Lucci’s 8th inning walk-off lifts Conestoga past Kennett

BERWYN—Ari Lucci wasn’t in No. 5 Conestoga’s line-up at the start of the game as the Pioneers took on No. 21 Kennett in the second round of the District 1, Class 6A softball playoffs Wednesday. In fact, she didn’t enter the game until she struck out as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the seventh. But Lucci sure redeemed herself an inning later, when she took a two-out, two-strike pitch deep to right to knock in the winning run as the Pioneers (18-2) edged the Blue Demons 2-1 in eight innings.

With the win, Conestoga advances to Friday’s quarterfinal round, when they will travel to Downingotwn West for a match-up with the No. 4 Whippets, a 1-0 winner over No. 20 Souderton Wednesday.

“Not gonna lie, my heart was beating out of my chest when I first stepped in the batter’s box,” said Lucci. “I knew I couldn’t let my team down. I think the pitch was a little high but down the middle and I swung. I saw the ball going up and thought,’please don’t catch it.’ Then I saw her going back and I just hoped it fell. Once I saw she wasn’t getting there, I started to round first and thought, hey, that’s it, we won!”

As nervous as Lucci was with the pressure on, her coach, Pete Ricci, knew she had it in her.

“She won a game for us earlier in the season with a game winner as a pinch hitter,” said Ricci. “So I felt pretty confident she could get it done. As long as she stays with pitches in the strike zone, she’s got the power to hit it deep.”

After Conestoga’s Lauren Lofland worked out of a jam in the top half of the eighth, leaving Kennett runners stranded at second and third, her Kennett counterpart, Genevieve Ebaugh answered back, retiring the first two Pioneers she faced in the bottom half.

Emme Rycyzyn got things going for the Pioneers with a two-out single up the middle, and Kate Clement followed with one of her own. When both runners advanced on a wild pitch, the Demons elected to intentionally walk Faith Walker, hoping to put a force play back in effect, which set up Lucci’s heroics.

From start to finish, this was a pitcher’s duel between Lofland and Ebaugh, with the two matching each other strikeout for strikeout, scoreless inning for scoreless inning.

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