After finishing second in Class 3A last season, the Providence softball team knew it would have a target on its back all season.

That was no different Tuesday in the first semifinal of the Class 3A Providence Sectional against Oak Forest.

In the early going, the Bengals held the potent Celtics’ offense in check, but Providence broke through in the top of the fourth with eight runs en route to a 10-0, five-inning victory. The Celtics (28-7) will play the winner of Wednesday’s Morris-Tinley Park matchup in Friday’s sectional championship.

Aleigh Hill was a catalyst for the Celtics’ offense, going 3 for 3 with a double, scoring three runs and collecting two RBIs. Western Michigan recruit Angelina Cole hit a three-run homer in the eight-run fourth, and teammate Ava Misch (2 for 3, RBI) followed that with a solo homer of her own, the third long ball of the season for the Celtics’ cleanup hitter.

“That home run felt good,” Misch said. “With hitters like Bella Cortes and Bella Olszta at the top of the lineup, it seems like I am always hitting with runners on base. Unless, of course, Angelina hit a home run right in front of me, like she did tonight.

“Once we started hitting, it was contagious. It’s been that way all year. When a couple of girls in a row get hits, we really feed off that and no one wants the rally to end. And when we get a few runs, we feel pretty good about our chances with Macie [Robbins] pitching.”

Robbins was the beneficiary of the Providence offense, and she more than did her part. She allowed just two hits and struck out seven in five innings.

“Even though we didn’t score in the first two innings, I knew that our offense would get going,” Robbins said. “I just wanted to keep us in the game until that happened.”

The Celtics got on the board in the top of the third. Hill led off with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Olszta (1 for 3, two RBIs). Before she scored, she was able to escape a rundown between third and home safely on a fielder’s choice by Cortes, keeping the sacrifice fly option open for Oiszta.

Providence used some more aggressive baserunning to extend its lead in the fourth before Cole and Misch went deep. Misch led off with a single, and Mia Sanfratello bunted her to second and was safe when the Oak Forest fielder pulled her foot from the bag early. Robbins then bunted Misch and courtesy runner Kelsie Roeder to third and second, respectively.

Hill followed with a grounder up the middle that the Oak Forest shortstop fielded, but Roeder didn’t slow down around third and came in to score. Olivia Vittori singled, and Addison Quinlan walked to load the bases. An out later, Olszta singled to bring home Hill and Vittori before Cole homered for an 8-0 lead. Misch’s bomb made it 9-0.

The Celtics made it 10-0 in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by Cortes, scoring Hill, who led off with a single, before Robbins retired Oak Forest in order in the bottom of the fifth, ending the game with a pair of strikeouts.

“The second time through the order, our girls knew what to expect and made their adjustments,” Providence coach Jim Holba said. “We did a good job of putting the ball in play, getting our bunts down and running the bases. We scored from second on a ball that didn’t leave the infield, and Macie really attacked the strike zone.

“We played good defense. Our outfield ran down some balls and made some nice catches. Once the hitting got started, that was great to see. Having 1 through 9 in the order be dangerous is huge.”