Blue Mountain teammates await Emmerson Frie, left, after she hit a solo home run in the seventh inning against Pottsville in a Division I game May 7, 2026, at the CACL Complex. Later in the inning, Frie hit a second home run, this one a grand slam. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)

Bats come alive in victory over rival Pottsville

POTTSVILLE — Blue Mountain worked on its hitting during Wednesday’s practice.

It showed. Boy, did it show!

The Eagles smacked 20 hits to eventually pull away from Pottsville 18-2 in seven innings in a Schuylkill League Division I contest Thursday at the CACL Complex. Anna Borden went 5-for-5 with three doubles, seven RBIs and four runs scored. Emmerson Frie went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a grand slam — in the same inning. And Addyson Fishburn bunted and slapped her way to a 4-for-5 day with four runs scored. Nine different Eagles had at least one hit.

“(Wednesday) was a blessing in disguise with the rain,” Blue Mountain coach Paul Leonard said. “We couldn’t really get on our field, so we took some time, watched a bunch of film, tried to pick up on tendencies, more of a mental approach. Then we got to go in the cage, the rain kind of cleared up, and these girls probably swung the bat 200 times (Wednesday).

“It was a nice little reset,” Leonard added. “I was worried about a letdown, being so high (after Tuesday’s win over Pine Grove Area). So (Wednesday) really worked out in our favor with the weather.”

With the win, Blue Mountain (19-1, 13-1 D-I) clinched the Division I championship and the bye into the league semifinals that goes with it. Pine Grove Area (18-2, 12-2 D-I) will be the No. 2 seed out of Division I, with North Schuylkill (16-4, 11-3 D-I) taking the No. 3 spot out of the big-school division.

Tri-Valley (14-4, 11-2 D-II) leads Division II, with a game at Weatherly to make up Friday. Schuylkill Haven (14-6, 11-3 D-II) and Williams Valley (16-4, 11-3 D-II) also have qualified for the league playoffs. The Division II order and matchups won’t be finalized until after the Bulldogs play the Wreckers.

The Schuylkill League announced Thursday that the league playoffs will be held Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of next week at Blue Mountain’s Patton Field. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be doubleheaders at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. The championship game May 14 will begin at 6:30 p.m.

“Division I is just a gauntlet,” Paul Leonard said. “Pine Grove, North Schuylkill with us at the top, it’s a battle every time. You better be ready. The Schuylkill League playoffs are going to be fireworks. I expect a lot of good games. It’s going to be exciting.”

Despite the lopsided final score, Pottsville (11-9, 8-6) hung around and made a game of it through five innings.

The Eagles started quickly, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by Borden and an RBI single by Hailey Place.

Blue Mountain’s lead grew to 5-0 in the third when Borden roped a two-run double and Karley Koch singled home a run.

The Crimson Tide answered in the fourth with a pair of runs. Karlee Kalovcak delivered an RBI single, and a second run scored when a throw sailed out of play. Pottsville trailed 5-2 heading to the sixth inning.

Then the Eagles found their hitting stroke again, plating five runs to extend their lead to 10-2. Aryana Reilly (2-for-4, 3 runs) let Blue Mountain breathe easier when she laced a two-run single to right to make it 7-2. Borden followed with a two-run double and scored on a wild pitch.

Blue Mountain batted around plus four in the seventh inning, scoring eight runs on eight hits. Frie led off with a solo home run to center field. She capped the scoring with a grand slam to straightaway center in the same inning. Borden contributed a tw0-run single in the uprising.

Eagles right-hander Emily Leonard (16-1) held Pottsville to five hits and one earned run in a complete-game effort. She struck out seven, walked one and had four 1-2-3 innings. Leonard retired the final nine batters she faced.

“We knew it was Senior Day, and it’s Pottsville,” Paul Leonard said. “We knew we were going to get their best shot. Keeping our free, fun, focused mentality. I didn’t want to put too much on them, but they knew it. Last game of the (regular) season, it’s Pottsville. It’s always a big one.”

Game Summary

BLUE MOUNTAIN (18) — Fishburn cf 5 4 4 0, Reilly 3b 4 3 2 2, Borden 1b 5 4 5 7, Place ss 5 0 1 1, Koch rf 5 1 2 1, Frie c 4 2 2 5, Manbeck cr 0 0 0 0, Av. Hudock 2b 4 1 1 0, Vincent lf 4 1 2 0, Leonard p 4 0 1 0, Phillips cr 0 2 0 0, McKee ph 1 0 0 0. Totals 41 18 20 16.

POTTSVILLE (2) — Siminitus cf 3 0 0 0, Yost 2b 3 0 0 0, Borger lf 3 0 0 0, Eckert p 3 0 1 0, Ketner 1b 3 1 1 0, Wessner c 3 0 1 0, Kalovcak dp 1 0 1 1, Hermany cr-ph 1 1 0 0, Kunstek rf 3 0 0 0, Barnhart ss 2 0 1 0, Ciavarella cr-ph 1 0 0 0, Skripko 3b 0 0 0 0. Totals 26 2 5 1.

E — Blue Mountain 1, Pottsville 3

DP — Pottsville 1

LOB — Blue Mountain 6, Pottsville 4

2B — Borden 3

HR — Frie 2

SB — Place 2, Fishburn, Av. Hudock

CS — Manbeck

SAC — Reilly

Blue Mountain

Pottsville  

HBP — by Eckert (Av. Hudock). WP — Leonard, Eckert. PB — Wessner. T — 2:02.

North Schuylkill 4, Danville 2

DANVILLE — Down by a run, Brigid Flynn blasted a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to lift North Schuylkill to a non-league victory over Danville.

The hit also marked the 100th in Flynn’s career. The senior reached the 100-run milestone during Wednesday’s win over Lourdes. Flynn finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

Flynn went the distance in the circle, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out six and walking one.

Monica Selgrade went 2-for-4 with a double, and Gianna Capone went 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Spartans.

Flynn and Capone; Hickey and Haught. W – Flynn (13-4). L – Hickey.

Hits: North Schuylkill – Flynn 2, Selgrade 2, Capone 2, Frie, Miscannon, Fidler, Holmes. Danville – Wilson 2, Merrell, Blue 2.

2B – Selgrade. HR – Flynn.

Williams Valley 16, Nativity 1

TOWER CITY — Quin Smeltz went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs to power Williams Valley to a Division I win over Nativity at Lee Reiser Field.

Avery Stakem pitched a three-hitter, allowing one unearned run while striking out one and walking one.

The Vikings clubbed 16 hits and scored in every inning. Liv Hand also held a hot bat, going 2-for-2 with a double, a triple, two runs and one RBI.

Other top hitters for Williams Valley included Ella Kobularik, 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and one RBI; Delaney Bixler, 2-for-3 with three runs; Cierra Brill, 2-for-2 with two runs; Kamri Koppenhaver, 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs; and Stakem, 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Addisan Ricard had a single and a run scored for Nativity.

Covell, Stankavage (3) and Lorence; Stakem and Smeltz. W – Stakem (2-0). L – Covell (1-5).

Hits: Nativity – Krapf, Jansson, Ricard. Williams Valley – Kobularik 2, Bixler 2, Hand 2, Ziegler, Smeltz 2, Brill 2, Sorokach, Koppenhaver 2, Stakem 2.

2B – Sorokach, Kobularik, Koppenhaver, Hand. 3B – Hand, Bixler. HR – Smeltz.

Lehighton 3, Marian 2 

LEHIGHTON — Malina Letcher hit a solo home run and drove in both of Marian’s runs in a non-league loss to Lehighton.

Peyton Hausman held the Fillies to three hits and one earned run in a complete-game effort. She struck out five and walked two. Kayla Birrer gave up three runs on six hits in six innings in the circle for Marian.

Sophia Wise sparked the Indians’ offense, going 3-for-3 with a double, a triple, two RBIs and a run scored.

The Fillies also announced that the Marian Catholic Fillies Softball Camp will be held Tuesday-Thursday, July 14-16, at the high school softball field. The camp will run from 9 a.m. to noon each day. The camp is for girls entering grades 3-9. Registration is $70 per player, with a $10 discount for any sibling who registers. All camp attendees will receive a camp shirt. Campers must register by June 30.

Make checks payable to Marian Catholic Softball Boosters and mail to: Coach Lyndsey Reinoehl, Marian Catholic High School, 166 Marian Ave., Tamaqua, PA 18252. For more information, contact Coach Reinoehl at Reinoehl18@gmail.com.

Birrer and Treskolasky; Hausman and Costenbader. W – Hausman. L – Birrer (6-5).

Hits: Marian – Letcher, Birrer, Cannon. Lehighton – Yeakel, Myers, Wise 3, Hausman.

2B – Wise. 3B – Wise. HR – Letcher.

Southern Columbia 11, Mahanoy Area 3

MAHANOY CITY — Callie Zubris doubled and scored a run for Mahanoy Area in a non-league loss to Southern Columbia.

Victoria Davis added a single and three RBIs for the Golden Bears.

Yost, Reuter (6) and Hopper; Sillers, Carl (2), Poslosky (7) and catcher. W – Yost. L – Sillers (1-2).

Hits: Southern Columbia – Yost, Reuter, Fenstermacher, Leck, Miller, Apichall. Mahanoy Area – Mroczka, Killian, Zubris, Davis, Scully.

2B – Zubris.