SCRANTON — It’s a tough situation for any pitcher.in

Playoff seeding on the line. A chance to avenge a loss from earlier in the season. Now, add in the fact Anna Babyak is a freshman.

The pressure never broke the young Wallenpaupack player. Instead, she thrived in the moment on a big stage.

Babyak held a good West Scranton lineup to just five hits, and punched out 14 batters. The offense did the rest, jumping out to a three-run lead after one inning as Wallenpaupack picked up the 8-3 win over the Lady Invaders on Saturday afternoon at the University of Scranton’s Magis Field.

“I had a few nerves, but throughout the game, I felt like I was getting more comfortable,” Babyak said. “I had a lot of support from my teammates. It’s tough being a pitcher, but it’s always about pushing through the hard times.”

While West Scranton entered the day locked into the No. 2 spot in the upcoming District 2-4 Class 6A playoffs, Wallenpaupack’s destiny was still to be determined.

A win over the Lady Invaders, and the Lady Buckhorns would hop into the third spot in the Class 4A playoffs. That’s big because it would give Wallenpaupack a more favorable matchup in the quarterfinals with No. 6 Berwick instead of playing a Dallas team that’s swinging a good bat late in the season, including a six-spot put up against Lake-Lehman’s Division I pitcher Hannah Chipego in an 8-6 loss Friday.

“Right out of the bat, that was huge to get up in the first inning,” Wallenpaupack coach Chris Doty said. “West is a very, very strong offensive team. To put the three was huge. Anna was incredible. I didn’t even realize that she had 14 strikeouts. That’s big for a freshman. We are very proud.”

This game belonged to Babyak.

Admittedly, she was nervous coming into the game as she was touched up by West Scranton in the first meeting, losing in extra innings.

Saturday, she was in full control. She struck out at least one batter in every inning, and struck out four of the final seven hitters — including two straight to end the game.

“Anna is very composed,” Doty said. “She’s mature beyond her years. To be honest, the biggest thing she was upset about was getting doubled-up at first base. But then, she goes back in the field and retires three in a row. We are very proud of her.”

Babyak allowed three runs, but only one was earned as a dropped pop fly to left scored McKenna Brudnicki and Brianna Connor as West trimmed the deficit to 4-3 in the fourth.

But the Lady Buckhorns immediately answered with two in the fifth, taking advantage of one of five Lady Invaders errors, coupled with Alexa Laing’s second RBI of the game.

Wallenpaupack (11-9) then added two in the sixth, two runs scoring on an error on Adrianna Milutinovic’s infield roller.

“This win is huge. No matter what happens, we will finish with a winning record,” Doty said. “We had some bumps in the road early, and they just performed. We are very happy with where they ended up.”

It was the perfect start for the Lady Buckhorns.

Lucy Babyak drilled a one-out single to right, and Reagan Anderson was drilled with a pitch to put two on for the middle of the order. Hannah Daidone’s double to left scored one, and Milutinovic ripped a double to right-center, scoring two, as ‘Paupack led, 3-0, after one.

West got one back in the first on Brudnicki’s RBI double to left-center, but the Lady Buckhorns got it right back to three in the third when Laing drew a bases-loaded walk.

For the Lady Invaders, it will be about shaking off the loss, and regrouping for the postseason. West (11-9) has a quarterfinal bye, and will most likely get a rematch with Hazleton Area in the semifinals. Earlier this season, West mercy-ruled the Cougars, 13-3, in Hazle Twp.

West Scranton’s last district title came in 2021 when the team was in Class 5A, advancing to the state semifinals that season.

“We are excited to get into the playoffs. We have been preparing for this all year, and the goal has been to play our best in districts,” West coach John Connor said. “Overall, I am happy with the growth of the girls, and their grit and determination. That old-school West Side feeling is back in the dugout. I am hoping that we are going to make some noise in playoffs.”

For Wallenpaupack, it will be about navigating a brutal Class 4A bracket with one-loss Tunkhannock and the reigning PIAA Class 4A champ Valley View.

“We have some stuff to work on, but as a team, I feel like we’ve been getting so much better throughout the season,” Babyak said. “I am excited for playoffs. I hope we can go really far.”