COAL TOWNSHIP - Cold day. ... Hot bats.
And Shamokin Area head coach Rick Kashner hopes it stays that way.
Not so much the weather, but the bats, particularly with a Heartland I murderer's row of Milton, Danville, Mifflinburg and Jersey Shore looming on the horizon.
Kashner's Indians won their fourth straight Saturday - against no defeats - pounding out 19 hits and playing flawless defense in a 19-1 non-league victory over crosstown rival Lourdes Regional on a cold, blustery, early spring day at Kemp Memorial Stadium.
"That's (the bats) the best part," Kashner said after watching his team's best offensive performance of the early season. "Up to now, we've been kind of coasting.
"Today, we woke up. And with the gauntlet that's coming up, we had to get the bats going to get ready for that."
The biggest hitters, and there were plenty in the Indians' attack, were Jenny Hornberger, Olivia Bonshock, Caity Augustitus and winning pitcher Carly Nash.
Hornberger, out of the leadoff spot, belted a single, double and triple, knocking in a run.
Bonshock, in the cleanup spot, had a triple, two singles and knocked home three. Three singles from Augustitus drove home five runs, and Nash blistered a solo home run and a triple to plate two.
Nash's performance on the mound more than matched what she did at the plate. Working a complete game, she struck out five, walked only two and scattered six hits, the only real damage being done when Jayme Lentini laced a home run to right-center in the bottom of the fifth.
Lentini and Caity Funk were the Red Raiders' leading hitters with two apiece.
"Carly (Nash) has pitched well in all four games," Kashner said. "And I can't ask for any more.
"Even on the turf, where you can't really push off, she's been good."
Originally scheduled for Lourdes' home field at Mount Carmel Area, the game was moved to the Kemp turf because of poor field conditions, although it remained a Lourdes home game.
The Indians took advantage early, scoring three in the top of the first to take control. They added one in the top of the third, then scored four more, including Nash's home run, in the fourth.
They salted the game away in the fifth, batting around twice and plating 11 runs.
Peyton Klembara sustained the defeat for Lourdes. She struck out five and walked the same.
Game Summary
SHAMOKIN (AB-R-H-BI) - Hornberger 4-3-3-1, B. Bonshock 3-2-2-2, Supsic 3-2-2-1, O. Bonshock 5-2-3-3, Stewart 0--1-0-0, C. Augustitus 4-0-3-5, Roadarmel 1-0-0-0, Wolfe 3-1-1-0, Nash 3-2-2-2, Zimmerman 0-1-0-0, J. Augustitus 2-1-1-1, Chapman 1-1-1-0, Forbes 3-2-1-0. Totals - 33-19-19-15.
LOURDES - Klembara 3-0-1-0, Lentini 2-1-2-1, Funk 2-0-2-0, Long 3-0-0-0, Pennypacker 2-0-1-0, Spangler 1-0-0-0, Giles 2-0-0-0, Moser 2-0-0-0, Davidson 1-0-0-0, Alexander 1-0-0-0. Totals - 19-1-6-1.