ORWIGSBURG — Advantage, Division I.

Pine Grove Area and North Schuylkill put on an offensive display in the Schuylkill League Softball Playoffs on Monday at Patton Field and cruised to quarterfinal victories. Pine Grove Area stopped Schuylkill Haven 12-2 in six innings, and North Schuylkill followed with an 11-1, seven-inning victory over Williams Valley.

The Division I third-place Spartans (17-4) advance to take on Division I champion Blue Mountain (19-1) in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Patton Field. The Division I runner-up Cardinals (19-2) advance to meet Division II champion Tri-Valley (15-4) in the second semifinal at 6:30 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Patton Field.

In the nightcap, North Schuylkill came out attacking at the plate and never stopped. The Spartans racked up 15 hits and had least one baserunner in every inning. They scored in 6-of-7 innings, including a trio of three-run innings, and every starter who batted had at least one hit.

Winning pitcher Brigid Flynn set the tone by smacking the third pitch of the game to right field for a leadoff single in the top of the first inning. Monica Selgrade followed with a single and Jordanna Frie roped an RBI single to right field. Three batters in, North Schuylkill already had three hits and a 1-0 lead. Frie stole second base and later scored on an error to make it 2-0.

“We knew we had to come out hitting early in the game,” North Schuylkill coach Jack Flynn said. “In the last few games of the regular season, against Tamaqua, against Pottsville, against Danville, we didn’t get runs on the board early, and that was one of our goals today. … Our pitching did a great job today, so that was our game plan.”

Working with an early lead, Flynn painted the corners and forced Williams Valley (16-5) into a lot of weak contact. Flynn retired the first nine batters she faced, finishing with a five-hit complete game, five strikeouts and one walk. She also recorded 13 ground-ball outs as the Spartans’ defense played well behind their senior right-hander.

“We just tried to mix up her pitches, whether is was a screwball, change-up,” Jack Flynn said. “Usually those are her go-to pitches, so she did a good job with her placement there. And then her fastball in and out. She did a great job out there.”

Meanwhile, North Schuylkill stretched its lead throughout.

In the second inning, Flynn lofted a sacrifice fly, and Selgrade and Frie delivered back-to-back RBI doubles as the lead grew to 5-0.

Gianna Capone’s RBI single and Mallorie Croker’s two-run double pushed the Spartans’ advantage to 8-0 in the top of the fourth.

Williams Valley got one run back in the fourth when Ella Kobularik and Delaney Bixler (2-for-3) singled, and Kobularik scored on Quin Smeltz’s RBI groundout. Mallory Mace went 2-for-3, but that was all the offense the Vikings could muster against Flynn.

Selgrade put the finishing touches on the victory by blasting a three-run home run to straightaway center field in the seventh inning. It was the third home run of the season for Selgrade, who finished 3-for-4 with a double, a homer, four RBIs and three runs scored out of the No. 2 spot in the lineup.

Flynn went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI batting leadoff, and Frie finished 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and two RBIs out of the No. 3 hole. Flynn batted third and Frie fifth much of the season.

“We did change our lineup a little bit from what we had throughout most of the year,” Jack Flynn said. “We switched some hitters near the top of the lineup, and I think it’s done a great job the last few games with our hitting.”

 

Game Summary

Schuylkill League Quarterfinals

At Patton Field

NORTH SCHUYLKILL (11) — Flynn p 4 2 3 1, Selgrade cf 4 3 3 4, Frie 1b 5 2 3 2, Capone c 5 0 1 1, K. Nahodil cr 0 1 0 0, Croker 3b 3 0 1 2, Holmes lf 4 0 1 0, Jones dp 4 1 1 0, Miscannon ss 2 2 1 0, Fidler 2b 3 0 1 0, Cuttic rf 0 0 0 0. Totals 34 11 15 10.

WILLIAMS VALLEY (1) — Kobularik ss 3 1 1 0, Bixler rf 3 0 2 0, Hand p-3b 3 0 0 0, Smeltz c 2 0 0 1, McAloose cr 0 0 0 0, Brill 2b 3 0 0 0, Perhach 1b 3 0 0 0, Koppenhaver dp 3 0 0 0, Mace cf 3 0 2 0, Stakem 3b-dp 1 0 0 0, Underkoffler ph 1 0 0 0, Sorokach ph 1 0 0 0, Shomper lf 0 0 0 0. Totals 26 1 5 1.

Teams	123	456	7	—	Runs
NS (17-4)	230	300	3	—	11
WV (16-5)	000	100	0	—	1

 

E — North Schuylkill 1, Williams Valley 1

DP — Williams Valley 2

LOB — North Schuylkill 7, Williams Valley 5

2B — Selgrade, Frie, Holmes, Croker

HR — Selgrade

SB — Frie, Flynn

SAC — Fidler

SF — Flynn

North Schuylkill

Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
Flynn W,14-4	7	5	1	1	1	5

Williams Valley

Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
Hand L,8-4	4.1	12	8	4	1	3
Koppenhaver	2.2	3	3	3	3	2

WP — Flynn. T — 1:50.

Pine Grove Area 12, Schuylkill Haven 2

ORWIGSBURG — Pine Grove Area squeezes the life out of opponents with a potent mix of speed, short game and just enough power.

Schuylkill Haven (14-7) experienced that during the first Schuylkill League quarterfinal as the Cardinals posted 10 hits, nine stolen bases, three sacrifice bunts and a sacrifice fly to overwhelm the Hurricanes.

While all that offense steadily built the lead, winning pitcher Chelcy Clark pitched five strong innings. She allowed two runs on four hits and struck out eight while walking one. Jamie Dinger tossed one inning of relief as the Cardinals aimed to keep both pitchers fresh for tonight’s semifinal against Tri-Valley.

A fired-up, fist-pumping Pine Grove Area jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Callee Leffler worked a leadoff walk, stole second and third and scored on Dinger’s RBI single. Later in the inning, Meadow Umbenhauer laced a two-run single to make it 3-0. Umbenhauer stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch.

“The girls just executed really well from the start,” Pine Grove Area coach Ryan Leffler said. “Chelcy did a great job commanding her stuff. The defense had a great game. But offensively, I was more impressed there with our approach at the plate and passing the bat.”

After Pine Grove Area added a pair of unearned runs in the second inning, Schuylkill Haven showed some life at the plate in the third. Joie Schoffstall rapped a two-run single to cut the deficit to 6-2, but that’s as close as the Hurricanes got.

The Cardinals went back to first in the bottom of the third, scoring twice on an error and Callee Leffler’s sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 8-2.

Pine Grove Area scored a Pine Grove Area kind of run in the fourth inning. Lily Flynn clubbed a one-out double, stole third and scored on Khloe Jessman’s safety squeeze bunt.

The Cardinals finished the game with three more runs in the sixth inning. Callee Leffler led off with a solo home run, her 12th of the season, to center field. Later, Flynn and Umbenhauer notched RBI singles to end the game by the 10-run rule.

Pine Grove Area got contributions up and down the lineup. Callee Leffler finished 1-for-1 with two walks, three runs, two RBIs and two stolen bases. Flynn went 2-for-3 with a double, three runs and one RBI; Umbenhauer went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored; Dinger finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI; and Tailyn Bohr went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

“I thought we did a good job taking an extra base, getting our bunts down,” Ryan Leffler said. “That’s the goal, to score one run an inning, to keep that pressure on them. I thought we did a great job of that, and the kids stepped up.

“That’s the mindset they need to have,” the coach added. “Stay loose, have fun and play for each other.”

 

Game Summary

Schuylkill League Quarterfinals

At Patton Field

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN (2) — Scherer p 3 0 1 0, Russo 2b 2 0 0 0, Schoffstall ss 3 0 1 2, Jenan 3b 3 0 0 0, Mull 1b 3 0 0 0, Snyder lf 3 0 0 0, Strenkoski c 2 0 2 0, Randazzo cr 0 1 0 0, Wade rf 1 1 0 0, Houvig cf 2 0 0 0. Totals 22 2 4 2.

PINE GROVE AREA (12) — Leffler cf 1 3 1 2, Aungst ss 4 2 1 0, Dinger dp-p 4 1 2 1, Flynn 2b 3 3 2 1, Jessman rf 1 0 0 1, Umbenhauer 3b 4 2 2 3, Bohr c 3 1 2 0, Clark p-dp 2 0 0 0, Schneck lf 3 0 0 0, Behrent 1b 0 0 0 0. Totals 25 12 10 8.

Teams	123	456		—	Runs
SH (14-7)	002	000		—	2
PGA (19-2)	422	103		—	12

 

E — Schuylkill Haven 3, Pine Grove Area 1

DP — None

LOB — Schuylkill Haven 4, Pine Grove Area 3

2B — Flynn

HR — Leffler

SB — Leffler 2, Umbenhauer 2, Aungst, Morgan, Flynn, Clark, Jessman

CS — Jenan

SAC — Jessman 2, Clark

SF — Leffler

Schuylkill Haven

Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
Scherer, 6-5	5.1	10	12	8	4	6

 Pine Grove Area

Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
Clark W,8-0	5	4	2	2	1	8
Dinger	1	0	0	0	0	1

WP — Scherer 5. T — 1:55.