Blue Mountain's Emmerson Frie rounds third base and heads for the plate after hitting a two-run home run during a Schuylkill League semifinal softball game against North Schuylkill on May 12, 2026, at Patton Field. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)

ORWIGSBURG — Less than 24 hours prior, North Schuylkill had clubbed 15 hits in a Schuylkill League quarterfinal victory over Williams Valley.

The Spartans, though, weren’t facing Blue Mountain sophomore right-hander Emily Leonard and the airtight Eagles defense in that one.

Leonard scattered six hits and pitched out of one major jam to lead Blue Mountain to a 10-0, six-inning victory over North Schuylkill in a Schuylkill League playoff semifinal Tuesday afternoon at Patton Field. Leonard struck out six and walked none in the complete-game effort.

Blue Mountain’s batters backed Leonard with a 15-hit attack that included back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the sixth inning that ended the game. Emmerson Frie (3-for-4) launched a two-run home run, and Avery Hudock followed with a solo shot of her own to produce the 10-run margin.

The Eagles (20-1) advanced to the final where they will take on Pine Grove Area (20-2), an 18-0 winner in five innings over Tri-Valley in the second semifinal. Championship game time is tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Blue Mountain’s Patton Field. Blue Mountain, league champs in 2023 and 2024, will be going for its third title since the playoffs resumed in 2009.

“Have fun. That was the motto of the day,” Blue Mountain coach Paul Leonard said. “Play free, have fun. We’ve been doing it for 21 games now. I told them, ‘Hey, this is Game 21. Nothing’s changed. Don’t make it bigger than it is. Be us. Be who we are at this point. We don’t need to be anybody but who we are.’ ”

Blue Mountain set the tone right away. Addyson Fishburn and Aryana Reilly hit back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the first inning. Anna Borden drove in a run with a groundout, and Hailey Place (2-for-4) followed with an RBI single for a quick 2-0 lead.

Emmerson Frie delivered an RBI single to put the Eagles up 3-0 after three innings.

Then North Schuylkill mounted its best scoring threat of a the game, loading the bases with nobody out in the top of the fourth. Leonard and the defense worked out of trouble, getting a comebacker for a force at the plate, a popout and a called third strike to strand all three baserunners.

In the bottom of the fourth, Borden’s RBI double and an RBI single by Karley Koch (3-for-3) helped the Eagles extend their lead to 7-0.

In addition to the 15 hits, Blue Mountain executed three sacrifice bunts and stole three bases.

“We mixed a little bit of the small ball with the power today, so that’s awesome,” Paul Leonard said. “We practice bunting daily. I have faith in any one of our girls to bunt. It’s easy for me to coach when the girls are on like this.”

Now the Eagles get to play their Division I rival for league gold.

“I told them that they make it fun,” Paul Leonard said. “I want to come to practice every day. They want to come to practice every day. It makes it fun for us coaches to coach them. It’s cool to see because they’ve bought into the process. They want to be here, which is awesome.”

Game Summary

Schuylkill League Semifinals

At Patton Field

NORTH SCHUYLKILL (0) — Flynn p 3 0 2 0, Selgrade cf 2 0 1 0, J. Frie 1b 2 0 0 0, Capone c 3 0 1 0, K. Nahodil cr 0 0 0 0, Croker 3b 3 0 1 0, Holmes lf 2 0 1 0, Jones dp 2 0 0 0, Miscannon ss 3 0 0 0, Fidler 2b 2 0 0 0, Cuttic rf 1 0 0 0. Totals 23 0 6 0.

BLUE MOUNTAIN (10) — Fishburn cf 3 1 1 0, Reilly 3b 3 2 1 0, Borden 1b 4 1 1 2, Place ss 4 1 2 2, Koch rf 3 1 3 1, E. Frie c 4 1 3 3, Manbeck cr 0 0 0 0, Av. Hudock 2b 4 1 1 1, Vincent lf 3 1 2 0, Leonard p 3 0 1 0, Phillips cr 0 1 0 0. Totals 30 10 15 9.

E — North Schuylkill 1, Blue Mountain 0

DP — None

LOB — North Schuylkill 8, Blue Mountain 7

2B — Capone, Borden

HR — E. Frie, Av. Hudock

SB — Fishburn, Vincent, Koch

CS — Place

SAC — Selgrade, Holmes, Leonard, Fishburn, Reilly

North Schuylkill    

Blue Mountain

HBP — by Leonard (J. Frie). WP — Leonard. T — 1:32.