This is a good team, but it’s also a tough, resilient one. Five days after erasing four deficits in what could have been the final inning during a 13-inning comeback win at Montoursville, the determined Spartans were at it again, working their late-game magic at Warrior Run.

This time, Barlett smashed a two-out, two-run, seventh inning single; Smith followed with a titanic home run and then closed out the victory in the pitching circle as Hughesville turned a three-run fifth inning deficit into a thrilling 13-9 win against Warrior Run. Barlett and Kenna Fisher also homered and Smith struck out 11 in four scoreless innings of relief as Hughesville (7-2, 4-2 HAC-III) won its fifth straight game, also staying in league title contention.

“One thing we definitely have is we all lift each other up and support each other,” Barlett said after producing two hits, three RBIs and two runs in the last two innings. “We know we can get the job done. It just comes down to how we do it.”

Hughesville did it with a bit of everything. The Spartans never flinched after Warrior Run turned a 4-0 first-inning deficit into a 7-4 second inning advantage. Eight players produced 12 hits, Barlett threw out a runner at home from center field and Smith slammed the door against a team which had been hitting everything in sight.

Eliza Kile of Hughesville slides safely across home plate and scores in the 7th inning against Warrior Run at Warrior Run High School Tuesday afternoon. Hughesville won 13-9. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Barlett made it a one-run game in the sixth with a long home run over the left field fence and Smith tied it moments later, scorching a triple and scoring on a wild pitch.

An inning later, Avery Bergey ignited the game-winning rally, lining a one-out double. Addy Knight, whose two-out RBI double in the fifth cut it to 9-7, reached on a two-out error and Barlett found herself in her comfort zone. A player who delivered the game-winning hit in a historic 1-0 district semifinal win against North Penn-Liberty last year again owned a big moment, belting her two-run single to center field.

“That’s probably my favorite situation to be in. Last year against North Penn-Liberty, it was kind of the same thing,” Barlett said. “I kind of lock in there. I like those situations. It’s see ball, hit ball. It’s keeping it simple.”

“Against Montoursville, there were three times when she was in a tough spot and we needed her to get a base hit and she succeeded every time and did what we needed her to do,” Smith said. “I know she’s going to get it done no matter how hard it is. She has a lot of game knowledge and she knows what she’s doing.”

So does Smith. The future Bucknell shortstop/outfielder proved it again just one pitch later.

Maddie Smith of Hughesville celebrates after scoring in the 6th inning against Warrior Run at Warrior Run High School Tuesday afternoon. Hughesville won 13-9. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

In a game which featured five home runs, Smith walloped the longest, crushing the next pitch on top of the hill which resides well beyond the center field fence for a two-run home run and a 13-9 lead. Two swings, four runs and another dramatic win.

“The last few games I haven’t been myself stepping in the box. I knew I already had two pretty decent hits in this game, so might as well just step up there and step up for my team there,” Smith said. “It felt so good. Against Wellsboro (last Saturday) I had some of the worst at-bats I ever had. I’ve been hitting so good off the tee and in the cage and to bring it to the game, it felt better than most (hits).”

Smith made Warrior Run feel anything but good after entering in the fourth inning. The hard-throwing right-hander shut down an offense which had collected nine runs and nine hits the first three innings. No Defender advanced past second base and Smith retired the last eight batters she faced, seven via strikeout.

Despite a late preseason start due to an all-state basketball season which helped Hughesville reach the state’s Final 4, Smith is throwing better than ever. She has thrown eight straight scoreless innings and not surrendered an earned run in 14 consecutive. During that time, Smith has struck out 32.

Equally impressive was how Smith overpowered Warrior Run. In four innings, she induced 24 swings and misses and struck out the side in order to seal victory.

Lydia Keener of Warrior Run pitches to Hughesville at Warrior Run High School Tuesday afternoon. Hughesville won 13-9. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“I’ve been working on pitching more this season than I ever have. I know my team needs me at that position and not just shortstop, so I’ve been putting my mind to it,” Smith said. “I know I have a great defense behind me and that if I miss a spot, I know my teammates have my back, so that feels great.”

Warrior Run was feeling good vibes after scoring seven second inning runs and adding two more in the third. Hughesville built a 4-0 lead when two errors opened the door and freshman Kenna Fisher kicked it down, rocketing a two-out, two-run home run over the left field fence while continuing her outstanding debut season.

Warrior Run, however, thundered back, generating six hits in the second inning. Cait Waltman rocked a two-run home run to make it a two-run game before Ella Printzenhoff smacked an RBI double and Makenzie Heffner blasted a go-ahead three-run home run.

“We came out and put ourselves in a hole right away and we hit our way out of it. A couple of people who had been struggling we’re hitting the ball and that’s good to see,” Warrior Run coach Mark Evans said. “We have to figure out a way in that next inning to throw up a zero and execute and not give them extra outs.”

To Evans’s point, Hughesville scored two runs in the third inning, making it a one-run game as Addison Henninger and Kiana Peck singled before Fisher hit an RBI grounder and Bergey an RBI single. Warrior Run answered in the bottom half with Printzenhoff belting a triple, Maura Woland (2 for 2) an RBI double and Heffner an RBI single.

Maddie Smith of Hughesville tries to make the tag but Makenzie Heffner of Warrior Run is safe at second base at Warrior Run High School Tuesday afternoon. Hughesville won 13-9. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Waltman had a big day, going 3 for 4 and coming within a triple of hitting for the cycle. She added a two-out fourth inning double but the three times Warrior Run delivered a hit off Smith, she responded by striking out the next batter.

“We still have some people struggling and they start to put a little pressure on themselves and tighten it up a little bit. We just have to learn to relax,” Evans said. “It’s supposed to be fun. I think we’ll be all right.”

The game might have played out differently had Barlett not made such a tremendous throw home in the second inning. When Waltman hit a two-out single during that seven-run flurry, it looked like Warrior Run would go up, 8-4. Instead, Barlett came up firing, throwing a one-hop laser which hit Peck between the numbers, allowing the catcher to make a quick tag and produce the final out.

In a game featuring so much offense, including 24 hits and five runs, that defensive gem might be overlooked. And yet, it was every bit as critical to Hughesville’s latest dramatic comeback win as her two clutch hits were.

“That felt great. The last game, I had a good catch out there but the girl didn’t go. I was kind of disappointed because I would have hosed her out,” Barlett said. “That was the first time it happened this year. That’s always a good feeling when that happens.”

Catcher Kiana Peck of Hughesville tags out Elyce Johnson of Warrior Run at home plate at Warrior Run High School Tuesday afternoon. Hughesville won 13-9. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Hughesville 402 012 4–13 12 1

Warrior Run 072 000 0–9 12 4

Addison Henninger, Maddie Smith (4) and Kiana Peck. Lydia Keener and McKenna Forman. W–Smith. L–Keener.

Top Hughesville hitters: Smith 3-5, HR, 3B, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Ashlynn Barlett 2-4, HR, 3 RBIs; Avery Bergey 2-3, 2B, RBI; Addy Knight 1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 runs; Kenna Fisher 1-4, HR, 3 RBIs, 2 runs; Henninger 1-5, RBI, run; Peck 1-5, run; Lyla Kinney 1-3, Rrun Top Warrior Run hitters: Cait Waltman 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBIs, run; Maura Woland 2-2, 2B, RBI, 2 runs; Ella Printzenhoff 2-5, 3B, 2B, RBI, 2 runs; Mackenzie Heffner 2-4, HR, 4 RBIs; Forman 1-3, run; Ella Wertman 1-3, run; Skye Reigle 1-4.

Records: Hughesville (7-2, 4-2 HAC-III), Warrior Run (5-6, 3-4).