By SPENCER BATES
PORTVILLE — For both the Portville and Franklinville softball teams, offense was hard to come by.
Aside from a run apiece in the second inning, nobody from either side touched home plate until the seventh inning when Franklinville took advantage of a bases loaded situation. A single off the bat of Grace Cornell brought across two runs for the visitors, and with no response from the hosts in the bottom of the frame, Portville saw the end of its four-game win streak as it fell 3-1.
It was a true rock fight between the sides, but that did not come as a surprise to Portville head coach Bill Torrey.
“Got to give credit to Coach Haskell and Franklinville,” Torrey said. “We always seem to get their best. They really do a good job of putting pressure on. I’m proud of our girls in the circle and defensively. … We’re making plays when we need to make plays, we made some plays in the outfield that saved some runs early. We were able to hang in there, it’s just that our Achilles heel is having timely hits. We did have some stranded runners, and we just were unable to push them across. … It just came down to that last inning, and they made a couple hits, and we didn’t.”
While the scores were low from both sides, connections at the plate were not uncommon. Franklinville tallied 11 hits on the day, drawing important defensive plays from hosts. Portville had just three hits, but if pop-outs counted, its tally in the category would have rivaled that of its guests.
That, according to Torrey, was the biggest aspect of the game his team was missing.
“We talk a lot about the mental approach to hitting, because if you’re coming up there off-balance, swinging at pitches that aren’t yours, (you won’t see results),” Torrey said. “We’ve really grown in that way since the first few games of the season. But at the same time, getting behind in the count, then your hands are tied a little bit. So, I really think we have girls that can hit. It’s one of those things that I feel like is infectious. … I’m hoping to see more of that, somebody stepping up. Instead of waiting for something good to happen, be the person that steps up and makes something good happen.”
The lone run that Portville did score was manufactured by Sienna Schoonover, who, following a base knock that extended her hit-streak to six-games, stole second and third before being brought home on a fielder’s choice from Bella Young.
Prior to the season, Torrey spoke about the level of experience within his team, from the seniors all the way down to the newest members of the varsity squad. That level of softball IQ is what allows those kinds of manufactured runs to be an asset of the team.
“The younger players do have experience, a lot of them play year-round,” Torrey said. “So, when you call plays, they’re ready, they know what to do. It’s just the execution piece. Sometimes that works out the way you want it to, and other times it doesn’t. But we were able to be a little smarter on basepaths today, and get that one run that we did score.”
Portville’s Isabella Morales (10) swings at a pitch against Franklinville. Morales had one of the three hits Portville tallied in their loss to Franklinville. (Spencer Bates)
Schoonover is one of those newer additions to the roster. But despite being a freshman, she has been one of the brightest parts of the lineup according to Torrey.
“I love her mentality in the box,” Torrey said. “She is just aggressive. She’s the type of batter you want to see. Her mentality is, ‘yes, yes, yes, no.’ She’s looking to jump on pitches and she is more angry at herself when she makes bad decisions than I could ever be. I just really enjoy her grit. She’s been a great addition and a bright spot in the lineup.”
Pitching for Portville on the night was Ella Warters, who finished with seven strikeouts and did not give up a walk. She did concede 11 hits, but for all the runners that found their way onto the bases for Franklinville, Warters was unshaken, getting out of several tough spots.
“She’s always been talented enough, she’s just really been trying to focus on her mental toughness, and I have seen tremendous growth in that area,” Torrey said. “Her numbers kind of speak to that. But, you know, it’s easy to do well when things are going well, and what I like … is that at no point did she waver. She didn’t start to walk batters. She didn’t start to get loose and frustrated. She continued to stay confident and let her team back her up. She has grown multitudes in that capacity. I’m really, really proud of all of the effort that she has put in there.”
Kylie Maedl and Isabella Morales were the other two Portville batters to tally hits on the night.
Portville will look to get back to winning ways on April 25 at 11 a.m. against Bolivar-Richburg at home.
AT PORTVILLE
Franklinville 010 000 3 R:3 H:11 E:1
Portville 010 000 0 R:1 H:3 E:1
Frank: Decker-Graves (7 SO, 3 BB) and Sullivan
Port: Warters (7 SO, 0 BB) and Zeigler
