HS Softball: Pine Grove slugs way past Williams Valley in Schuylkill League semifinals
Pine Grove's Callee Leffler, left, is greeted at home plate by her teammates after hitting a solo home run during Thursday's Schuylkill League softball semifinal against Williams Valley at Dot Seidel Field. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — Pine Grove cranked up the pressure early and used a pair of big innings to turn back Williams Valley 14-5 on Thursday in a Schuylkill League softball semifinal at Dot Seidel Field.
The Division I runner-up Cardinals (20-2) are known for their bunting, slapping and running. All of that was on display against the Vikings. In addition, Pine Grove belted six extra-base hits to outlast the Vikings (19-2) in a 2-hour, 11-minute marathon.
“I’m just proud of the kids the way they battled today,” Pine Grove coach Ryan Leffler said. “I thought we did a good job putting the pressure on them, stealing some bases. They made some mistakes, and we capitalized on them. We made some adjustments. We stayed patient enough, and we got some key hits one through nine.”
In the championship game, Pine Grove will face Division II runner-up Tri-Valley, a 4-3 winner over Division I champion North Schuylkill in the first semifinal at Dot Seidel Field. The Dawgs (16-5) have won three league titles, in 2009, 2013 and 2021. Last season, they reached the final before falling 6-5 in nine innings to Blue Mountain.
The Cardinals (20-2) are back in the league final for the first time since 2021, when they lost to North Schuylkill 9-2. Pine Grove has won Schuylkill League gold five times since the playoffs returned in 2009: (2010, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019).
After being scheduled for Friday at Blue Mountain’s Patton Field, the Schuylkill League switched the site Friday morning to North Schuylkill’s Dot Seidel Field. Game time is 5 p.m. Friday (WPPA/A-106 will broadcast the game live, with JZ on play by play and Bob Lipsky on color commentary).
The first batter of the game and the sequence that followed set the tone for the entire contest.
Pine Grove’s Callee Leffler led off with a walk and stole second base. She stole third, and when the throw went awry, Leffler scampered to her feet and scored for a 1-0 lead. That was just the start of Pine Grove’s five-run first inning. The Cardinals bunched two walks, a hit batsman, a wild pitch and three errors during the inning. Starting pitcher Chelcy Clark capped the uprising by clubbing a two-run, inside-the-park home run. Her hit landed just inside the right-field line, rolled into the corner, and Clark circled the bases to make it 5-0.
“It settles the kids down in this atmosphere,” Ryan Leffler said of the fast start. “It’s a good team win for us. We beat a great team. I’m happy for the kids that they’re moving on.”
Pine Grove added on when Madison Shiffer slammed an RBI double in the second inning and Callee Leffler launched a towering, solo home run to straightaway center field in the fourth.
Leading 7-0, the Cardinals looked like they were rolling to an easy victory.
Not so fast.
Just like that, Williams Valley scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 7-5. Sage Smeltz, Quin Smeltz, Audrina Fry and Olivia Hand rapped consecutive singles to chase Clark from the circle. Jamie Dinger took over and allowed Cierra Brill’s two-run single but shut down the Vikings the rest of the way.
“We just felt like they were getting on Chelcy a little bit the second time around, and Chelcy and Dinger have been outstanding all year for us. We believe in both of them, and they believe in their defense. I thought Jamie did a great job coming in there and closing the deal.”
Pine Grove got two of those runs back in the fifth inning to extend its lead to 9-5. Clark, who finished 3-for-4, had a bunt RBI single, and Meadow Umbenhauer smashed an RBI triple to left field.
“It something they believe in,” Ryan Leffler said about the short game. “It’s something we do at practice a lot, putting them in those situations. They executed today.”
The Cardinals batted around plus one in the seventh inning to score five more runs to put the game away. Callee Leffler and Hannah Aungst hit back-to-back doubles, and Dinger added an RBI single during the uprising. Two bunts and a stolen base played into the rally.
