By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
PORTVILLE, NY – Overcoming early struggles, the Portville softball team notched their first win of the season during their first appearance at home, beating Cuba-Rushford 6-4.
Before returning home, the Panthers had gotten one game under their belt. Their season began on Tuesday when they traveled to Falconer and were ultimately handed a 7-2 loss in their first glimpse of action.
“The first game is tough because you have expectations but you don’t have anything to base it off of. Falconer is obviously a very talented opponent, they were in the sectional finals the year before, so we knew they were going to be good,” said Portville head coach Bill Torrey. “We have to continue to grow at the plate and clean up a couple of errors. After that, we just have to focus and come back a little bit better than the day before.”
At first, however, it seemed as if their earlier issues had carried over into their matchup with the Rebels. To start things off, the Panthers gave up a walk due to hitting the batter before a wild pitch sent her to second. Immediately after, a single from C-R’s Jordan Radomski would turn into an RBI after a Portville overthrow as the Rebels scored the first run of the day. A dropped pitch moved Radomski to third before Aubrey Williams smashed a double to score run No. 2.
Throughout the remainder of the frame, Portville continued to stumble, including a dropped third strike that led to the Rebels taking a 3-0 lead. While they stopped the bleeding with back-to-back strikeouts from Ella Warters, the Panthers had work to do.
“I think early season softball confidence could have been a factor. I think too, not being out on the field a ton because of the weather conditions could have been a factor,” said Torrey. “Instead of focusing on the errors, we talk about them, but the big focus is how are we not going to turn one into two? How are we going to get better every time we touch the dirt?”
However, they wouldn’t have to wait long for a response. Before suffering their first out, Portville loaded the bases with a walk, a single from Alexa Schoonover and bunt from Madison Ford. They were then gifted two runs from a C-R error – the third baseman dropped the ball out of bounds, allowing runners on third and second to rotate across home plate – before restacking the diamond. Having two outs, the Panthers managed to tack on one more run off a wild pitch, taking the lead at 4-3.
Isabella Morales finds contact in the batters’ box during the Panthers win over the Rebels on Friday. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
“I think out of veteran players, there was some heads-up baserunning and we made sure we were capitalizing on passed balls and taking extra bases when we can,” said Torrey. “I would attribute (the scoring in the first) to some solid baserunning and I really have to give credit to our pitcher-catcher duo. They’re really gelling and getting better every game.”
While Portville’s offense cooled off thereafter, their defense kept their lead secure. Over the next two frames, the Panthers dispatched C-R in seven batters, with Warters collecting three more strikeouts in that window. Meanwhile, Portville added to the scoreboard with a run in the second. Finding her way to first with a single, Schoonover made her way to third via steal and sac-grounder before scoring off another C-R wild pitch.
Finally, in the top of the fourth, the Rebels managed to chip away at the lead. Lilly Farwell broke the frame open with a double before making her way to third off a wild pitch. After watching her team suffer back-to-back outs, she eventually found her opportunity to score on another Portville wild pitch, closing the gap to just one run.
Although they would go three-and-out in the bottom of the fourth, the Panthers earned a shot at retaliation one inning later. Loading the bases for a third time off a C-R error, a Peyton Young single and Warters bunt, Portville gained a little breathing room from a Kylie Maedl RBI single.
Alexa Schoonover takes off for first base during Portville’s first win of the season. Schoonover would end with two hits through four appearances at the plate. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Holding the lead with just two innings left, all Portville had to do was implement some tough defense, a feat which seemed to come with ease. In the top of the sixth, Warters fanned two following a routine play at first and in the do-or-die seventh, Warters fanned another pair before the Panthers sealed their first victory of the year with an easy out at first.
Schoonover led the way at the plate for the Panthers, going 2-for-4 with one run scored. Isabella Morales went 1-for-3 with two runs while Madison Ford scored two runs off a 1-for-2 day in the batters’ box. Warters ended with one hit and one run scored as well as 13 strikeouts and just four hits allowed while tending the circle.
“I was really, really happy with the amount of mental growth and mental toughness I saw from our pitcher tonight. Cuba hit the ball well tonight, they put the bat on the ball so when it’s a close game, it’s easy to let things creep up in your head or throw wild pitches,” said Torrey. “I was really happy with how she was able to bear down in the stretch.”
AT PORTVILLE
R H E
Cuba-Rushford 300 100 0 4 4 2
Portville 410 010 X 6 7 2
C-R: Rutowski (0 SO, 0 BB), Radomski (2) (2 SO, 4 BB), Kocsis (4) (4 SO, 0 BB) and Shaffer
Portville: Warters (13 SO, 2 BB) and Ziegler
