Warriors run into Chartiers Valley again

With a spot in the final four on the line, EF will spar with the Colts at 2 p.m. at Gateway.

For the third time in three seasons, Elizabeth Forward will face off against Chartiers Valley in a softball game with big implications.

The Warriors (21-1) and Colts (18-4) will meet at 2 p.m. today in a PIAA quarterfinal at Gateway High School with the winner moving on to the state semifinals.

“This is the third time we’ve played them, so we’re pretty familiar with their players,” EF head coach Harry Rutherford said. “Sometimes it’s an advantage being familiar with an opponent, sometimes it’s a disadvantage.”

The Warriors have outscored the Colts, 15-2, over their last two meetings. In the 2023 consolation game, EF picked up an 8-0 win. In this year’s WPIAL semifinal, the Warriors won 7-2.

“I’d like to thing for us it’s an advantage. Just like when we’re playing Belle Vernon, it’s such a rivalry game. I think this is becoming one for us because we have played in big games against them,” Rutherford said. “You know how to pitch them, you know how strong their players are and you know what pitches they’re susceptible to.”

The Warriors picked up a 1-0 win over District 3 third-place team Big Spring thanks to Julia Johnson’s solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning Monday.

Chartiers Valley claimed a 6-1 victory over District 10 champion Cathedral Prep at Penn State Behrend.

Marta Gualazzi scored twice and had two singles, and Lily Duffill doubled and added an RBI for the Colts.

There’s no denying that everything for the Colts starts with the sophomore Duffill. She’s hiting .515 on the season with 15 home runs and 46 RBIs. Over half of her 34 hits have gone for extra bases with six doubles and a triple.

Delaney O’Connor is hitting .500 with a team-high 36 hits. She has four homers, five triples and four doubles on the season.

Gualazzi is batting .446 with 10 extra-base hits and 26 RBIs.

“I made the mistake of throwing Duffill a fastball in the last game. She leads them in just about every category, but they do have some hitters,” Rutherford said. “Duffill’s going to have to hit something that spins or take a changeup 200 feet, because I won’t make the same mistake again. We’re not going to let her hit the ball over the fence again.”

In the circle, the Warriors will see Colts junior Taylor Walsh. She’s 15-2 on the season and has 116 strikeouts compared to 43 walks. She sports a 2.82 ERA.

“It’s going to come down to us putting the ball in play,” Rutherford said. “I think they had some errors in the last game and we bunted on them a lot and put on some pressure. That’s what’s nice is if they want to back up and play us on the fence, we have the bunt game and singles hitters we can go with. We can play that power game, too.”

Putting the ball in play isn’t something the Warriors have had an issue with this season.

Eleven hitters are batting over .300 this season led by Shelby Telegdy’s .565 mark. Just behind her is Julia Resnik and her .548 average.

“Those two have enjoyed a healthy competition all season long,” Rutherford said. “They’re so competitive that neither of them wants the other to beat their average, but they’re still supportive of one another in everything they do. That’s healthy for a team to have.”

Telegdy has a team-high 35 hits this season with 12 doubles and six homers. She’s driven in a team-high 30 runs this season.

Resnik has five homers, six triples and five doubles this season.She’s scored a team-high 39 runs.

Addy Nigut is hitting .523 this eason after being challenged by her coach early on.

“People thought I was nuts putting her in that clean-up spot,” Rutherford said. “She struggled early but has really started to focus and her swing is a lot better. It took a while, but we saw the change early. She’s not popping up and she’s really driving the ball. She raised her average over 150 points from where she was early on.”

Carlee Soukup is hitting .440 with Johnson batting .370.

Telegdy has matured into a great senior pitcher with 173 strikeouts on the season. The key for the Seton Hill recruit this season has been her mental approach.

“In that Belle Vernon loss last year, you could see she was more emotional than ever,” Rutherford said. “She’s really buckled down and as a team, we’ve really focused on mental approach, channeling emotions and moving on to the next play.

“Shelby isn’t out there trying to overpower everyone. She’s hitting her spots and really trusts her defense behind her. It’s really paid off for us this season.”

Freshman Berlyn Holibaugh has been instrumental in the Warriors’ success at the plate and in the field, teaming with shortstop Resnik and center fielder Evans to make EF formidable up the middle.

“Our section wasn’t as good as we thought it may be this season, so we make sure we crank things up in practice,” Rutherford said. “We go all out, we lay out and we don’t slack on our practice time. We’re pretty tough on them, but it has paid off because we’re making minimal errors and getting great play out of everybody in the field.”

Rutherford said he’s aware the Colts will come out with revenge on their minds. Taking a team’s best shot is nothing new for the Warriors.

“We’re going to spend 20-30 minutes on mental preparation for this game,” Rutherford said. “They come in calling our team paper champions and whatever. We tell the kids to ignore the social media and avoid it. We can’t pay attention to that crap. We want to go out and prove it on the field.”