DUNMORE One and two in the lineup gave Abington Heights the two-one punch it needed.

Leadoff hitter Mara Hamm sparked a two-run first and Alison Kane legged out an inside-the-park homer in the second, and that was just enough offense to send the Lady Comets into the PIAA softball quarterfinals with a 3-1 win over Great Valley in Mondays Class 5A first-round game at Penn State Worthington Scranton.

Abington Heights will play Donegal, a 3-2 winner over District 1 champ West Chester Henderson, on Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

It wasnt the gaudy offensive show that was the Lady Comets forte all season, but it was more than enough, as pitcher Meghan McGinley worked out of a couple jams, and her defense made the tough plays behind her.

Its important to get the momentum in the first inning, Hamm said. It helps us get that head start. I just wanted to get the momentum going.

I was going to hit the ball hard wherever it was pitched. Outside, I was going to right and inside I was going to turn on it.

Hamm sizzled the third pitch of the game for a double to right.

Ive never seen the kid intimidated as a freshman, Abington Heights coach John Kelly said. Thats tough to teach. Some seniors dont have that kind of confidence.

I hope the team sees a freshman has that kind of confidence in her ability. Shes done that every game.

A wild pitch moved Hamm to third and Kane followed with a four-pitch walk and took second on defensive indifference.

Cassidy Bartkowski drove in Hamm with a groundout and Kane sprinted home on another wild pitch to provide the Lady Comets (15-2) with an early cushion.

Its very important to start out strong, Kane said. Weve been on the flip side and then youre in the hole.

After two quick outs in the second, Kane ripped a ball through the hole at short. When the left fielder couldnt get there in time to cut it off, the ball continued to the fence, and Kane continued to circle the bases.

I knew I hit it hard and my coach kept waving me around, Kane said. He wasnt stopping me so Im glad I made it home safely.

I was a little surprised, but we work with speed in our game, stealing, sacrificing, everything. Thats my game and I got to put it on the field with an inside-the-park home run, so thats pretty cool.

Kellys advance scouting paid off on the play, too.

The biggest thing was we had two outs, and we saw them play last week and I saw where they really didnt hit their cutoffs, Kelly said. I told the girls we were going to be aggressive because their outfielders come up and just throw the ball. She did hit the cut, but Kane is so fast that with two outs we were taking a shot.

When the relay to the plate short hopped the catcher, Kane scored easily. But that was the end of the offense for Abington Heights as pitcher Morgan Orlowski settled down for Great Valley to allow only a third-inning single to Kaylee DeMatteo and Kanes double in the fifth.

She got better as the game went on, Kelly said of Orlowski. I think we got a little anxious and swung at a couple pitches we should have. We didnt play our best game but we pulled it out.

Meghan pitched a great game and kept us in. Thats what won it.

Great Valley (11-10) got three consecutive two-out singles off McGinley in the fourth, but she made big pitches when she needed them.

When we were in situations where I needed to throw strikes, I think I threw good strikes and threw them harder, McGinley said. I did a good job hitting my spots tonight.

Its really important because if you miss a spot just barely, you can end up giving up hits. The one inning, I missed spots and they ended up with a couple hits and a run.

But Abington Heights got a couple solid defensive plays, with Bartkowski making two sparking plays to keep the Patriots at bay.

Defensively we played very well, and Cassidy has been playing very well the last three or four games, Kelly said. If we keep up that defense and our bats come alive, well be alright.

Contact the writer:

mmyers@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100, ext. 5437;

@mmyersTT on Twitter.

Great Valley Abington Heights

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Bryan c 3 0 1 0 Hamm dp 4 1 1 0

Rubin 2b 2 0 0 0 Kane cf 2 2 2 1

Bevec 3b 3 1 1 0 Bartkowski ss 3 0 0 1

Orlowski p 2 0 1 0 Kozar 1b 2 0 1 0

Nadwodny ss 3 0 1 1 Kupinski c 3 0 1 0

Armand 1b 3 0 0 0 DeMatteo 3b 2 0 1 0

Bullock rf 3 0 0 0 Solan 2b 3 0 0 0

Barlow cf 2 0 0 0 McGinley p 3 0 0 0

McGarvey ph 1 0 0 0 Olevnik rf 3 0 0 0

CaMcCarthy dp 2 0 0 0 Fiorillo lf 0 0 0 0

CoMcCarthy lf 0 0 0 0

Totals 24 1 4 1 Totals 25 3 6 2

Great Val 000 100 0 1

Abington Heights 210 000 x 3

2B: Nina Kozar (AH), Mara Hamm (AH), Allison Kane (AH). HR: Alison Kane (AH).

Great Val IP H R ER BB SO

Orlowski, LP 6 6 3 3 2 1

Abington Heights IP H R ER BB SO

McGinley, WP 7 4 1 1 1 5

Records: GV 11-10, AH 15-2

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PIAA SOFTBALL: Hamm, Kane pace Lady Comets win over Great Valley - Scranton Times-Tribune