DARTMOUTH — Yes, your roster is correct. Lila Alvarez of Case is, indeed, a freshman.

She just doesn’t play like one.

Her Cardinals softball teammates are happy with her, no matter what class she’s in, as Alvarez was dominant both in the circle and the batter’s box. She led Case to a 2-0 win over Advanced Math and Science Academy on Wednesday night at UMass Dartmouth in a Div. state semifinal.

Alvarez allowed just two hits, and struck out 11 batters, including the final one. She also had the game-winning RBI in the decisive bottom of the fifth inning.

“I do (consider her a freshman still). I do,” Case coach Shannon Silva said. “And I said that to her after the game. There are still moments when I see a little look in her eyes, and we take a quick breath. But that is a big stage to be on today. That made me nervous coming down the stretch, whether she was going to handle it or not. She hasn’t batted an eye. She handles it. She plays better under pressure. The bigger the game for her, the bigger the moment, the better she does.”

AMSA will offer no argument. The Eagles started a freshman pitcher of their own in Ava McLeod, and she nearly matched Alvarez.

But in a game where both teams seemed to hit their hardest balls directly at the other team’s fielders, Case was finally able to break through in that fifth. Lily Picard led off with a single to center.

Then came some controversy. Madilyn Botelho’s bunt rolled and hit the bat, which was in play still. A throwing error left runners at second and third. AMSA coach Jason Ayik argued that the ball hitting the bat should have eliminated the runner. But the batter was ruled safe after a 20-minute argument.

Alvarez followed with a base hit to left, and Picard scored the game-winning run. Botelho came home on a fielder’s choice, and the two runs held up.

“No, not really,” Alvarez said on whether she considers herself a freshman. “I’ve been playing softball since I was five. I don’t really think age matters.”

Alvarez only faced more that the minimum once all game. That was in the sixth after Case had just scored its runs. Sophia Hammel led off with a single to left, then second on a passed ball. But Alvarez struck out a batter, then induced a grounder to first and pop out to second.

Alvarez sat the AMSA batters in order in the seventh to lock it up.

“She’s always here,” Silva said. “At the end of that game, when she threw her face mask, was the most excited that I’ve ever seen her get. She’s always pretty even keeled.”

Now Case is one win away from repeating as state champs. Maybe Silva will see Alvarez get excited for that one, too.

AMSA’s Guilamina Yost, left, cannot hold onto the ball as Case’s Lila Alvarez makes it safe to first base. (Staff Photo/Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)