By SPENCER BATES
PORTVILLE — While in the midst of a chaotic, up-and-down season in which his team sits with an even 5-5 record, Portville softball coach Bill Torrey emphasized that the “buy-in” from his players has been nothing short of exemplary.
And it showed in its 11-4 bounce-back win over CCAA Div. IV title contenders Falconer.
The Panthers suffered defeat at the hands of the Golden Falcons in their season-opener, a 7-2 loss that the latter managed to break open in the middle innings.
This time, it was the Panthers’ turn to flex their muscle, blowing the doors off the game with a well-executed offensive game plan across the middle innings of the May 8 affair.
“Every season you’re hoping to grow and improve,” Torrey said. “With the weather challenges and all the things we’re fighting, we just look to be better every time we step on the dirt. When you’re in the middle of a .500-ish season, you hope that the girls believe what you’re selling. What I saw out of them today, is what I thought they’ve been capable of doing. So, hopefully, that’s a good first step at the right time of the year with playoffs (on the horizon).”
Through three innings of play, Portville controlled the game with a 3-0 lead, but with two runs in the fourth, Falconer threatened to play the spoiler. However, the hosts were far from rattled after seeing their lead shrink back to a lone run and managed to reestablish the grip they had on the game by bringing across five runs in the bottom of the fourth alone.
The Golden Falcons looked to chip away at the lead in the next frame, once again, scoring twice, but three runs between the fifth and sixth innings were enough to ice the game for Portville. And according to Torrey, the success his team had on offense was a result of the positive mental approach they brought to the plate.
”It’s just nice to see,” Torrey said of his team’s mindset on offense. “We’ve been trying to talk a lot about the differences between your mental approach when you’re behind and when you’re ahead in the count. And I thought they did a better job jumping on good pitches, and when they got behind in the count, looking to make contact instead of swinging for the fences. So, each game we’re hoping to grow a little bit as hitters.”
Growth that has seen proven results as of late as Portville finished with 14 hits compared to the six Falconer finished with and considering every batter that took an at-bat wound up getting on base either via hit or walk.
Isabella Morales stood out on offense for the Panthers, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Alongside her, Alexa Schoonover finished the game 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI and Peyton Young recorded a stat line of 2-for-4 with two RBI. Lauren Lyle and Emily Collins also had multi-hit nights for the home side.
Portville’s Alexa Schoonover (4) connects for a hit against Falconer. (Spencer Bates)
But Morales did not just shine on offense. In the circle, she held it down, pitching seven full innings for a second consecutive day, allowing six hits while striking out one and walking just two against Falconer.
“Bella is the most reliable person that you can ask for it when it comes to being in the circle,” Torrey said. “She doesn’t get rattled very easily. She has solid mental toughness, and she’s looking to work spots and stay in counts. She did get behind in a few counts today, but I believe she battled back in most of them. She always keeps walks to a minimum and just puts the ball where we’re hoping to get a pop-out, ground-out and back her up. I can’t think of a better word for her than reliable.”
The only true hiccup the Panthers had were some errors between the fourth and fifth innings that gave the Golden Falcons a slight foothold in the affair. And while some of those errors were the result of some knee-jerk, panicked decisions, others were ones that Torrey noted they have to live with because of the trust he has in his experienced players to do the right thing.
“There’s definitely discussions about ‘there’s no sense in making that throw if you can’t get her,’ but (our experienced players) I definitely trust to make the right call at that time,” Torrey said.
“(For) the people who aren’t confident yet, whose reactions are more knee-jerk, we’re trying to avoid those, the panicky stuff.”
And it will be those smaller aspects of the game that Torrey and his team will be focussed on sharpening as they head into the tail end of their regular season. With just four games to go before the playoffs — one of which is a non-league affair against Fillmore — it will be a matter of perfecting the product they have been able to regularly produce and retaining the focus and hunger of the players.
“I think with spring sports in general, the main focus is keeping everybody invested,” Torrey said. “I don’t think we have a problem with that, but just reminding them ‘we’re still alive and we’re growing.’ And even though wins and losses don’t necessarily make outsiders fearful, I think they should. (Other teams) have reason to be worried about us. So, it’s now about cracking down on errors, and just being ready to play your best softball in May.”
Next up for Portville is an away affair at current CCAA Div. IV leaders Ellicottville on May 12, slated to begin at 5 p.m.
AT PORTVILLE
R H E
Falconer 000 220 0 4 6 4
Portville 102 512 X 11 14 3
Port: Morales (1 SO, 2 BB)
