Nine pitches into the game, Loyalsock held a three-run advantage. Motivated and locked in, the Lancers went into attack mode early and never took their foot off the gas, pounding their way back into the District 4 Class AAA semifinals.

Easton Waller, Shyla Fulp, Sofia Mileto, Kinsie Phillips and Addi Barowy all collected three hits and Loyalsock scored the game’s first six runs as it defated Montoursville, 12-6 on its home field in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. A year after reaching the state’s Elite 8, the Lancers (13-7) are back in the district semifinals for a seventh time in eight seasons and will face Mifflinburg Friday at Elm Park.

“It felt like everyone was picking us to lose that game, so it feels good to prove them wrong,” Mileto, the team’s lone senior said after going 3 for 5 with three runs and an RBI. “They knew they had to come ready. We were already, ready.”

The Lancers sure proved it.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsocks Addison Barowy (23) celebrates after hitting a two run triple in the fifth inning.

Fulp (3 for 4) belted a one-out double, Mileto scorched an RBI double and Phillips walloped a three-run home run. Four batters into the game, Loyalsock had both a 3-0 lead and also had sent a message toward the naysayers. After generating 18 hits against Jersey Shore in a 9-5 win last Saturday, the Lancers seemed to pick up where they left off.

Waller helped keep a potent Montoursville offense at bay, scattering six hits in 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and Loyalsock gradually extended its lead throughout the game.

“They’ve had some really good batting practice sessions since Williamsport (a 3-0 loss). We were so disappointed with how we hit up there that we went back to basics,” Loyalsock coach Mark Godfrey said. “We got into the cage and simplified some things and it’s translating to the field.”

“We had to stay hyped,” Fulp said after igniting another three-run rally in the third inning. “We had to keep the energy up.”

Fulp sending jolts through the dugout played a big role as Loyalsock built a 6-0 third inning lead before scoring five times in the fifth inning and going up, 11-2. The team’s veterans texted JV players and told them how important it was that they arrive, and stay loud all game. The hitters then gave them plenty of opportunities to pump up the volume.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsocks Sophia Mileto celebrates after hitting a triple in the fifth inning.

That went double when Phillips made her first high school playoff at-bat a memorable one. The freshman shortstop slammed a two-run home run down the right-field line on the second pitch she saw, putting Loyalsock up, 3-0. Phillips also rocked a first-inning home run in the last Montoursville game but this was even more impressive considering Montoursville’s longer field dimensions.

Phillips went 3 for 3, hitting two doubles with her first one, making it, 4-0. Godfrey said she worked for two hours on her own the other day and Phillips saw the fruits of that labor, producing mighty impressive results.

“I know if they’re on base I have a chance to get them in. I’m basically trying to get them in every time,” Phillips said. “I’m looking for a pitch to drive.”

Loyalsock continued doing so all afternoon, staying aggressive but also disciplined. It was not about finding a pitch, but finding the right one. When the Lancers did they often generated quality results.

Fulp, Mileto and Phillips again all delivered one-out hits in the third inning. Maddie Wertz followed with a sacrifice fly before Barowy ripped a two-out RBI single. After Montoursville’s Raigan Fredericks hit a timely two-out, two-run single in the fourth inning, Loyalsock erupted for five runs and five hits in the fifth.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock players react during Tuesday’s District 4 Class AAA quarterfinal game against Montoursville.

Mileto fueled the rally when she came within inches of hitting a lead-off home run, settling for a triple after the ball bounced off the yellow plastic above the center field fence and bounced back toward the field. Barowy continued her big day with a two-run single, Alena Barone dropped a perfect RBI squeeze bunt and Waller and Fulp capped the flurry with two-out RBI singles.

“That’s a really good team we played so I knew this could have been my last game, but I knew they had my back,” Mileto said. “We’re a good hitting team 1-9, so I knew we had it.”

“They have some really good hitters, but we feel like we’re a good hitting team, too,” Phillips said. “We make good defensive plays, too, and that’s pretty much what we did here.”

Montoursville also made some great plays, second baseman Avery Cozzi and center fielder Jill Stone producing the game’s best. Both were incredible catches which saved runs.

Cozzi did her best Roberto Alomar impersonation, extending her body as far as it could go at second base, and making a brilliant diving catch which robbed Jillian Kennedy of a single. Stone went Willie Mays in the seventh inning, sprinting in on a sinking Mileto liner, diving and somehow catching it a split second before it hit the ground.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville third baseman Kayleigh Sheleman (4) fields a ground ball for a put out at first base in the third inning. inning.

Cozzi added an offensive highlight as well, hitting a two-run single in the fifth which cut the deficit to, 11-4. Montoursville went down fighting in the seventh and Kayleigh Sheleman capped one of the most dominant individual seasons in program history, lacing a two-run double, closing her campaign with 13 home runs and nearly 40 RBIs.

Montoursville (11-7) fought hard, but Waller retired nine straight at one point and took a shut into the fourth inning. The freshman shined in her first playoff start, also hitting safely in her last three at-bats and never allowing Montoursville to bunch its hits together the way Loyalsock did.

“She was really good. We can tell her attitude,” Fulp said. “We can tell she wants it.”

Waller capped her day with a seventh inning RBI single, the 15th and final Loyalsock hit. The Lancers have 33 hits in their last two games and won the last two games against Montoursville after dropping the first one this season. Now they get another crack at Mifflinburg which defeated it at the Williamsport Tournament a month ago.

“I’m super pleased with the effort. The players worked hard, the coaches worked hard,” Godfrey said. “They’re really coming together.”

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock short stop Kinsie Phillips (7) fields a ground ball for a put out at first base in the second inning.

Loyalsock 12,

Montoursville 6

Loyalsock 303 050 1―12 15 1

Montoursville 000 220 2―6 6 3

Easton Waller, Sophia Miller (7) and Shyla Fulp. Julie Friel and Nevaeh Montoya. W―Waller. L―Friel.

Top Loyalsock hitters: Waller 3-5, 2 RBIs; Shyla Fulp 3-4, 2B, RBI, 2 runs; Sofia Mileto 3-5, 3B, 2B, RBI, 3 runs; Kinsie Phillips 3-3, HR, 2B, 3 RBIs, 2 runs; Addi Barowy 3-4, 2B, 3 RBIs. Top Montoursville hitters: Emily George 1-3, run; Avery Cozzi 1-4, 2 RBIs; Kayleigh Sheleman 1-3, 2B, 2 RBIs; Friel 1-3; Montoya 1-3, run; Raigan Fredericks 1-3, 2 RBIs.

Records: Loyalsock (13-7), Montoursville (11-7).

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsocks Kinsie Phillips connects for a double with an RBI in the third inning.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville third baseman Kayleigh Sheleman fields a pop up for an out in the first inning.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville second baseman Avery Cozzi (26) fields a line drive for an out in the second inning.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsocks Sophia Mileto celebrates as she scores on a home run by K. Phillips in the first inning.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsocks Sophia Mileto is congratulated by her third base coach after hitting a triple with an RBI in the firth inning.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsocks Sophia Mileto (9) is safe at third base as Montoursville third baseman Kayleigh Sheleman waits for the throw on a triple with an RBI in the fourth inning.