Pottsville's Peyton Eckert pitches to Minersville's Rilynn Brennan during Wednesday's non-league game at the CACL Complex. Catching for Pottsville is Olivia Wessner. The home plate umpire is Ed Novack. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)

POTTSVILLE — Hittin’ season has arrived.

Temperatures soared into the 70s and 80s this week under a spring sun getting stronger and higher in the sky every day.

As the weather warms up, the bats get hotter for many teams, and that surely rang true for Pottsville on Wednesday afternoon.

The Crimson Tide scored in five of the six innings played to pull away from Minersville 14-4 in a non-league softball game at the CACL Complex.

Pottsville (9-7) clubbed 13 hits, getting contributions up and down the lineup. The Miners (7-10) had their moments at the plate, too, but the Tide took the lead in the first inning. They tacked on runs consistently from there by combining solid at-bats with heads-up baserunning and some Minersville miscues.

“I was really pleased with the way we swung the bats today,” Pottsville coach Chuck Rinaldo said. “It all started, probably later in the Panther Valley game (Tuesday) night. That being said, it carried over to today, and we scored in almost every inning. I never thought we would 10-run rule them. They’re a nice team. You’ve got to give Minersville credit. They’re a young team. They’re well-coached, and they’ve got a good future coming ahead of them.”

Minersville showed some of that promise in the first inning by jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Two errors set the table, and Eila O’Brien cashed in with an RBI groundout. Bella Rizzardi followed with an RBI single for the quick lead.

Pottsville, though, answered by batting around in the bottom of the first inning. The Tide bunched five hits, a walk and an error to take a 5-2 lead. Megan Yost rapped an RBI single, while Jo Barnhart and Olivia Wessner each smacked a two-run single in the outburst.

The Tide added three unearned runs in the second inning for an 8-2 advantage. Reese Ketner delivered an RBI single, and Barnhart followed with her second two-run single in as many innings. Both of those hits came with two outs.

The Miners tried to make a game of it by getting two runs back in the third inning, cutting the deficit to 8-4. O’Brien belted an RBI single, and Rizzardi picked up an RBI on a groundout.

Grace Sterner and Payton Frantz also sparked Minersville’s offense. Both players went 2-for-3, and both scored twice.

That’s as close as Minersville got because Pottsville used mistakes by the Miners to score one run in the third and three more in the fifth. Winning pitcher Peyton Eckert helped herself by going 2-for-4, including a two-run single in that three-run fifth inning that gave the Tide a 12-4 advantage.

For the Tide, Jes Siminitus went 2-for-4 with two runs scored; Yost went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI; Ketner went 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI; Barnhart finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a run scored; Wessner went 2-for-3 with two RBIs; and Lana Cromyak went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI.

Eckert went the distance in the circle for Pottsville. She allowed six hits and four runs (two earned) while striking out seven and walking none.

Game Summary

MINERSVILLE (4) — Brennan cf 3 0 0 0, Sterner 2b 3 2 2 0, Frantz 1b 3 2 2 0, O’Brien p-rf 2 0 1 2, Rizzardi ss 3 0 1 2, McGrath c 3 0 0 0, Cruz lf 3 0 0 0, Long 3b 3 0 0 0, Motuk rf 1 0 0 0, Plesnarski rf 1 0 0 0, Laudeman p 1 0 0 0. Totals 26 4 6 4.

POTTSVILLE (14) — Siminitus cf 4 2 2 0, Scanlan ss 5 0 0 0, Yost rf 4 2 2 1, Eckert p 4 0 2 2, Borger cr 0 2 0 0, Ketner 1b 3 2 1 1, Barnhart 3b 3 1 2 4, Kunstek lf 4 1 0 0, Wessner c 3 0 2 2, Kalovcak cr 0 2 0 0, Cromyak 2b 3 2 2 1. Totals 33 14 13 11.

Min (7-10)                202      000 —  4

Potts (9-7)              531       032 — 14

E — Minersville 8, Pottsville 3

DP — Minersville 1

LOB — Minersville 5, Pottsville 5

SB — Rizzardi, Borger 2, Kalovcak 2, Siminitus, Yost, Ketner

SF — Cromyak

Minersville

                                       IP     H      R       ER    BB    K

O’Brien L,2-8           3       9       9         5       1       1

Laudeman             2.2      4       5         2       3      2

Pottsville

                  IP     H      R       ER    BB    K

Eckert W,8-7          6       6       4         2       0      7

WP — Eckert 2. PB — Wessner. Illegal pitches — Laudeman. T — 1:36.

Tri-Valley 7, Shenandoah Valley 0

SHENANDOAH — Tri-Valley (12-3, 9-2 D-II) received a forfeit win when Shenandoah Valley (4-13, 2-9 D-II) did not have enough players to field a full team, Tri-Valley athletic director Rick Otto confirmed Wednesday.

The Bulldogs travel to Williams Valley on Thursday for a big Division II rivalry clash. Game time is 4:30 p.m. WPPA 1360 AM and A-106 (105.9) FM will broadcast the game live, with JZ on play-by-play and Bob Lipsky on color commentary.