The long week for St. Aloysius’ softball team is done. It ended in style, with an easy sweep of Ethel in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs.

The Lady Flashes won both games by run rule in the fifth inning, 11-1 and 14-0 Saturday afternoon at Bazinsky Park. The sweep moves St. Al (15-6) into a second-round series against Bogue Chitto starting next Saturday. The Lady Bobcats will be an opponent that pitcher Sarah Franco got to see first-hand last week.

“They beat us 2-1 last week at the Brookhaven Tournament. The time limit got us. They got a really good hit late in the game, but I think it showed we have a good chance to beating them,” said Franco, who threw seven complete games and 42 innings last week.

St Al played two games in the Brookhaven Tournament, two division games on Monday at two different spots in Sebastapol and Pelahatchie, one game Tuesday at Puckett and one final contest at home for the Division 7-1A title against Stringer. Franco went 5-2 in the outings, allowing just seven hits in the five wins.

Franco and the Lady Flashes had little trouble taking care of Ethel (6-10).

“We got a two-day break from all those games early in the week, so my arm felt okay,” said Franco, who had eight strikeouts in game 2 and four in Game 1. She also had three RBIs in Game 2, two coming on groundouts.

St. Al scored two runs in the first and then struck for nine in the second to go up 11-0 in Game 2. Katie Koestler led off the second with a hit to right while Hannah Barrett reached on an error and Taylor Ann Hasty singled to left. After two outs, Franco scored Barrett on an infield hit, Mallory McGuffie drew a bases-loaded walk and Sara Howington followed with a two-run single to center to make it 8-0.

The inning continued with Koestler getting her second hit and Barrett doubling off the third base bag to make it 11-0.

Haley Heggins and Catelyn Park led off the third with infield hits. Two groundouts brought them home for a 13-0 lead. Koestler then got her third hit of the game with a triple to right to score Howington, who had reached on an error to make it 14-0.

“We hit the ball good today. We quit trying to swing for the fence, instead we hit the ball in the holes,” St. Al coach Gene Rogillio said.

Franco retired the last six Lady Tigers to lock up the game and the series. Ethel was limited to one hit, a first inning single by Morgan Adcock. St. Al had 12 hits, led by Koestler’s 3-for-3 game.

In Game 1, Catelyn Park went 3-for-4, including a two-run single to key a seven-run fourth inning that gave St. Al an 8-0 lead. Haley Heggins had a two-run hit in the inning. Franco had two hits and K.K. DeRossette scored two runs.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com