Shorecrest Prep claimed a district championship over St. Petersburg Catholic less than two weeks ago with a 9-1 win.
History would repeat itself on Tuesday night as the Chargers ended the Barons season in the Class 3A Regional semifinals with an 18-3 thumping. The mercy rule was enforced in the bottom of the 3rd inning.
Shorecrest won 3 out of 4 meetings between the two schools this season and its the first regional semifinal win in program history.
The Chargers will play the winner of Moore Haven-Kings Academy on Friday.
Starting pitchers for the game were Raquel Galinski for the Chargers and Brooke Zoffer for the Barons. St. Pete Catholic was without top starter Kelsey Humphrey, who tore her labrum in her right shoulder and is out for the rest of the season.
“Their number one pitcher was out and they had to use their number two,” said Chargers head coach Mike Galinski. “Our strategy was to try to get up by five or six runs and see where things went the rest of the ball game.”
After Galinski shut down the Barons in the 1st, Shorecrest gained an early lead in the bottom half of the inning. Shortstop Jaquelin Galinski would bring in the first run of the game after her sister Raquel singled. Power-hitter Hannah Smith then delivered a solid 2-run home run that allowed the Chargers to take a 3-0 lead.
“I thought it looked like it was tailing foul,” said Smith. “But when I kept watching and it started to go fair I was like 'yes'...I was so happy.”
The Barons answered back in the top of the 2nd inning when first baseman Martita Sharlow singled, delivering the first hit for St. Pete Catholic. With the bases loaded, right fielder Paige Thiemann popped out to center field, allowing DH Ashley Duffy to tag and score to make it 3-1.
Shorecrest wouldn’t let the victory last long. In the 2nd inning, they would score nine consecutive runs due to walks, steals and successful stolen bases. Smith delivered an RBI double bringing in the Galanski sisters making the score 6-1.
First baseman Lindsay Eaton also showed her power-hitting skills, delivering a 3-run home run.
“I was so happy when I got that home run,” said Eaton. “It’s my fifth one of the season.”
After the 2nd inning, the Chargers appeared to have this win in tow, leading 12-3. For Smith and the rest of the Chargers, this was the perfect moment to finish it.
“Any time for us, when we are playing a team where we have a big run advantage over them, we are ready to just keep pushing forward and blow the game wide open," Smith said.
A pitching change was not enough to endure the power of the Shorecrest offense. The Chargers would score six more runs in the bottom of the third inning. The game came to an end with two outs and the bases loaded and Eaton up to bat. A wild pitch brought in pitcher Raquel Galinski for the final run of the game.
Now on a 14-game winning streak, the Chargers will advance to the regional finals on Friday.
“This is history in the making for us, because we have never gone this far and we have never won a second regional game,” said coach Galinski. “When we head to the (regional) finals, we are going to do everything the same. We are going to have a few hard practices, but I told the girls to bring their high levels of intensity and come prepared to practice hard.”