By SPENCER BATES
PORTVILLE — It was a quiet day offensively for the Portville softball team.
Tallying just two hits, the Panthers fell 6-0 to Falconer.
But that one-sided margin does not tell the entire story. As for a grand majority of the game, the sides were stuck in a scoreless deadlock with Portville’s Ella Warters and Falconer’s Emily Rhinehart squaring off in a pitcher’s duel.
Through five innings, the Golden Falcons were held to just two hits. Base hits were even more scarce for the Panthers, who were held to one hit through six innings.
The lack of scoring was a testament to the pitching displays from both sides on the afternoon as a combined 23 strikeouts were tallied when all was said and done. Rhinehart racked up 13 for the visitors while Warters notched double figures as well with 10 to her name.
Ultimately, the game would be decided by whichever team got their bats going first.
An RBI single from Emily Zaranek provided just that for Falconer.
The Golden Falcons did all their damage in the sixth and seventh frames, scoring three runs apiece in each.
The result slipped away right at the death for Portville. But, as head coach Bill Torrey noted, the game was there for the taking much earlier. With Warters throwing a gem from inside the circle, if the bats had been going, the narrative could have been different.
Unfortunately, not much support came at the plate for Portville and eventually, Falconer was able to solve the puzzle.
In the eyes of Torrey, the struggles on offense were a result of wavering confidence at the plate.
“It’s really confidence at this point,” Torrey said. “Falconer does a great job forcing you off balance with pitches and whatnot. But do you notice how much more they put the bat on the ball after they got a few hits? It’s all mental. It’s a confidence thing. If we can do that, I know what we can do. It’s not for a lack of practice or trying. I just think they gotta get over being tight, or else it’ll cost us in close games. Ella did a great job down the stretch. I thought, defensively, we were very clean. We just need to start putting down the ball when it matters.”
Portville’s Alexa Schoonover (4) connects on a pitch against Falconer. (Spencer Bates)
And the sooner the better according to Torrey. With just seven games left in the regular season, just four of which being league games, the time to make the adjustment is now.
Granted, making a mental change is far more nuanced compared to a mechanical one.
“I think for a lot of them, it’s just knowing and feeling like you can do it,” Torrey said. “We’ve definitely done a lot of hitting lately, and some live situational stuff. So, they’re seeing pitching off live pitchers and stuff like that. It’s just a matter of getting some confidence in a game and rolling it. I guess better later than early. Hopefully we start putting some of our best softball together in the next few weeks.”
Torrey had no shortage of praise for Warters following her performance. Walking just three batters to her double-digit Ks and working her way out of numerous high-count at-bats, he reflected on his ace’s astronomical growth since last season.
“I can’t say enough about how proud I am of her growth, especially on the mental side of the game,” Torrey said. “She’s been able to dig her way out of counts, have innings where people start putting the bat on the ball and recover from it. And that’s just really good to see. I’m really proud of her for all the work she’s put in on that part of her game.”
Portville will look to bounce back from the loss in its next game, away from home against North Collins on May 6 at 5 p.m.
AT PORTVILLE
Falconer 000 003 3 R:3 H:11 E:0
Portville 000 000 0 R:0 H:2 E:0
Falc: Rhinehart (13 SO, 4 BB) and Sharpe
Port: Warters (10 SO, 3 BB) and Zeigler
