MORRISVILLE — There wasn’t any one thing that propelled the Green Hope softball team to its 9-1 victory over Cary on Friday. Instead, the Falcons were able to cruise by thanks to a balanced attack that saw seven different batters drive in at least one run and keep Green Hope among the leaders jockeying for the Tri-Eight title as the season winds down.

Green Hope (10-6, 6-3 Tri-Eight) totaled 15 hits on the day, and pitcher Crystal Devine gave up one unearned run, striking out seven and only walking two, as she picked up her eighth win on the year as the Falcons led from start to finish.

The victory allowed Green Hope to match last season’s win total with five games left to finish.

“Last year was my first year coaching and my goal was to finish .500, which we did 10-10 and make the playoffs and we got that last spot,” coach Michelle Then said. “This year, if we keep doing the things we’re supposed to we should pull a three or four [seed.”

In the first inning, catcher Grace Jungclas belted an RBI double into right-center field to score Kerri-Ann Pisano, who had also doubled before being bunted over to third.

The second saw seven Green Hope batters as Devine used a Cary error to drive in a run for a 2-0 lead. Senior Sarah Forgacs picked up an RBI on a fielder’s choice and Pisano made it back-to-back-to-back RBI’s after singling to score Devine.

“We have a real strong hitting team this year and it's nice because when one player is down, the others pick them up,” Then said.

With a 4-0 lead in hand, the Falcons blew the game open in the fourth — all thanks to one Erica Taylor at-bat.

Taylor, the team’s third baseman, was at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded when Cary’s pitcher lofted a wild pitch that scored Sara James from third and advanced the other runners to second and third.

When Taylor got a pitch she could handle, it appeared to be a routine fielder’s choice that would only score the run from third. But the Imps’ first baseman didn’t turn in time to see the speedy Forgacs rounding third.

The Campbell signee slid in safe, scoring from second on a play few players would’ve been able to advance as many bases.

Being aggressive on the base paths is just another part of the shortstop’s role as the leadoff hitter.

“You want to take whatever weakness you’re up against and use it to your advantage,” Forgacs, who also used her speed to reach base on a bunt single, said.

“If the other teams aren’t paying attention or they’re slacking or they just aren’t looking for the play, that’s when you can make spectacular plays and be a good base runner. You just have to catch them at their weakest point, when they’re not into the game.”

The win put Green Hope temporarily in a tie for third place in the Tri-Eight. The Falcons had four full games remaining on the schedule, and an incomplete contest against Fuquay-Varina (Fuquay led 4-1 after four innings before the game was called for rain).

While still an outside chance for a conference title, it’s more likely Green Hope will be returning to the playoffs for the second consecutive season with something higher than the fifth seed.

And for a program that hasn’t been known for being competitive in the sport, this year has been a welcomed change — especially for outgoing seniors like Forgacs.

“It’s awesome. We’ve really picked up our game and we’ve picked up the attitudes and we’ve done a good job of coming together as a team and we picked up the program in general,” Forgacs said. “We’ve proved to people that we can play softball.”

Playoffs don’t appear to be in the cards for Cary, which slipped to 2-10 overall and 1-6 in the conference. But Then was quick to note the Imps’ improvement since the teams first met on March 31.

“Cary is a good team. They’ve improved since the first time we played them,” Then said. “They put the ball in play a lot today.”