The Marquette softball team got off to a good start in Tuesday’s Class 1A Serena Regional semifinal.

The top-seeded Crusaders scored a pair of runs in the first against No. 8-seeded Momence and then exploded for eight runs on eight hits in the third on the way to an eventual 11-0 victory in five innings.

Marquette (24-7) moves on to Friday’s 4 p.m. championship game against the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between No. 4 Serena and No. 6 Donovan. Momence ends the season at 5-15.

“When it gets to the postseason, you’re playing to keep playing,” Marquette coach Curtiss Johnson said. “You have to show up ready to play every game, and I thought we came out today ready to go. We talked today about breaking the game down, just win each inning, and if you do that, we’re going to be good.”

In the Crusaders’ first, Hunter Hopkins reached on a bunt single, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a booming triple to centerfield by Kelsey Cuchra. Cuchra then scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0.

In the third, Cuchra started the huge rally with a base hit. After a flyout, Lily Brewer, Chloe Thrush and Savannah Erickson recorded consecutive singles with each knocking in a run. Then, with two outs, Madisyn Trainor and Hopkins poked back-to-back RBI hits before Cuchra lined a two-run double to left center to make it 10-0.

“I thought offensively almost every single at-bat was a competitive at-bat,” Johnson said. “We had a good approach and did a great job of waiting back and hitting the ball the other way. We made the adjustments throughout the game that we needed to make.”

Lefty Taylor Gamons put the icing on the cake in the fourth by slicing a two-out, opposite field inside-the-park home run just out of the reach of diving Momence left fielder Jaesyn Walk.

“I felt like I hit the ball pretty good on that one, but where it went, I didn’t know if the left fielder was going to be able to get to it or not,” Gamons said. “I actually didn’t see the ball get past her; I was just running. Then I looked at coach Johnson as I was between first and second, and he was waving me to keep going. Then, as I was getting close to third, he was still waving me around and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’

“That’s the very first time I ever had an inside-the-park home run. I still can’t believe it.”

Hopkins and Cuchra both went 3 for 3 on the day, while Thrush finished with two hits.

Marquette winning pitcher Kinley Rick allowed just one hit, two walks and struck out eight in the shutout.

“Kinley pitched a great game,” Johnson said. “She did what we asked her to do, and that was to just throw strikes and let your defense do their thing.”

Emma Varnak lined a single to center with two outs in the fourth for Momence’s lone hit, while Jaylee Kersey and Payton Wigmore worked walks. Adyson Wilkson (4 IP, 13 H, 11 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) suffered the loss in the circle.

“[Marquette] is the top seed, and we knew this would be a tough one for us,” Momence first-year coach Dave Singleton said. “We put the ball in play, not as much as we would have liked, and they made all the plays defensively.

“We have a relatively young and inexperienced team, but they have really improved throughout the season. Last year we only won one game and this year we won five, including our first regional win in probably 10 years.

“I’m hoping this year was the first step in building a good, solid culture.”