BROCKWAY — If you got a chance to look in the Elk County Catholic softball team’s dugout this season, you would have seen a casual bunch. Girls could be seen laughing and joking at the expense of a teammate or at their coach’s goofy attitude.

But their calm and nonchalant manner disappeared last Thursday, after losing their District 9 Class A semifinal matchup, putting themselves on the outside of the PIAA state championships.

To keep their season alive, the Lady Crusaders would need to knock off the Otto-Eldred Lady Terrors and pray for a matchup with the Forest Area Lady Fires.

Both happened.

The Lady Crusaders confidently topped the Lady Terrors, 9-4, Monday, and Thursday at Brockway, on the brink of elimination, the Lady Crusaders emerged all business again.

ECC scored in five of seven innings and sprinted past the Lady Fires, 8-7, to earn the second bid to the PIAA state tournament out of District 9.

“When we went to play in the past, the girls were all giddy and loose and they played loose,” ECC coach Eric Weisner said. “But today, it was very quiet on the bus ride down. Coach and I were nervous they were not having fun on the bus. But, they played well, and I can’t complain.”

Wasting no time wallowing in past losses, the Lady Crusaders’ offense scored in each of the first three innings.

Lucy Klawuhn crushed a leadoff triple on the second pitch of the game and slid into the third to howls from the dugout. Lydia Anderson quickly drove Klawuhn in with a sacrifice fly to give ECC the lead.

In the 2nd inning, Klawuhn punched a two-RBI single down to center field, scoring Caitlyn Vollmer and Ellie Baron. The Lady Crusaders led 3-0 after two innings and six of nine batters had reached base.

“Any girl from this lineup can hit,” Weisner said. “And if we can get them all hitting at the same time, look out, because this team is going to be dangerous.”

Having gapped the Lady Fires early, in the same manner they did the Lady Terrors, ECC’s joking and humorous behavior returned.

The players on the bench cracked jokes during the second inning as their coach went to retrieve foul balls in the bushes. But the Lady Fires answered.

Forest loaded the bags with two outs and Emma McFarland laced a ball down the right-field line to clear the bags. With the game tied, the Lady Crusaders’ focused demeanor returned.

Emily Mourer, the starting pitcher for ECC who had surrendered the game-tying triple just minutes earlier, doubled to start the third inning. Mourer then scored, along with Anderson, on a Vollmer single to put ECC back up, 5-3.

Mourer returned to the mound and retired nine of the next ten batters she faced.

“All (Mourer) said to me was, ‘give me the ball, I want to go,’ and that’s her mentality,” Weisner said. “I mean, she’s pretty fearless.”

Mourer threw 102 pitches, struck out two and held the Lady Fires scoreless in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings as the Lady Crusaders built an 8-4 lead.

In the 5th, Baron hit a line drive to center field to score Reagan Bauer, and Syd Alexander touched home on a wild pitch. Anderson then hit another sacrifice fly to score Gabrielle Weisner in the top of the 6th.

Eight of ECC’s 10 batters finished the afternoon with a hit, led by Vollmer’s three hits and two RBI. Klawuhn added two hits, two RBI and scored once.

Forest tested ECC one final time in the 7th. McFarland hit a line-drive single to right to score a pair and scored on a ground out to nearly tie.

But with no jokes or loose play to be found, ECC converted consecutive ground ball outs with throws across the diamond to end the game.

“I expected an extremely tough game, Forest is a very tough and good team, they don’t make many mistakes,” Weisner said. “And I thought defensively we played very solid.”

ECC played a loaded schedule during the regular season and suffered losses to the Class 2A champion Johnsonburg and St. Marys. As a result, the Lady Crusaders had a lesser power rating and a tougher road to the District 9 championship.

But, thanks to the double-elimination true second consolation bracket for teams that advanced to at least the semifinals, they got a chance to prove themselves and earn a spot in states. And Weisner has become very fond of the concept.

“It’s good that they play true second here in softball,” Weisner said. “Because this just proves we played a lot of hard teams.”

The Lady Crusaders now advance to play District 10’s Seagertown Monday in the first round of the PIAA tournament at 1 p.m. Allegheny College.