Saucon Valley rallies past Wilson; Dist. 11 softball semis now set

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER It was a great birthday present for Saucon Valley coach Scott Didra. His Panthers trailed Wilson 2-0 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, but struck for four runs in that frame and then tacked on four more in the fifth to pull away for an 8-2 District 11 3A quarterfinal win over the Warriors on Saturday afternoon in Hellertown. Third-seeded Saucon (17-6) will play No. 2 seed Pottsville at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Parkland with No.1 seed and Lehigh Valley Conference champ Becahi facing Northwestern in the 7 p.m. nightcap. Step Rusu was the winning pitcher, while shorstop Arastina Barry sparked the offense by going 4-for-4. Karine Poglar added two hits and three RBis and and Jess Mowrey chipped in three hits. Wilson, which made districts for just the second time in two decades, finished 12-9. Wilson 101 001 0 -- 3 5 3 Saucon 000 440 x -- 8 13 2 Moninghoff, Oren (5) and Smolock; Rusu and Schreder. LP: Moninghoff. REC: SV: 17-6; W: 12-9. Game Notes: W: Michaela Moninghoff 2-3. SV: Arastina Barry 4-4. Jessica Mowrey 3-4. Karine Polgar 2-2, 3 RBI. Saucon Valley will play Pottsville 5 p.m. Tuesday at Parkland. Here are your semifinal matchups on Tuesday Class 4A at Pates Park Liberty vs. Parkland, 5 p.m. Northampton vs. Emmaus, 7 p.m. Class 3A at Parkland Saucon Valley vs. Pottsville, 5 p.m. Becahi vs. Northwestern, 7 p.m. Class 2A Pen Argyl vs. North Schuylkill, 4 p.m. at Northwestern Pine Grove vs. Palmerton, 5:30 at Blue Mountain.