ORWIGSBURG - Tri-Valley leaves its opposition very little margin for error.

Committing errors against the Bulldogs virtually eliminates that margin.

Marian learned that lesson in the District 11 Class 1A championship game on Tuesday at Blue Mountain High School.

The Fillies made four fielding errors that led to six unearned runs in a 7-1 Tri-Valley victory.

“They’re not only a very good team, but they have so much big-game experience. That combination puts a lot of pressure on you,” said Marian coach Joe DeAngelo. “You need to play an almost perfect game to beat them.”

Tri-Valley’s big-game experience comes from capturing four straight District 11 titles, and winning PIAA State championships in two of the last three seasons.

Despite those gaudy credentials and a lopsided mercy-rule loss to the Bulldogs during the regular season, Marian came in thinking it had a chance - mainly because of senior standout Morgan Kelly.

“We came in believing we had a chance at them,” said DeAngelo. “Anytime you have Morgan (Kelly) out there, you have a shot.

“But we needed a number of things to go right for us. We were hoping for a 3-2 type of low-scoring game. Unfortunately, we didn’t make the plays to hold them down and give ourselves that chance.”

While the Fillies didn’t do themselves any favors defensively, it might not have mattered with the way Tri-Valley pitcher Kora Rodichock was operating. The Bulldog junior tossed a one-hitter and struck out 14 in an overpowering performance.

“Kora had a fantastic game,” said Tri-Valley coach Marty Shade. “She’s pitched like that all season for us. She has over 175 strikeouts this year, so obviously with that type of total she had a lot of big strike-out performances.

“But to strike out 14 in a district championship game is really stepping up.”

Rodichock showed early that she was on her game as she struck out the first seven batters she faced. She walked just two in the game and didn’t allow a hit until a Kelly bomb to deep left field leading off the seventh.

“She’s a really good pitcher. Definitely one of the best we’ve faced this year,” said DeAngelo. “She got in a comfort zone, and they got a couple of early runs to help her out.”

Tri-Valley scored single runs in both the second and third innings to grab the lead.

In the second, Mia Artz led off with a bunt single and ended up on second base when the Fillies committed a throwing error on the play. It appeared like Kelly might get out of the jam when she got a pair of infield pop outs and then jumped ahead of Rodichock 0-2. But a pair of wild pitches followed, allowing Artz to score.

In the third, the Bulldogs sandwiched a pair of infield singles around a stolen base to make it 2-0.

“They apply pressure with their bunting and aggressive baserunning,” said DeAngelo. “They didn’t get a ball out of the infield in the first four innings, but still led 2-0.”

Tri-Valley broke the game open in the fifth, scoring five runs on three hits and three costly Marian miscues that led to all of the runs being unearned.

Three of the first four Bulldog batters in the frame reached on infield errors - two of them coming on bunts - before they finally broke out the big bats as Artz doubled and Mady Schwalm belted a three-run homer.

“Kelly is a really good pitcher so our game plan was to try and put the ball in play and force them to make plays,” said Shade. “We were able to do that to build a little bit of a lead, and then we finally hit a few balls hard in that fifth inning.”

NEXT UP ... Tri-Valley (19-4) will begin its defense of last season’s state championship when PIAA Tournament play opens on Monday. The Bulldogs will play District 1 champ Dock Mennonite.

END OF THE LINE ... Marian finishes the season with a 15-7 record. The Fillies were 6-5 at one point before winning nine of their final 11 games.

LEADOFF PRESSURE ... Tri-Valley got its leadoff batter on second base with no outs in four of the first five innings to keep constant pressure on the Marian defense.

MILESTONE FINALE ... Kelly not only broke up Rodichock’s no-hitter with her solo homer in the seventh, but it produced her 100th career RBI in her final high school at bat.

SAYING GOODBYE ... Marian started four freshmen and a sophomore, and had just three seniors on the roster. But those seniors - Kelly, Anna Grabosky and Gracie Gallagher - have played a lot of softball during their careers. “I can’t say enough about what they have meant to the program,” said DeAngelo. “All three have started since their freshmen year. Morgan was our pitcher that entire time, Anna was our catcher, and Gracie played anywhere we needed her. They have been a big part of three straight division titles, and two straight District 11 championship game appearances. They will leave a big void.”

Marian 000 000 1 - 1 1 4

Tri-Valley 011 050 x - 7 10 0

Kelly and Grabosky; K. Rodichock and L. Rodichock. W - K. Rodichock. L - Kelly. HR: Marian - Kelly (7th, none on); Tri-Valley - Schwalm (5th, two on).