Larcinese leads Warriors to landslide win

By JOSE NEGRON

jnegron@yourmvi.com

Elizabeth Forward head softball coach Harry Rutherford isn’t one to shy away from making adjustments to his starting lineup on a game-by-game basis. 

So, in order to give his offense an extra boost to open play in the PIAA tournament Monday, Rutherford made the decision to move Kailey Larcinese up into the No. 5 spot in the lineup. 

Larcinese entered the state playoffs as one of EF’s top run producers with 22 RBIs and added to that total with an impressive offensive display. 

The Towson recruit homered, drove in seven runs and tossed a one-hit shutout to lead Elizabeth Forward to a 15-0 victory over the District 10 champions from Franklin in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs at Slippery Rock University. 

“I put her right where she was going to get those RBI opportunities,” Rutherford said of Larcinese, who had been hitting near the bottom portion of EF’s lineup throughout the season. “I thought this was an excellent opportunity to move her up. She’s been hitting hard shots and I had all the faith in the world in her.” 

In the victory, Larcinese went 4 for 4 with three RBI singles and a fifth-inning grand slam, the first of her career.

“I’ve really been focusing on my pitch selection and the past couple of games, I’ve hit the same pitch every single at bat,” Larcinese said. “I’m not a power hitter and I’ve never been a home run hitter, I just focus on hitting line drives. Once in a while, I get a little lucky and it goes out.” 

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