DUKE CENTER — Solid pitching and production from the top of its lineup have been key ingredients to the success of the Smethport Lady Hubbers in the 2014 season, and Wednesday’s District 9 Class A semifinal against Port Allegany was no different.
Brooke Kane-Walker pitched six innings of one-hit ball and 1-2 hitters Torri Johnson and Quinn Burdick combined to score five runs as Smethport advanced to the D-9 championship game with an 11-1, six-inning win over Port Allegany.
“I was more nervous about this game than I was any game in a long time,” said Smethport coach Dr. Jim Kane, whose team lost in the district semifinals to Elk County Catholic last season. “I told the coaches, God willing, the only other game I’ll be this nervous is the state final. This is the one we needed to get into states, and I really wanted these kids to have that opportunity.”
The Lady Hubbers broke the game open with seven runs in the fourth inning, but, for the second-straight game in the postseason, jumped on the board early.
Johnson and Burdick were the catalysts, reaching on a single and walk respectively to start the bottom of the first before moving to second and third on a fielder’s choice by Kane-Walker.
Tori Transue followed with a shallow fly ball to right that easily scored the speedy Johnson for a sacrifice fly, followed by an infield single from Sarah Vinca that brought in Burdick.
“Our 1-2 hitters have been fantastic for us all year and they were again today,” Kane said. “It’s just so huge to score early in a game like this. They (Johnson and Burdick) came around again the second time up and scored again and the third time they were right in the middle of things. They’re tough outs, tough to pitch to. They have good, quality at bats and have an idea when they go up there, they’re not just hacking away at stuff. They’re good, smart kids.”
Kane-Walker, meanwhile, was in complete control from the get-go.
She needed just five pitches to get through the first inning, with two of those missing out of the zone to Port leadoff hitter Brooke Roys. Those were the only two balls she threw until she missed on an 0-1 pitch to No. 8 hitter McKenna Johnson in the third inning.
She retired the first nine batters in order until a single by Roys to start the fourth and threw 47 of her 58 pitches for strikes.
“Brookie pitched a great game,” Kane said. “She hit her spots well. She’s not as fast as Brooke Roys, but she moved the ball well.”
Kane-Walker’s one-out double in the third inning scored Johnson to make it 3-0, but the fourth inning was when Smethport did most of its damage.
In total, they sent 12 hitters to the plate in the frame, scoring seven runs on five hits three walks.
“The wheels just kind of fell off the wagon, so to speak,” said Port Allegany coach Mackenna Bickford. “We came out of the gate flat it seemed like and didn’t play with the kind of intensity that we have been playing with in the playoffs. But kudos to them. Smethport rose to the occasion and that’s the bottom line.”
Smethport scored three runs in the frame before Port was able to record an out, as Nicole Nolte and Tierra Johnson singled and Abby Wilber walked, loading the bases for pinch-hitter Katie Burdick.
Burdick fell behind in the count 1-2, but worked a walk to plate Nolte.
Torri Johnson also followed with a walk to bring in twin sister Tierra and Quinn Burdick’s infield single scored Wilber to make it 6-0.
While Katie Burdick was out attempting to score from third on a wild pitch, that didn’t slow down the attack, as Transue notched an RBI single to right and Sarah Vinca’s ground ball resulted an error that brought in another run.
Nolte capped the big inning with a two-run double into the left-centerfield gap, brining in Transue and Vinca, making the score 10-0.
“Just the fact that we scored in four of the six innings is just a total team effort,” Kane said. “I’m just so proud of the kids.”
Port was able to extend the game in the fifth, as Rikki Rennells reached on a walk, the only free pass Kane-Walker issued on the game, and scored via an error off the bat of McKenna Johnson.
“I’m glad they didn’t give up,” Bickford said of her team. “At that point, it is what it is. It’s hard to come back from a 10-run deficit against a team like Smethport. Against Brooke Kane-Walker, you’re going to earn everything you get.”
The Lady Hubbers ended things an inning later, as Kane-Walker reached on an error and pinch-runner Molly Lord came around to score on a single by Nolte.
“They (Port Allegany) are really well-coached,” Kane said. “They’re so much better than they were in the beginning of the year and the coaching has a lot to do with that.”
Added Bickford: “I’m real proud of the girls. We were the sixth seed and one of the final three teams. That doesn’t always happen. The two teams left are the 1-2 seeds and there’s a reason for that.”
Smethport, meanwhile, will play for the District 9 Class A championship today against DuBois Central Catholic (at St. Marys High School, 3:45 p.m.).
The two teams met May 5, a 7-2 win by Smethport that was broke open by a grand slam from Vinca.
“Just because we beat them the first time doesn’t mean anything,” noted Kane. “They’re going to make adjustments and we’re going to have to counter-adjust. To win the district, the softball gods have to be smiling on you. It’s going to be a good game.”
PORT ALLEGANY (1)
(AB-R-H-RBI) B. Roys (P) 3-0-1-0, S. Metzger (CF) 3-0-0-0, C. Harvey (3B) 3-0-0-0, K. Ernst (C) 2-0-0-0, R. Rennells (1B) 1-1-0-0, L. Turner (DP) 2-0-0-0, M. Snyder (LF) 2-0-0-0, M. Johnson 2-0-0-0, M. Daniels (2B) 2-0-0-0
SMETHPORT (11)
To. Johnson (C) 3-3-2-1, Q. Burdick (RF) 3-2-1-1, B. Kane-Walker (P) 4-0-1-1, M. Lord (PR) 0-1-0-0, T. Transue (3B) 3-1-1-2, S. Vinca (2B) 4-1-2-1, N. Nolte (DP) 4-0-3-3, L. Jack (PR) 0-1-0-0, Ti. Johnson (CF) 2-1-1-0, A. WIlber (1B) 2-1-0-0, A. Larson (LF) 2-0-0-0, K. Burdick (PH) 0-0-0-1
Port Allegany 000 010 — 1
Smethport 201 701 — 11
2B — Kane-Walker (S), Nolte (S); LOB — Port Allegany 2, Smethport 4; Errors — Port Allegany 2, Smethport 1; SB — To. Johnson (S), Vinca (S), Rennells (P)
IP H R ER BB SO
Port Allegany
B. Roys 5 11 11 8 5 5
Smethport
B. Kane-Walker 6 1 1 0 1 4
