PHILADELPHIA - Fundamentals - like defense, pitching, and moving base runners - came in handy in Northwestern’s victory over Archbishop Ryan on Monday afternoon in the opening round of the PIAA Class 4A softball tournament.

The Tigers used a big second inning to jump out to an early lead on their way to an 8-3 win over the Ragdolls.

Tiger pitcher Emma Freeman dominated for much of the game, and from the second through the fifth innings recorded 11 of the 12 outs on strikeouts, finishing with 13 in the game. So dominant was Freeman that she didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning.

“It was a good day, but I had to be ready for how they came back at the end because any team can come back at any time,” said Freeman. “No matter how well I’m throwing, I am always aware that teams can come back.

“So I just try to keep pitching the same and I know that my defense behind me will be there to help me out.”

Northwestern (21-4) only needed to see six pitches from Ragdolls pitcher Madison Velez before it pushed a run across the plate. Leadoff hitter Rylee McGinley grounded a ball through the middle on the second pitch she saw, and wasted little time stealing second base. Sage Toman bunted her over to third, and Izzy Akelaitis lifted a flyball to center field to bring her home with the game’s first run.

The seven, eight, and nine hitters in the Northwestern order are all sophomores and started the big second inning. Lizzy Diehl worked a one-out walk, and Lily Kinnon reached on an infield single. Ella Bressi looked to bunt the runners over and got more than she bargained for when Velez attempted to bare-hand the ball, but and it skipped off of her hand allowing Bressi to reach on the play.

Toman then tripled to right to empty the bases before Akelaitis worked the other side of the field for a double to left that made it 5-0.

The bottom of the order did its job again in the third when Diehl led off with a double down the first base line and Kinnon grounded to second, moving Diehl to move to third. McGinley’s ground out scored her for a 6-0 Northwestern lead.

“We’ve been pretty good at getting through the lineup,” said Diehl. “We have a pretty strong lineup one through nine, and we have a lot of balance. We all like to do our job and keep the pressure on the other team.”

In the top of the sixth, an infield single and stolen base by McGinley combined with a single from Toman and a double from Abby Dunstan made it 8-0.

Archbishop Ryan finally got to Freeman in the bottom of the frame when leadoff hitter Kayla Gray reached on an error and eventually scored on a single by Mya Diorio. One out later, Diorio scored on an RBI single from Ashlynn Clarkson to make it 8-2.

Archbishop Ryan (13-3) tacked on a final run in the seventh.

“It’s nerve wracking because if we lose, it’s over for me,” said Toman, who along with Akelaitis are the team’s only seniors. “I want to see us keep going and make it to the state finals like we almost did last year.

“We may have to go through Blue Mountain again, but we’re ready for it and we’re ready to get our revenge.”

A MINOR VARIATION … Last season, Northwestern beat Valley View in the opening round before beating Archbishop Ryan in the quarterfinals. This time around, the win over the Ragdolls in the opening round will set up a Northwestern and Valley View rematch in the quarterfinals. That game will be played Thursday with the time and location to be announced.

Northwestern 141 002 0 - 8 11 1

Archbishop Ryan 000 002 1 - 3 4 1

Freeman and Dunstan; Velez and Chambliss. W - Freeman. L - Velez.