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JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Portage was in control of Monday afternoon's District 6 Class 1A softball quarterfinal playoff game for the first five and one-half innings.
However, top-seeded Conemaugh Valley's offense came to life and brought the Blue Jays back from an early seven-run deficit, with one huge inning deciding the outcome in an 18-9 victory over the visiting Mustangs.
Conemaugh Valley (17-4) earned the opportunity to host fourth-seeded Juniata Valley in a district semifinal contest Thursday.
The Blue Jays swept a pair of mercy-rule regular-season games against Portage, but were down 9-2 after the ninth-seeded Mustangs (11-12) plated four runs in the top of the fifth. Conemaugh Valley subsequently chipped away with three tallies in the bottom of the frame to get within striking distance.
That set the stage for the Blue Jays to send 18 batters to the plate in the sixth inning and erupt for 13 runs thanks to a cascade of timely hits combined with Portage miscues.
"It's tough to beat a team three straight," Conemaugh Valley coach Paula McCleester said. "They came out loose and were ready for us."
"We have had big innings like that before; the girls just had to believe in themselves. All it takes is just one player, one hit, or one bobble or error on their part to give us a chance."
Senior center fielder Kylee Ferguson had three of Conemaugh Valley's 12 hits, while also driving in three runs. Laine Poborski picked up the win in relief with 1 2/3 scoreless innings in the circle and blasted a two-run homer to deep center field that put her team up 12-9 in the decisive sixth inning.
"My team is always there for me when I'm pitching," Poborski said. "We work really hard and put our whole hearts into it, and our coaches give us motivation."
"I've been hitting a lot of pop flies to the outfield, so I was like, 'Let's just try to hit it harder this time,' " referring to her home run.
"We've had innings like that against them several times," Portage coach Tim Trusik said. "If we could have gotten out of that sixth inning with a couple less walks and errors, we had a shot."
The Mustangs got on the board in the top of the first with Reese Pinizzotto's run-scoring single, and later increased that advantage to 3-0 in the third when third baseman Mikaila McCoy launched a two-out, two-run homer to center.
Portage again struck with two outs in the fourth on Kendall Stancovich's double that brought in Sarah Halerz and Avery Smith to make it 5-0.
Megan Bilak was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the fourth and later came home on an error for Conemaugh Valley's first run. Dani Toth's sacrifice fly then pulled the Blue Jays within 5-2.
The Mustangs answered with four in the top of the fifth, highlighted by an RBI single from Kiera McCarty and Stancovich's two-run single.
Ferguson's two-run double and Bilak's run-scoring single in the fifth pulled the Blue Jays within 9-5 before Conemaugh Valley took advantage of seven hits, three walks, three Mustang errors, a hit batter and a passed ball in the pivotal 13-run sixth.
Maddie McCleester raced home on a passed ball to tie it at 9-all, and a subsequent error allowed Bilak to score the go-ahead run after her two-run single earlier in the frame.
Poborski followed with her round-tripper, and consecutive RBI singles from Allison Stiffler, Ferguson and McCleester helped fuel the remainder of the Blue Jay rally.
"We just have to stay grounded and focused going forward," Coach McCleester said. "This is a busy time of year, especially for the seniors, and we need to keep working to our goal of a district championship and beyond."
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However, top-seeded Conemaugh Valley's offense came to life and brought the Blue Jays back from an early seven-run deficit, with one huge inning deciding the outcome in an 18-9 victory over the visiting Mustangs.
Conemaugh Valley (17-4) earned the opportunity to host fourth-seeded Juniata Valley in a district semifinal contest Thursday.
The Blue Jays swept a pair of mercy-rule regular-season games against Portage, but were down 9-2 after the ninth-seeded Mustangs (11-12) plated four runs in the top of the fifth. Conemaugh Valley subsequently chipped away with three tallies in the bottom of the frame to get within striking distance.
That set the stage for the Blue Jays to send 18 batters to the plate in the sixth inning and erupt for 13 runs thanks to a cascade of timely hits combined with Portage miscues.
"It's tough to beat a team three straight," Conemaugh Valley coach Paula McCleester said. "They came out loose and were ready for us."
"We have had big innings like that before; the girls just had to believe in themselves. All it takes is just one player, one hit, or one bobble or error on their part to give us a chance."
Senior center fielder Kylee Ferguson had three of Conemaugh Valley's 12 hits, while also driving in three runs. Laine Poborski picked up the win in relief with 1 2/3 scoreless innings in the circle and blasted a two-run homer to deep center field that put her team up 12-9 in the decisive sixth inning.
"My team is always there for me when I'm pitching," Poborski said. "We work really hard and put our whole hearts into it, and our coaches give us motivation."
"I've been hitting a lot of pop flies to the outfield, so I was like, 'Let's just try to hit it harder this time,' " referring to her home run.
"We've had innings like that against them several times," Portage coach Tim Trusik said. "If we could have gotten out of that sixth inning with a couple less walks and errors, we had a shot."
The Mustangs got on the board in the top of the first with Reese Pinizzotto's run-scoring single, and later increased that advantage to 3-0 in the third when third baseman Mikaila McCoy launched a two-out, two-run homer to center.
Portage again struck with two outs in the fourth on Kendall Stancovich's double that brought in Sarah Halerz and Avery Smith to make it 5-0.
Megan Bilak was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the fourth and later came home on an error for Conemaugh Valley's first run. Dani Toth's sacrifice fly then pulled the Blue Jays within 5-2.
The Mustangs answered with four in the top of the fifth, highlighted by an RBI single from Kiera McCarty and Stancovich's two-run single.
Ferguson's two-run double and Bilak's run-scoring single in the fifth pulled the Blue Jays within 9-5 before Conemaugh Valley took advantage of seven hits, three walks, three Mustang errors, a hit batter and a passed ball in the pivotal 13-run sixth.
Maddie McCleester raced home on a passed ball to tie it at 9-all, and a subsequent error allowed Bilak to score the go-ahead run after her two-run single earlier in the frame.
Poborski followed with her round-tripper, and consecutive RBI singles from Allison Stiffler, Ferguson and McCleester helped fuel the remainder of the Blue Jay rally.
"We just have to stay grounded and focused going forward," Coach McCleester said. "This is a busy time of year, especially for the seniors, and we need to keep working to our goal of a district championship and beyond."
Continue reading...
