And they are quicker learners.

Playing varsity together now, Phillips and Barowy formed quite a duo Thursday at Short Park as Loyalsock and Hughesville played two fiercely competitive and highly entertaining games. And when the pressure was highest, both were at their best.

Phillips came into pitch, protecting a three-run lead and facing the heart of Hughesville’s lineup, striking out all three batters she faced, closing out a doubleheader sweep as Loyalsock defeated the Spartans, 10-9 and 8-5. Phillips also hit a mammoth three-run home run in the opener and Barowy twice delivered crucial late-game two-out, two-strike RBI hits, helping Loyalsock (8-4, 6-1) stay tied for first with Montoursville in the HAC-III.

“Today was a really good game to show what I can do. I work hard and it paid off there with three strikeouts,” Phillips said. “These are big wins for us, and we want to build off that. It felt really good.”

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Hughesville's Adelyn Knight slides into home as Loyalsock's Shyla Fulp attempts the tag during a high school softball game against Hughesville on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at James Short Park. Loyalsock won 10-9 in the first game of a double header.

“They were big wins, especially for the playoffs,” Barowy said after going 3 for 7 with three RBIs in the two wins. “We haven’t been performing as well as we can and to our potential. This proves we’re better than we have shown.”

Hughesville (8-4, 4-3) is good, too, and proved it regardless of what the scoreboard said. Loyalsock had won most of its games against Hughesville via blowout over the last 10 years, but the Spartans overcame three multi-run deficits in the two games, either going ahead or tying them. Ashlynn Barlett collected six hits and fellow sophomore Addy Knight four more. Second baseman Addison Henninger and left fielder McKenna Sones made tremendous plays which saved at least three runs as well.

The Spartans scored three seventh inning runs in the opener, tying the game on Barlett’s two-out RBI single before Jillian Kennedy led off the bottom of the inning with a single, stole second and scored the winning run on a wild pitch.

Hughesville would not go away under the lights in the second game. Loyalsock led 8-4 in the bottom of the seventh when Knight hit a lead-off single, Barlett singled and Knight scored on a wild pitch. The tying run was on deck with no outs when Phillips entered, facing Hughesville’s Nos. 3-5 hitters.

Phillips had thrown twice before but never in a spot like this. Her two other appearances came in relief in blowouts. This was a whole different beast but, showing nerves of steel, Phillips tamed it.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Lyla Kinney (12) throws for Loyalsock during a high school softball game against Hughesville on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at James Short Park. Loyalsock won 10-9 in the first game of a double header.

The right-hander spotted a pitch on the outside corner for a full-count strikeout before fighting back from 3-0 for another strikeout. Phillips closed out her clutch performance with a third consecutive strikeout, helping Loyalsock win its fourth straight game and capping a riveting doubleheader which last 4 hours, 50 minutes.

“I was just trying to keep them off the bases,” Phillips said. “I was trying to get a ground ball because we had to keep the lead.”

Barowy helped Loyalsock extend its lead late in both games. After Phillips was intentionally walked, the sophomore smashed a two-run single in the sixth inning of the opener, giving Loyalsock a 9-6 advantage. Take away that hit, and Hughesville might have won the game since it answered with three runs in the top of the seventh and tied it.

The Spartans fought back from a 4-0 deficit and tied the second game after five innings. Easton Waller led off the sixth with a single and Shyla Fulp (3 for 4, 2 RBIs), who played super defense behind the plate, followed with a perfectly placed bunt single. Waller scored on a two-out wild pitch, but Maddie Smith was a strike from ending the inning.

It was a near identical situation to the one Barowy faced in the first game. Again, she battled back from an 0-2 count, fouling off a pitch and taking a ball before belting an RBI double into the left-center field gap and making it, 6-4. Kennedy hit a lead-off single an inning later, Waller scored her with a grounder and Fulp capped her excellent day with an RBI single, giving Loyalsock a four-run cushion.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Ella Breneisen (5) throws for Hughesville during a high school softball game against Loyalsock on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at James Short Park. Loyalsock won 10-9 in the first game of a double header.

“Addi’s at-bat was phenomenal,” Loyalsock coach Mark Godfrey said. “She’s really, really coming along.”

“I just try and stay calm, make contact and not overdo it,” Barowy said. “Sometimes it’s nerve-wracking but I know I can help my team in those situations, and I have confidence in myself to hit.”

She proved it last postseason. Barowy, a valuable reserve on Loyalsock’s state championship basketball team, faced a difficult task when she replaced all-state left fielder Bella Mileto following an injury in the district quarterfinals. All Barowy did there was hit safely in every playoff start, capping her season with an RBI double against the state’s best 3A pitcher in the state quarterfinals.

“That really helped, especially the last game (in 2024),” Barowy said. “I think all those experiences hitting in those situations helped me build toward this season.”

Phillips is making similar strides and has made a home at Loyalsock’s clean-up spot. She showcased her ability to deliver in key moments at Montoursville two weeks ago, scorching a game-tying, two-run triple and came through again during the first inning of Thursday’s opener.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Hughesville's Adelyn Knight (11) and Maddie Smith (10) reach for a fly ball during a high school softball game against Hughesville on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at James Short Park. Loyalsock won 10-9 in the first game of a double header.

After Fulp reached on a one-out error and Sofia Mileto hustled down the line to beat out an infield single, Phillips waited for the pitch she wanted, working a 1-1 count. That pitch came seconds later, and Phillips tattooed it, sending a towering three-run blast down the right field line. It would have landed past the creek beyond the fence had it not first drilled the light pole while moving upward as Phillips did her best Roy Hobbs light-eruption impersonation.

“I knew there were two people on and that I had to move them and get some runs in,” Phillips said. “I was just trying to get them in at least. I felt it. It felt good, so I just started running.”

Hughesville thundered back, using some fantastic hustle to get two runs back in the third, Smith hitting a two-out, two-run single with Barlett hustling home from second on the throw to first. An inning later, Knight and Barlett hit RBI singles after Henning and Sones opened with singles and Hughesville took its first lead, going up, 6-4.

A key turning point came in the top of the sixth when Hughesville loaded the bases with no outs, while holding that two-run advantage. Instead of breaking the game open, second baseman Sophia Miller threw out a runner trying to steal home before Lydia Kresock came up big and induced a pop up and line out to Kennedy in right field, denying Hughesville any runs. The Lancers responded with a five-run sixth inning, setting the stage for the exciting finish in the seventh.

Loyalsock took the momentum into the second game with Maddie Wertz hitting a lead-off single and Fulp a two-out RBI single, giving it a 2-0 advantage in the second inning. Two errors helped push the lead to 4-0 before Hughesville came fighting back.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock's Easton Waller (12) covers home as Hughesville's McKenna Sones scores during a high school softball game against Hughesville on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at James Short Park. Loyalsock won 10-9 in the first game of a double header.

That pretty much was the script for nearly five hours. Any time it looked like one team was taking control, the other rallied. It was a game filled with talented players, but also tenacious ones.

“I told the girls at practice (Wednesday) that these games are a very important steppingstone toward the rest of the season,” Godfrey said. “These are big games. I was proud of the girls because they overcame the adversity of the game, and they battled.”

First Game

Loyalsock 10, Hughesville 9

Hughesville 002 400 3–9 12 3

Loyalsock 301 005 1–10 10 3

Ella Breneisen, Maddie Smith (7) and Kiana Peck. Easton Waller, Lydia Kresock (5) and Shyla Fulp. W–Kresock. L–Smith.

Top Hughesville hitters: Avery Earnest 2-3, 2R; Addison Henninger 2-4, 2B, RBI, R; Ashlynn Barlett 3-5, 2 RBIs; Addy Knight 2-5, 2 RBIs, 2R; Smith 1-2, 3 BB, 2 RBIs; Breneisen 1-4; McKenna Sones 1-3, 2R. Top Loyalsock hitters: Addi Barowy 2-3, 2 RBIs, R; Alena Barone 2-3, R; Kinsie Phillips 1-3, HR, 3 RBIs; Sophia Miller 1-3, RBI, R; Waller 1-4, RBI, R; Sofia Mileto 1-3, R; Maddie Wertz 1-3; Jillian Kennedy 1-4, 2R.

Second Game

Loyalsock 8, Hughesville 5

Loyalsock 020 202 2–8 9 3

Hughesville 000 220 1–5 8 4

Miller, Phillips (7) and Fulp. Smith, Breneisen (7) and Peck, Smith (7). W–Miller. L–Smith.

Top Loyalsock hitters: Shyla Fulp 3-4, 2 RBIs, R; Kennedy 2-4, R; Barowy 1-4, 2B, 2 RBIs; Waller 1-4, RBI, 2R; Wertz 1-4; Sofia Mileto 1-5. Top Hughesville hitters: Barlett 3-4, 2R; Knight 2-4, 2R; Earnest 1-3; Peck 1-3; Henninger 1-3.

Records: Loyalsock 8-4, 6-1 HAC-III. Hughesville 8-4, 4-3.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Hughesville's Addison Henninger celebrates reaching second during a high school softball game against Hughesville on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at James Short Park. Loyalsock won 10-9 in the first game of a double header.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock's Madison Wertz (30) makes the tag at first during a high school softball game against Hughesville on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at James Short Park. Loyalsock won 10-9 in the first game of a double header.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Hughesville's Adelyn Knight slides into home as Loyalsock's Shyla Fulp attempts the tag during a high school softball game against Hughesville on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at James Short Park. Loyalsock won 10-9 in the first game of a double header.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Lydia Kresock (25) throws for Loyalsock during a high school softball game against Hughesville on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at James Short Park. Loyalsock won 10-9 in the first game of a double header.