Portage hammers Blacklick Valley 12-1 in District 6 Class 1A softball quarterfinal

May 24—PORTAGE, Pa. — For the Portage Area High School softball team, the "next girl up" strategy has paid dividends this spring.

Despite playing without its top two hitters from a season ago — both of whom were lost to offseason injuries — the third-seeded Mustangs drove into Monday's District 6 Class 1A quarterfinals against No. 6 seed Blacklick Valley and didn't miss a beat at the plate.

Eight players combined for 11 hits as Portage defeated the Vikings 12-1 in six innings.

"If you told me at our first practice that we would win a playoff game, I probably would've told you that you were crazy," said Portage senior pitcher Maryn Swank, who fanned 12 and allowed just four hits.

"We've made so much progress from the beginning of the season until now, and even without two of our top players, we just kept going."

Portage (14-6) was forced to play the entire 2022 season without junior Maddy Hudak and senior Lauren Shaffer, who were No. 1 and 2 on the team in hitting during the 2021 season.

Several other players have stepped up to the plate in their absence, and Portage's depth was evident Monday.

Freshman Payton Noll (2-for-3) hit a two-run bomb in the fourth inning that also scored fellow freshman Lyndsey Castel, who had two RBIs in the victory.

Eight of Portage's 10 players who had an at-bat recorded at least one hit.

"We've gotten so much better from our first practice until now," said Portage senior Karli Karalfa, who doubled in the first and scored on a Castel single in the sixth. "We're a lot more confident now, and it shows."

Blacklick Valley (6-14-1) trailed by just two runs entering the bottom of the fourth and was led by senior third baseman Nikki Zimmerman (2-for-3), who caught three line drives and hit a fence-clearing solo shot in the fourth.

"We knew they were a good team and were going to come ready to play," Swank said. "It's the playoffs, and you're going to be up against a good team regardless of who you play. We just came in focused and got the job done."

The Vikings were plagued by six errors.

"The girls played hard and battled hard," Blacklick Valley coach Mark Skubik said. "We just came out on the short end. Nikki was awesome today, and she's been the star of the team along with Morgan Slebodnick. They played 110% every game."

After holding a three-run lead, Portage finally broke loose in the fourth with a seven-run inning.

Swank and MaKenna Redfern each scored courtesy of a Vikings error, and a single from Castel produced two more runs.

Noll's homer put two additional runs on the board, and Lexi Slanoc extended the lead to nine following a fielder's choice.

The mercy rule was put in effect in the sixth after sophomore Tori Harrison launched a double into center field that scored two runs.

"We've gotten contributions from everyone," Portage coach Brian Randall said. "We're a young team with a lot of freshmen and sophomores out there. It's nice to get contributions from our freshmen the whole way up to our senior class."

With the victory, Portage advances to the District 6 Class 1A semifinals and will face No. 2 Conemaugh Valley on Thursday.

The Blue Jays defeated Portage twice in the regular season, 12-9 and 5-4.

"We have to come out and be ready to play," Karalfa said.

Portage is seeking its first district title game berth since 2001.