ST. MARYS — You could argue that it shouldn’t have been playing in this game.
At least, not yet.
Under different circumstances, the Otto-Eldred softball team would have been the No. 2 seed in the District 9 Class A playoffs and taking on No. 3 for the right to play in the championship game. Instead, it was given the welcomed distinction of No. 1, but had to play D9 powerhouse and state-ranked DuBois Central Catholic, which fell to No. 5 only after it had to forfeit nine games due to using an ineligible player.
For a glimmer of Friday’s affair, the Terrors were every bit the Cardinals’ equal.
O-E answered a 1-0 deficit in the first with a pair of runs courtesy of a two-run single from Reilly Raught. It erased a 6-2 deficit in the third with a work-of-art six-run bottom half, highlighted by a two-run single from Haylee Frederick and a long two-run home run from Harlee VanScoter.
In the end, DCC — and a potent lineup one through nine — was just too much.
Ashley Wruble went 5-for-5 with a two-run homer and two doubles and the Cardinals pounded out 27 hits en route to a 22-8 triumph in a D-9 Class A semifinal at Benzinger Park. Trailing 8-6, the Cardinals batted around and scored seven runs in the fourth to retake the lead. They put the finishing touches on another one-sided win with a seven-run seventh.
The top-seeded Terrors (17-3) will meet third-seeded A.C. Valley in the Class A consolation game on either Tuesday or Wednesday. If DCC tops No. 2 Clarion in the title contest, O-E will meet Clarion in a “true second place game,” with the second of two state tournament spots on the line.
Was O-E, though, robbed of a more rightful path to the final?
Roger Veilleux was unequivocal in his answer.
“Absolutely not,” the Terrors coach said. “The end goal is to finish first in the whole district — you’ve got to play them anyway. I have no regrets about any (decision that was made regarding the Cardinals’ seeding). It doesn’t matter. You still have to play them.”
Through three innings, O-E managed to outhit what Veilleux described as the best-hitting team his outfit has seen all year.
The Terrors batted around in the third, a frame that included an RBI double from Kayley Heller, chasing Wruble with only one down after VanScoter’s missile to centerfield. But that would be the last of its offense.
Shayleigh Gulvas recorded the final two outs of that inning and kept O-E scoreless the rest of the way. In their last big opportunity, the Terrors had runners at first and second down 13-8 in the fifth inning, but a Gulvas strikeout ended the threat.
“I think we just started hitting at them,” said Veilleux, when asked the difference between facing Wruble and Gulvas. “They’re a tough team, you’re going to have to play with them. It’s going to be a brawl, and that’s how you’ve got to beat them.”
Otto-Eldred was the second Big 30 team in as many rounds faced with playing DCC as the higher-seeded squad. After a strong regular season, Coudersport earned the No. 4 seed and a quarterfinal home game to open the district playoffs; its “reward” was a date with the Cardinals and an eventual 15-3 loss in five innings.
Determined to give DuBois Catholic everything it could handle in the semis, Veilleux was pleased with the way his team battled.
“I’m proud of the girls,” he said. “We just let it get away from us at the end. There’s no reason we can’t play with them day-in and day-out — I believe that in my heart. We just quit hitting toward the end, that’s the difference. They’re a good team. You’re going to have to play with them to beat them.”
VanScoter finished 3-for-4 while Autumn Smith and Raught both went 2-for-4 for the Terrors. For as prolific as the Cardinals were, some of what O-E surrendered was self-inflicted: It committed two errors as part of DuBois’ four-run second inning and three more in a seven-run fourth, fielding mistakes that Veilleux called “very uncharacteristic for us.”
Now, though, the Terrors will turn their attention to A-C Valley.
“We’ll just reset,” Veilleux said. “Losses are expected when you play softball or baseball; it’s part of the game. Our girls, they’ll never quit. They’ll give 110 percent the whole time. They can accept losing. I’m sure they’ve learned some things about the game today, and we’ll apply it to next week.”
