Whitehall's battery provided the spark in the District XI opener, as Mackenzie Guzy's bat and Kay Solderitch's arm helped drive them into the quarterfinals.

Guzy went 3-4 with three runs batted in, while Kay Solderitch tossed a complete-game four hitter en route to a 10-1 victory over Emmaus at Whitehall's home field on Tuesday.

It marked the third time the Zephs have beaten the Green Hornets this season, and puts them on track to face the Trojans in the quarters on Wednesday.

The combination of timely hitting and shutdown pitching brought a postgame smile to head coach Alexis Berg-Townsend's face.

"They came out, and I told them this was step one of the four steps we had to accomplish," said Berg-Townsend.

The first leg in that journey was fueled by both Guzy and Kay Solderitch, helping the Zephs successfully complete the first step.

Being smack dab in the middle of the action suits Guzy just fine. She gets to handle the pitching staff led by southpaw Kay Solderitch, surveying the whole field from her vantage point.

"I really like being a part of everything," said Guzy. "I love catching."

Guzy recently returned to catching after an arm injury forced her to move to third. But now she's back at the position she loves, relishing in her role as the field general.

Berg-Townsend said that Guzy excels in that role.

"Guzy's a natural catcher," said Berg-Townsend. "She has that instinct, and it's great when you have players on the field with that instinct, because by the time it's relayed from the coaching staff it's too late."

Her defensive skills were also on display, throwing a runner out at first, preventing a potential big inning by the Hornets. In that frame, Emmaus got runners on first and second with nobody out, but Guzy fired behind the runner who was looking to steal, recording the out. While they did manage to push across a run in that inning, Guzy's play helped limit the damage.

As the receiver, Guzy gets to catch Kay Solderitch who recently earned first team Eastern Pennsylvania Conference honors as the Utility Player. Against the Hornets, Guzy said that Kay Solderitch used her complete arsenal, along with good command to keep them off balance.

"She was really hitting her spots well," said Guzy. "And she kept hitting it with what the umpire was calling because some umpires have different strike zones, so it was nice where she was putting it."

Guzy was also in the middle of their big inning when they batted around. She came up with the bases loaded and shot a single through the middle, scoring two. That opened the floodgates as they pushed six runs across for an 8-0 lead.

She said that her approach was to keep things simple.

"I just came up with my head cleared, not trying to worry about anything," said Guzy. "I just cleared my mind, and just did what I had to do."

Berg-Townsend said Guzy excels at putting the ball in play, rarely strikes out, keeping innings alive.

The Zephs got on the board first. In the bottom of the first, Kay Solderitch got aboard on an infield hit. She stole second, advancing to third on Cara Bonshak's sacrifice bunt. That brought to the plate Tuesday's hitting stars as Abby Nguyen and Guzy stroked back-to-back triples to give the Zephs the 2-0 lead. Nguyen also finished the game 3-4, including a triple and three RBIs.

Berg-Townsend said getting the leadoff hitter aboard every inning is an important catalyst, helping to boost confidence.

"Watching then all season long, if they get that first batter on, they're really good at kind of continuing that trend," she said. "If that first batter doesn't get on in an inning, we kind of have a little sink down. Today they put the ball in play and made things happen."

Guzy said that they expected the Hornets to be out for revenge since they were swept in the season series. They tailored their practice toward that end.

"We worked on a lot of things to enable us to beat them again," Guzy said.

They'll now look to dislodge the Trojans, the No. 1 seed in the tourney and owners of a 22-1 record. Berg-Townsend knows it will take a strong effort.

"It'll be just putting the ball in play and having confidence," she said.

She said teams get intimidated by the record and lose their confidence.

"If we continue to just put the ball in play, eventually we're going to score those runs we need," Berg-Townsend said.