If Youngsville was going to make one last run in the District 10 playoffs, the 2025 season was now or never.

Mission accomplished.

The fourth-seeded Lady Eagles (6-10) will return to the Class A playoffs after a lengthy absence when they battle West Middlesex at 6 p.m. today at Slippery Rock University. The winner of that semifinal game will advance to Monday’s Class A championship.

“This is a great accomplishment for the girls,” said Youngsville coach Neal Kent. “It’s a great day for the upperclassman who have worked so hard over these last four years as well as a fantastic experience for our freshmen and sophomores.”

The Big Reds (8-10) enter the tournament as the top seed and feature a relatively balanced lineup from top to bottom.

The team’s leading hitter is senior Kaylee Long who leads the team with 19 hits and a .413 batting average. Junior Harper Nickel hit .356 with a team-best three home runs and 22 runs scored and freshman Allison Blanton hit .353 for the year. Senior Julia Thornton led the Big Reds in RBIs this season with 15.

Long and Nickel are the team’s primary pitchers. Long struck out a team-best 76 batters in 2025 with Nickel not far behind with 44 punch outs.

Youngsville is led offensively by its third and fourth batters in the order — Hailey Gray and Ireland Abraham. Gray hit .569 this season with Abraham close behind with a .459 batting average. Both batters had on-base percentages over .600, Gray had a team-high 29 hits and Abraham blasted two home runs.

Center-fielder Marli Rectenwald had many key hits and RBIs from the fifth spot in the batting order and pitcher Kamden Swearingen recorded all six victories in the circle for Youngsville.

According to Kent, Youngsville’s added emphasis on defense and leadership in several key positions has been hugely important for his team and its improvement.

“We have done a great job improving our defense this season,” said Kent.

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Added Kent: “This has been immensely important and the girls have worked very hard at this. As coaches, we’re incredibly proud of how this group has matured. Our four seniors — Kamden Swearingen, Alyssa Gentz, Kennedy Allen and Ireland Abraham — as well as junior Hailey Gray have been incredible leaders for us all season.”

Youngsville’s semifinal contest today is the second half of a playoff doubleheader. Sharpsville and Wilmington are scheduled to play in a Class AA contest at 4 p.m.