Softball

Greene 2, Seton Catholic Central 0

GREENE – For the second straight year, Greene avenged a loss from the previous season’s Section IV championship game.

The Trojans (18-1) moved into the sectional semifinal finals Tuesday at home blanking the defending Class C champion Saints. In 2010, Greene topped Tioga in the playoffs, a team it lost to in the 2009 championship game. “We tend to come back strong against teams we struggled with the first time,” said Greene head coach, Rick Smith. “Seton Catholic Central has a great tradition. This was a big win for us.”

Trojans pitcher Rebecca Hanrahan was locked in a scoreless pitching duel with Seton’s Ellen Loughlin for four innings. Greene unlocked the tie in the fifth with timely hits. Marissa Pierce doubled, and was sacrifice bunted to third by Natalie Greene. Caitlin Willis scored Pierce with an RBI single.

One inning later, Hanrahan singled, and moved up a base when the ball was bobbled in the outfield. Brittany Youngs singled home an insurance run for Hanrahan, who overpowered the Saints’ lineup throughout the contest.

Hanrahan surrendered just two hits striking out 13 and walking none. “I saw (Seton) play the previous game against Oxford, and they bunted five times in the first inning,” Smith. “They used small ball like that last year to beat us, and we wanted to take the bunt away. Louise Holcomb was very quick at third base, and Becca is probably having her best fielding season. It also helped tremendously having Natalie Greene at first base.”

Smith’s club did eliminate that key facet of Seton’s game, and seldom made solid contact against Greene’s junior hurler.