PIAA Softball: Williams Valley slugs way past Bristol in Class AA quarterfinal

Williams Valley celebrates with Olivia Hand after she hit a solo home run in the fifth inning of Thursday's PIAA Class AA quarterfinal against Bristol at Exeter Township High School. The Vikings won 8-5. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)

REIFFTON — Williams Valley found its power stroke again.

Audrina Fry and Olivia Hand homered to power the Vikings past Bristol 8-5 on Thursday in a PIAA Class AA quarterfinal at Exeter Township High School.

After being held to just one extra-base hit in its last two games, District 11 champion Williams Valley (23-2) used the longball to knock off the District 1 champion Warriors (18-2). With the win, the Vikings advance to Monday’s state semifinals to take on District 4 champion South Williamsport (17-5), which defeated District 6 champion West Shamokin 4-2 in another quarterfinal. The PIAA will announce the site and time for the semifinals.

Much of the game resembled a teeter-totter: Williams Valley would score. Bristol would answer. Williams Valley would score again. Bristol would answer again. Finally, winning pitcher Sage Smeltz tossed back-to-back scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth to allow the Vikings to build a four-run lead.

“We knew they were going to be a good team and put some runs on the board,” Williams Valley coach Ryan Underkoffler said. “We did what we needed to do. We got some pop in the bats that we didn’t have the last game. We got some clutch hits. … We can do better. We can definitely do better.”

Williams Valley struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. Ally Underkoffler roped an RBI double to right-center and scored on Delaney Bixler’s RBI single.

Bristol tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the second on Lily Gonzales’ RBI double and a Williams Valley error.

Then came the turning point in the ballgame. Bristol pitcher Brianna Slack retired the first two Vikings hitters in the top of the third inning as the momentum shifted the Warriors’ way. Quin Smeltz then worked a seven-pitch walk to keep the inning alive. Fry followed by launching a two-run homer over the fence in left-center field to put Williams Valley ahead to stay, 4-2.

“The bats were on this game for sure,” Fry said. “We definitely needed that. It definitely boosted our confidence. We just have to carry that over to the next game.”

Bristol cut the deficit to 4-3 on Cayleigh Januszka’s RBI single in the bottom of the third, but Williams Valley continued to add on to pad its lead.

In the fourth, the Vikings bunched three hits, a walk, a stolen base and a wild pitch to score twice and push its lead to 6-3. Ella Kobularik cashed in with a two-run single to left field.

Bristol got one back in the bottom of the fourth. Peyton McClain, who went 3-for-4, rapped an RBI single to left to get the Warriors back to 6-4.

With one out in the fifth, Olivia Hand belted an opposite-field, solo home run over the right field fence. In the sixth, Quin Smeltz delivered a clutch, two-out RBI single to give the Vikings an 8-4 lead.

“We strive to get runs every inning,” Ryan Underkoffler said. “Something we pride ourselves on is adding on.”

Bristol cut the deficit to 8-5 on Kylee Perseponko’s RBI single in the seventh, but Smeltz finished the job by getting Wiki Wilkos to ground out.

Smeltz finished with four strikeouts, giving her 403 in her career. She also got 13 ground-ball outs as third baseman Olivia Hand played brilliantly behind her pitcher. Catcher Quin Smeltz also shut down the Warriors’ running game as Bristol finished with no stolen bases.

Game Summary

PIAA Class AA Quarterfinal

At Exeter Township HS

WILLIAMS VALLEY (8) — Kobularik ss 3 1 1 2, K. Hand cf 3 0 1 0, S. Smeltz p 4 0 0 0, Q. Smeltz c 3 1 1 1, Hechler cr 0 0 0 0, Fry 1b 4 1 1 2, O. Hand 3b 4 2 1 1, Underkoffler dp 3 2 2 1, Brill 2b 3 0 1 0, Bixler rf 4 1 2 1, Mahoney lf 0 0 0 0. Totals 31 8 10 8.

BRISTOL (5) — Bell cf 4 0 1 0, McClain ss 4 1 3 1, Slack p 3 0 0 0, Snyder 1b 3 0 0 0, Boyle c 3 2 2 0, Januszka 2b 3 0 2 1, Gonzales 3b 4 1 1 1, Perseponko dp 4 1 2 1, Wilkos rf 3 0 0 0, Nieves lf 0 1 0 0. Totals 31 5 11 4.

WV (23-2)                022      211   0 — 8

Bris (18-2)               021      100   1 — 5

E — Williams Valley 1, Bristol 1

LOB — Williams Valley 7, Bristol 9

2B — Underkoffler, Gonzales, Januszka, Bell

HR — Fry, O. Hand

SB — O. Hand, K. Hand, Bixler

SAC — K. Hand, Wilkos, Januszka

Bristol

                                       IP     H      R       ER    BB    K

Slack L,13-2                7       10     8        6       3       7

Williams Valley

                  IP     H      R       ER    BB    K

S.Smeltz W,15-1    7       11      5         4        3       4

HBP — by Slack (Brill). WP — Smeltz 3, Slack. T — 1:52.