ORWIGSBURG – It vanished like thin air.

And Schuylkill Haven was to blame.

Marian’s quest for a District 11 Class 2A softball championship ended dead in its tracks as the Hurricanes dominated from start to finish in Friday afternoon’s semifinal matchup.

Haven banged out 10 hits and needed only five innings to secure a 10-0 victory that moves it into the title game next Tuesday against Northern Lehigh.

There was no magic dust on the field, but pure execution from the new-found surge from the Hurricane program. Led by Cari Yeager’s two-hit pitching and home run power from Cammy Price, along with three hits from Erin Batz, Schuylkill Haven scored in every inning, including multiple runs in the first four frames.

“These girls know they have it in them, it’s just a matter of pulling it out of them,” said Haven coach Gary Adams.

But the first time these two teams met in the regular season, it was tighter. It took an extra inning before the Hurricanes scored a 6-5 victory. And Marian actually led that contest 5-1 before Haven rallied to tie it.

That wasn’t the case Friday.

Marian skipper Kyle Faust could see the handwriting on the wall as the season came closer to an end; and the Fillies lack of offensive punch showed.

“Towards the end of the season, we’ve been struggling to (score) runs,” he said. “Yeager threw a good game; she threw her pitches and we just couldn’t hit it.”

It was just the opposite for the eventual winners. In the home first, the Canes set the tone with a two-run rally which featured a Batz single, a run-scoring triple from Mills, and an error.

They continued to bunch runs in the second as Sophia Bates led off with a single and, two outs later, Price went yard for a two-run homer to dead center. That blast seemed to let the air out of Marian’s day.

“They put the ball in play, and they force you to make (plays),” said Faust. “If you can’t make (plays), they’re going to beat you.”

The troubles continued to mount for Marian. Another two-run outburst erupted in the home third.

With one out and a runner on first, Yeager singled in the gap to left, a groundout produced a run, and a single by Bates upped the lead to 6-0.

In the fourth, Haven scored three more runs taking advantage of two Marian errors and Julia Malinowski’s sizzling double in the left-center gap.

The contest ended unceremoniously in the fifth. An error with one out started the final run-scoring inning, and a Batz single and a walk loaded the bases. The game ended via the 10-run rule when Kayla Umbenhauer was hit by a pitch to force in the final run.

DEARTH OF OFFENSE … Marian could only muster a pair of singles off of Yeager. Jada Ritsick singled to open the contest. After that, the Fillies were silent until the fifth when Eden Arnold singled with two outs.

MOWING ‘EM DOWN … Yeager was at the top of her game most of the afternoon. After Ritsick’s hit, she retired 14 batters in a row. The smooth-throwing right-hander fanned seven and did not issue a walk. Yeager was two batters over the minimum (15). One of the most glowing stats for Yeager was that she threw 40 of her 46 pitches for strikes.

END OF THE LINE ... Marian finished its season with a 9-12 record.

Marian 000 00 - 0 2 3

S. Haven 222 31 - 10 10 0

Reinoehl and Shaud; Yeager and Johnson. W - Yeager. L - Reinoehl.