MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — The Lanc-Leb League softball playoffs always entertain and the semifinals Tuesday lived up to history.
In the first semifinal from Millersville University, Lampeter-Strasburg met Warwick.
The Warriors jumped out to two early leads in this one. The team scored one run in the top of the first and also in the top of the third. Both of those leads were erased by the Pioneers, who countered with runs in the bottom half of the second inning to make it 1-1. The Pioneers themselves took the lead with a a pair of runs in the bottom of the third frame.
The fifth inning is where this game got crazy.
After L-S scored two runs in the fourth to make it a 5-2 ballgame, Warwick exploded for a crooked number in the top of the fifth. Roxana Smithson delivered the biggest hit of the inning with a two RBI hit to make it a 7-5 Warwick lead when it was all said and done in that stanza.
From that point on, it was a cat-and-mouse type of game.
L-S scored one run in the bottom of the fifth, which was later answered by Warwick in the top of the sixth inning to increase their lead back to two runs.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lampeter-Strasburg pushed across one more run to make it an 8-7 ball game, but left that inning with multiple runners on base.
In the top of the seventh, Warwick plated an insurance run to make it a 9-7 lead as they entered the bottom of the inning.
Lampeter-Strasburg had their rally caps on as Julia Gerard made it a 9-8 with a single up the middle through the box.
With one out and two runners on base Ally Raub stepped into the box. The second baseman was already having a big day with two runs scored and three hits already registered.
To be the hero she would have to come through one more time. \
With a 1-0 count, Raub did just that, with a shot into the left center field gap that reached the wall, scoring Maura Savoca and also Gerard, who raced around from first for the Lampeter-Strasburg win, and a 10-9 final.
In the night cap, Penn Manor scored four runs in the third inning to go up on Solanco on their way to 10-1 victory. Bria Booth, Maddie Mitchell and Emily Riggs all played a big part in the inning for the Comets.
Check out the highlights in the video above.