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GIRARD -- The Girard Indians softball team started its postseason journey in style with a 16-0 victory over Niles on Tuesday.
The home fans also were treated to a no-hitter, as juniors Emily Rosace and Alyssa Wakefield combined to keep the Red Dragons hitless.
"We make a good combo," Rosace said. "It's going to give us good momentum going into the next round (the Indians play West Branch on Thursday). It was a good win, and we also had good hitting."
Girard started hitting the ball the moment its leadoff batter stepped up to the plate. Senior shortstop Kaitlyn Culver led off the game with a triple.
"We got off to a fast start," Culver said. "I had a good first at-bat. Then, Malina (Serrano) was up next, and she helped me out and drove me home. The rest of our team just kept hitting and driving runs in. It was great."
The Indians put seven runs across the plate in the bottom of the first and never looked back.
After the game, Girard coach Tim Mazzella emphasized that the tournament represents a whole new season to his players.
"You go 7-0, you win the whole shabang," he told them. "This is like day one of our season. This is win, or go home.
"We've had too many ups and downs this season. I blame a lot of it on the weather, but we've underachieved."
The Indians now have a record of 9-10 on the year, but everyone is 0-0 when the playoffs begin.
"It hasn't been the season we expected," Mazzella said. "We thought we'd have a few more wins, maybe play a little better. Some of it is my fault. We haven't really played a complete game until today."
Wakefield completed the no-hitter despite not knowing that the accomplishment was on the line.
"There wasn't any pressure because I didn't even know that we were going for a no-hitter," she said. "Emily and I are a pretty good combination. We're definitely coming together as a team. We're ready for West Branch on Thursday."
Niles got close to scratching a run home, but Wakefield worked out of it. Lucy DeLuca led off the top of the fourth with a walk. Senior Jenna Melies got aboard through a fielder's choice. Meiles stole second, and took third on an overthrow.
However, the Indians were able to catch Zoey Beck's pop-fly to end the threat. Alexis Elbon walked in the top of the fifth, and stole second, but Wakefield finished the game with a strikeout.
"We're a young group," Niles coach Robert Cutlip said. "We have a lot to learn. The one thing that I've seen this year is that they have battled hard. There's never been any give up."
The Indians just kept putting runs on the scoreboard. Culver, Abbie Rafferty and Allison Durkin all had singles. Rosace and McKayla Durr drove them in as Girard advanced.
"We're going to focus on what we need to do to get the next win," Culver said. "Everyone in that dugout believes we can keep winning. We have the motivation to do this."
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