These District 10 baseball, softball teams seized first place in Erie County regions
HARBORCREEK — April 15 didn’t go as planned for Mercyhurst Prep.
Its baseball team allowed eight unearned runs that evening in a lopsided defeat to Harbor Creek. Luckily for the Lakers, Tuesday presented an opportunity for redemption.
Mercyhurst (13-3) met Harbor Creek (11-5) in a rematch which would all but decide District 10 Region 4. Tied atop the conference with three games to play, Tuesday’s winner couldn’t seal the league title, but it would put itself in the proverbial driver’s seat.
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This time, Mercyhurst Prep returned the favor.
Eight different Lakers recorded a hit during Tuesday’s 9-2 victory over Harbor Creek at Paul M. Foust Field. One day after taking down defending Region 4 champion Fairview, the Lakers had themselves another important victory, one they hope to ride to their first region championship since 2021.
“Pretty much everything went wrong (April 15),” Mercyhurst coach Randy Durkoske said. “Today, we played great baseball. We did everything really well.”
Big-time arms
Mercyhurst’s offense — which combined for 11 hits and 13 stolen bases Tuesday — overshadowed a stellar pitching performance from Brady Rice. The sophomore struck out six over 5⅔ innings, retiring 14 of 15 batters from the first through fifth frames.
“I was getting a lot of downhill movement and had great command of my curveball,” Rice said. “I trusted my fastball a little bit, got a good warmup in and trusted my defense. They helped me out a lot.”
Rice followed up 5⅔ strong innings from Hunter Krahe, another sophomore, in Monday’s 6-3 victory over Fairview. The duo has helped the Lakers to a 9-1 mark in Region 4, now a game better than Harbor Creek (8-2).
Last week: Fairview baseball stays in Region 4 race with extra-inning victory over Harbor Creek
“(Krahe) is our ace and I think everybody knew about him, but nobody knows about our secret in Brady Rice,” Durkoske said. “He’s been fantastic. He’s 4-0 for us and I don’t think anyone thought he was going to pitch.”
Two games stand between Mercyhurst and a region championship. The Lakers host Northwestern on May 13 and Seneca on May 15.
Harbor Creek softball walks off LeBoeuf
Harbor Creek softball needed this one.
A loss to Fort LeBoeuf (12-5) had already stained the Huskies’ (13-4) Region 3 record and another would all but eliminate them from championship contention. Then, Talon King batted with the bases loaded in extra innings.
King lined a fastball to left field, scoring Maggie Koneiczki and sending the Huskies into a frenzy. That was the only run in Harbor Creek’s eight-inning victory Tuesday, one which seized control of a loaded region.
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“(The pitch) was inside on me and I took it to where she pitched me,” said King, a sophomore.
Addison Lucas pitched eight scoreless frames for the Huskies, helping avenge a 3-1 loss to LeBoeuf on April 17. After some help from third-place Northwestern and a sweep of the Wildcats themselves, Harbor Creek moved within reach of its first region title since 2022.
“We talked about the ‘we before me’ mentality,” Harbor Creek coach Tim Caputo said. “Keep that and be positive.”
Dates with North East and Mercyhurst Prep remain for both Harbor Creek and LeBoeuf, plus a Thursday slate against Girard for the Huskies. Everyone knew, however, how important Tuesday was.
“That’s the resilience and the ability to think positively in difficult situations that we preach,” Caputo said. “The girls running out there just shows that they just want to win and they don’t care who makes the play.”
Contact Jeff Uveino at juveino@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @realjuveino.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Mercyhurst Prep baseball, Harbor Creek softball seize first place
