Ava Schmidt threw a three-hitter and scored three times Thursday afternoon as Holy Cross defeated Old Forge for the District 2 Class A softball championship at the University of Scranton.
Old Forge scored in the top of the first and had a potential second run sent back to third base after umpires conferred and determined a dead ball should have been called on an overthrow.
Ava Arnold singled with one out and came around to score.
Holy Cross tied the game in the bottom of the first, moved ahead in the third, added another run in the fourth, then broke the game open with a five-run fifth.
The Lady Crusaders were the tournament’s top seed after winning the Lackawanna League Division 2 title.
Schmidt struck out eight and did not walk a batter. She was 2-for-3 with a triple.
Lila Kolcharno two hits. Peyton Graboske and Jules Galella each drove in two runs.
Mia Fox and Kate O’Hearn had the other hits for Old Forge.
Between back-to-back singles by Arnold and O’Hearn in the first and another by Fox with two out in the seventh, Schmidt retired 18 straight batters.
