LYONS -- One team came out playing its game at the start but by the end had done anything but.
The other team was off its game at the outset but by the contest's conclusion made it obvious that it had clearly found it.
District 1 power Pennsbury played a major role in Cumberland Valley building a first-inning 3-0 lead but CV's defensive generosity in the ensuing five innings enabled an already hot-hitting Falcon team to finish off CV by a non CV-like 14-3 score at Lyons Field near Fleetwood in Berks County.
The Eagles' postseason run ended at 24-4 and inclusion among the state's top eight teams in Class AAAA. And despite Thursday's score, it includes optimism for the future as well as six starters will return next season.
Pennsbury stemmed any early optimism on Thursday by slowly pecking away at CV's lead with a run in the third, another in the fourth and three in the fifth. Four of those five Falcon runs were aided by CV errors.
A state quarterfinal game doesn't typically include 17 runs, 20 hits and 10 errors, nor does it usually include a sixth-inning summary of nine runs on seven hits and four errors. That that happened enabled Pennsbury to build a 14-3 lead and end the game after six rain-filled innings.
Pennsbury is a veteran team that reached the state semifinals last season and was Class AAAA runner-up in 2011. Its senior-laden lineup is filled with seven college-bound players who didn't panic when they committed two first-inning errors that allowed Jill Arnoso, Taylor Krow and Hanna Edwards to score; Kayla Sullenberger and Rachael Mumma had RBIs.
"I just said, 'Hey, we just gave them three runs; we gave up three runs,''' said Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry. "Don't give them anything else because we're going to score.
"I said, 'you're playing nervous; just settle down.' They really were nervous; that's how they played and it showed. We made some mistakes we normally don't make, but we have to remember they are kids,'' McSherry said. "Major league players make those mistakes.''
There wouldn't be many more. Each Falcon starter had at least one hit, Michelle George, Taylor Boltersdorf and Mackenzie Obert had two and leadoff hitter Christian Bascara went 4-for-5 with five RBI aided by an inside-the-park, sixth-inning grand slam that zipped over Jill Arnoso's head in left field in the spacious outfield that was 265 feet deep all the way around.
Pennsbury pitcher Val Buehler, a four-year starter, limited the potent CV lineup to five hits. She walked two and struck out just one as CV hit the ball on the nose but most times right at a well-positioned Falcon.
"We had opportunities,'' CV coach Gregg Williams said. "That's the thing. We had runners on base and we couldn't get the clutch hits. If we'd have gotten some clutch hits, it's a different story.
"But I'm proud of our girls,'' Williams said. "I'm proud of the way they played. All the way to the end we're battling in the batter's box. It was a great season. I'm not gonna let that one game define us.''
Make no mistake, Pennsbury is a good team. The Falcons played similarly to how CV played all season, putting pressure on the defense, running bases aggressively and hitting the ball hard.
"It was their day and it wasn't our day,'' Williams said. "I don't think the weather played a factor. We got down a little bit and then the pressure's on you and you have to make the plays. Sometimes you make them and sometimes you don't.''
It's more than safe to say that the sixth inning was the worst of the 192 innings CV played this season. Pennsbury sent 13 batters to the plate in a nightmarish inning that resulted in nine Falcon runs on seven hits and an astonishing four CV errors. Seven baserunners in Pennsbury's lineup scored; two crossed the plate twice.
"They're a good team, we're a good team,'' Williams said. "You play that game 10 times and you battle it out every time. It's disappointing the way it ended. They made the plays. They were the better team today.''
Pennsbury's Buehler was not about to panic early on. "Val's a battler,'' McSherry said. "There's no doubt that we play better defense than we showed in the first inning. So she knows that our kids are capable of backing her up.
"But Cumberland Valley came out swinging,'' McSherry said. "They came out ready to play and we weren't ready to play. Shame on us.
"The good thing is, we settled down, our bats came alive and if your bats come alive you can put some pressure on the defense. That makes all the difference in the world.
"But Cumberland Valley, they're tough hitters, tough outs,'' McSherry said.
Eight of CV's outs were hard-hit fly balls to Pennsbury's outfield.
"We hit some balls hard,'' CV's Williams said. "We just hit them right at them.''