Harbor Creek beats Girard in D-10 baseball playoffs behind pitching, Barbato's five RBIs

For five innings, Girard and Harbor Creek were inseparable.

The Yellowjackets actually outscored the Huskies from the third frame on, settling into Tuesday’s District 10 Class 3A baseball quarterfinal.

There was just one problem. By the time Girard settled in, Gio Barbato had already given Harbor Creek a huge lead.

Playoff hub: District 10 playoffs: View baseball, softball results, box scores, schedules for May 20-25

Barbato drove in five runs for No. 2 Harbor Creek (15-6) in an 8-2 victory over No. 7 Girard (7-12) at Mercyhurst University. The senior’s two-run home run and bases-clearing double were the big blows in consecutive innings during which the Huskies scored three and five runs, respectively.

“I was just thinking about staying inside of the ball there,” Barbato said of his home run swing. “My swing has been pretty long, so just stayed inside the ball and hit a nice line drive out to left-center.”

More: How Cambridge Springs out-lasted Union City in the District 10 baseball playoffs

Lively arms

Heath Betza threw four scoreless innings for Harbor Creek before Sam LaFuria and Barbato combined for last nine Girard outs. LaFuria also had two hits and scored a run.

“(Betza) was painting today; he threw really well,” said junior catcher Jake Rzodkiewicz. “His off-speed was great, and he was locating it.”

Semis await

A third meeting with defending Class 3A champion Fairview awaits the Huskies in Friday’s semifinals. They split two Region 4 play, including a 10-5 Harbor Creek victory April 19 and a 5-3 Fairview triumph 10 days later.

“After that short skid we had, we came together as a team,” Rzodkiewicz said of a stretch from May 4-10 during which the Huskies lost three of four. “We even changed our group chat name to, ‘We over me.’ I think it’s pretty cool how we come together as a group.”

Contact Jeff Uveino at juveino@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @realjuveino.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: D-10 baseball: Harbor Creek beats Girard behind Barbato's five RBIs