Valley tied it. What a response Reidy helped it deliver.

“It gave us more insurance runs and everyone is always hyped when someone hits a home run because everyone who hits one works so hard for it,” third baseman Kendall Cardone said after playing fabulous defense. “For them to do it, like Lily and Abby did it, is amazing. Everyone was so happy and so proud and so hyped. It’s just a great mood to be in.”

Reidy has helped South experience a lot of great moods the last four years. In addition to hitting so well, she also is a fantastic catcher who will play at Seton Hill next spring. A hard-nosed player, Reidy helps epitomize the toughness which has defined South for so long.

“You don’t like it to get even after you’re up, but it just goes to show you have to stay in the game and not let up or let them come back getting to you,” Reidy said. “You have to keep playing hard and push through it.”

Reidy has pushed through a lot these last four years, playing a demanding position against elite competition. She has kept moving forward, too.

Now, when it comes to becoming Eastern Pennsylvania’s best 2A softball team for a second straight year, Reidy helped push it over the finish line. That 100th hit was nice.

Reidy’s 110th ? That one will never be forgotten.