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Southpaw Amanda Herr’s pitching proved to be too much for Peqeau Valley players in the first round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League Softball Championship playoffs on Saturday. Herr blazed pitches by PV batters, striking out 10 and allowing only two hits in the 10-0 Warwick victory.

Even though Warwick finished the regular season at the top of the standings with a string of wins and a District One trophy, they are starting the playoffs with a clean slate.

“We came out with a zero-zero mindset, so this game was actually really huge for us,” said Herr.

“It’s hopefully another streak,” said Warwick coach Mark Hough, whose team pulled off an incredible win streak during the regular season. “We’re now 1-0. The regular season’s over. We just try to take every game one at a time now. The record during the league was fun, but now it’s playoffs, it’s a completely different animal.”

The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the third inning, when the Warriors rallied with 10 runs, including a grand slam by slugger Ashley Royer. We’ll be adding to this story shortly with details of the big rally.

“Hits are contagious for our team,” said Herr of the third inning, when Warwick batted through the order and scored 6 runs before registering an out on a sacrifice bunt by Lexi Leonard that scored Jenny Wooley.  It turned out to be Hough’s favorite offensive play of the game.

“To me as a coach, when somebody can execute the basic of plays and we score a run off that, that’s the big moment for me,” said Hough.

Section One champ Warwick plays tonight against Lampeter-Strasburg, also a section winner, in a semi-final matchup at Garrett Field Softball Complex south of Lancaster. The game gets underway at 7:30 p.m., or come at 5:30 p.m. to take in a double-header. Donegal plays Hempfield at 5:30 p.m. The field is located at 10 East Penn Grant Road, Willow Street, PA 17584. Cost is $6 for adults, $4 for students and senior citizens.