Blue Devils blank Orioles, advance to D10 game behind Crawford's career milestone

Behind a steady dose of Kayla Crawford strikeouts and aggressive base running, Cambridge Springs beat Rocky Grove 2-0 on Wednesday.

The shutout win in the District 10 Class 1A semifinals pushed the Blue Devils into Monday's championship game against the winner of West Middlesex and Youngsville. It's the third straight D-10 title appearance for the Blue Devils, who won the title last year.

To get there, Crawford kept Rocky Grove off the base paths with her 13 strikeouts, no walks and two hits allowed. In the fifth, Crawford secured her 500th career strikeout, which prompted a mid-inning celebration on the mound between catcher Morgan Dunton, Crawford, and the rest of the infield. Crawford, a junior and D1 commit to Southeastern Louisiana, has recorded all her strikeouts with Dunton, a fellow junior, behind the plate.

"It was a big goal this year. I wanted to hit 500 and it's amazing that I got this opportunity to be here. My team got me here and I'm excited to play in the D10 championship game," Crawford said. "It's amazing we've gotten here three years in a row. We're ready to go, ready to play and excited."

Crawford forced Rocky Grove three up, three down in five of the seven innings. In the fourth, a batter reached on a hit by pitch, but the next three batters were retired. In the sixth, Rocky Grove recorded back-to-back singles, but a fielder's choice and two strikeouts kept the Orioles off the scoreboard.

"Kayla hit 500 strikeouts and that's a big accomplishment for her today. We're excited for her," Cambridge Springs head coach Angie Mumford, "We hit the ball today, but it went right to some people. Hats off to Rocky Grove. They played a great game. They made some good stops and the pitcher did a nice job on the mound."

Offensively, Cambridge Springs managed four hits, but made lots of contact on the ball. In the second, Jada Murawski walked on. In the next at-bat, a Rocky Grove throwing error allowed Murawski to turn the corner and score from first base.

In the bottom of the fifth, freshman Angela Hassinger belted a hard liner to the left field wall. She showed off her wheels and turned the hit into an inside the park home run to push her team ahead 2-0.

"She is really fast and she used that," Mumford said. "There was no stopping her, she was going all the way."

Cambridge Springs loaded the bases in the sixth and a hard-hit fly ball by Quinn Eaglen nearly hit the ground in center field, but Rocky Grove center fielder Lexi Bowling made a fantastic grab on the run to save at least one run.

Eaglen, Hassinger, Murawski and Jaydan Simmons each had a hit for the Blue Devils, who will attempt to win back-to-back District 10 championships on Monday.

"It's what we work all year for. For some of these kids, softball is everything, they love it," Mumford said. "This is something they're part of that's bigger than them. These girls believe in each other and I believe in every single kid on this team. They believe that we can do great things."

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Rocky Grove (0)

(AB-R-H-BI) Cratty 2-0-0-0, Phillips 3-0-0-0, A. Mawhinney 3-0-0-0, Cresswell 3-0-0-0, E. Mawhinney 3-0-0-0, Bowling 3-0-0-0, Reyburn 2-0-0-0, Thomas 2-0-1-0, Fultz 2-0-1-0. Totals 23-0-2-0.

Cambridge Springs (2)

(AB-R-H-BI) Eaglen 4-0-1-0, Hassinger 3-1-1-1, Simmons 3-0-1-0, Dunton 3-0-0-0, A. Crawford 2-0-0-0, Murawski 2-1-1-0, Cunningham 2-0-0-0, K. Crawford 3-0-0-0, Leandro 2-0-0-0. Totals 24-2-4-1.

Rocky Grove 000 000 0 — 0 2 2

Cambridge Springs 010 010 x — 2 4 0

BATTING

HR: CS — Hassinger.

PITCHING

(IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO) E. Mawhinney 6-4-2-1-2-7; CS — K. Crawford 7-2-0-0-0-13.