HUGHESVILLE — During Tuesday’s District 4 Class AAA quarterfinal playoff game at Hughesville, the Spartans won against the North Penn-Liberty Mounties, 4-1, to advance to the semifinals.

“Once we know who we’re playing against, we’ll go from there,” Hughesville coach David Dimoff said.

It may have taken a few hours to find out, but the Spartans will face top-seeded Mifflinburg on Thursday at Elm Park for a 3 p.m. semifinal contest. The other Class AAA semifinal — Montoursville vs. Warrior Run — will be held at 3 p.m. at Elm Park as well.

The first inning started strong with Hughesville’s Maddie Smith pitching. She pitched strongly throughout the inning, leading to a few pop-ups by North Penn Liberty’s Julia Kaczynski and Kameron Lightner. In the bottom of the first inning, the score stayed scoreless with Smith and Addison Henninger hitting balls into play that quickly got them out.

In the second inning, Smith forced a three up, three down inning with strikeouts. In the bottom of the inning however, things got interesting. Hughesville’s Ashlynn Barlett made contact with the ball, but Liberty’s Haley Litzelman caught it as it popped up into the air.

After a couple of walks, Kiana Peck recorded a double and sent two batters home for the first runs of the game. Olivia Kile also sent a batter home, but she got out in the process. By the end of the second inning, Hughesville was in the lead, 4-0.

When asked about their success in the second inning, Hughesville coach David Dimoff emphasized the need for teamwork in solidifying their success. 
”The girls believe in all facets of the game. They don’t play selfish balls. We run with two pitchers, everyone’s willing to bunt,” Dimoff said. “If you gotta sub for someone, you run, and play hard. They know defense is important. You have to have quality with that. And, you know, you just have to execute it more than the other team does.”

Liberty attempted to even the score in the third inning with their batter Madison Smith running home with the assistance of Haley Litzelman moving her to cut the deficit to 4-1. From here, however, the game stagnated.

In the bottom of the inning, no Hughesville batters were able to score, but Barlett and Peck each made contact.

With the temperatures cresting past 90, Dimoff had to prioritize safety for his team, which was a group effort from both him and the rest of the community.

“If you have to pull, pull. You’re an all-state shortstop who’s pitching? Safety first. I gave her base off,” Dimoff said of Smith. “Not always happy, but you know, ice water for my right fielder and my pitcher is more important. The parents are great. They brought all kinds of fruit. We had water, Gatorade, and it’s a community effort.”

In the next four innings, the score remained 4-1. Both Hughesville and Liberty batters made it onto the base path, but didn’t score. Liberty’s Elyna Booth hit the ball and made it to first, soon stealing second in the fourth inning, but was left stranded. Hughesville’s Smith and Adelyn Knight also made it onto base — each hitting singles, but neither scored to increase the Spartans’ lead.

The fifth inning was marked by Hughesville’s Smith catching every pop-up that came her way. Once in the bottom of the inning offensively, Barlett hit a triple.

Batters kept making contact with the ball in the sixth and seventh innings, but key hits or plays to bring in runners didn’t happen.

Hughesville 4, N.P.-Liberty 1

Hughesville 040 000 — 4 2 3

North Penn Liberty 001 000 — 1 5 0

Maddie Smith and K. Peck. Elyna Booth and Maddison Smith. W: Smith. L: Booth.

Top North Penn-Liberty hitters: M. Smith 1B, run; J. Kaczycski BB; H. Litzelman 2-2, BB; E. Booth 1B; K. Lightner 1B. Top Hughesville hitters: Ashlynn Barlett 3B; L. Bauman 1B.