JOHNSTOWN — A turnaround season for the Portage softball squad came to an end in Monday’s District 6 Class 1A quarterfinal contest at Conemaugh Valley. Despite a hot start by the ninth-seeded Mustangs that produced an early seven-run lead, the top-seeded Blue Jays thwarted the upset bid by erupting for 13 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to come away with an 18-9 victory.

The Mustangs bounced back from a five-win campaign last year to earn a postseason berth and carried the momentum from a first-round playoff triumph at Northern Cambria into the matchup against the Blue Jays, who had previously swept Portage in a pair of mercy-rule regular-season games.

Portage (11-12) was in command early. The Mustangs opened the scoring in the top of the first on an RBI single from Reese Pinizzotto, and subsequently went up 3-0 in the third when third baseman Mikaila McCoy blasted a two-out, two-run home run to deep center field.

Sarah Halerz and Avery Smith singled in the top of the fourth and later came home on a two-out double by Kendall Stancovich before the Blue Jays answered in the bottom of the frame when Megan Bilak came home on an error to put her team on the board. Dani Toth followed with a sacrifice fly to pull Conemaugh Valley within 5-2.

The Mustangs came right back with four tallies in the top of the fifth, capped off by a two-out, two-run single by Stancovich.

Stancovich, Pinizzotto, and Smith each finished with two hits for the Mustangs, who outhit the Blue Jays 13-12.

Conemaugh Valley’s comeback began in the bottom of the fifth. Kylee Ferguson, who had three hits, scored three runs, and drove in three for the Blue Jays, lined a two-run double. That was followed by a run-scoring single from Bilak to make it 9-5.

That set the stage for the decisive sixth inning. A cascade of timely hitting and Portage miscues allowed the Blue Jays to roll up seven hits and capitalize on three walks, three Mustang errors, and a passed ball. Conemaugh Valley sent 18 batters to the plate in the frame.

“We’ve had innings like that against them several times,” said Portage head coach Tim Trusik. “If we could have gotten out of that sixth inning with a couple less walks and errors, we had a shot.”

Maddie McCleester sprinted home on a passed ball with the tying run, and Bilak then scored the go-ahead run on a Mustang error.

Laine Poborski subsequently went yard with a two-run homer to make it 12-9. Poborski also picked up the win in relief with 1 ª scoreless innings in the circle. Three consecutive RBI singles from Allison Stiffler, Ferguson, and McCleester sparked the remainder of the Blue Jay rally.

“It’s tough to beat a team three times,” said Conemaugh Valley coach Paula McCleester, whose team will host Juniata Valley in the district semifinals on Thursday. “They came out loose and were ready for us.

“Conemaugh Valley is the type of program we want to emulate,” said Trusik. “We doubled our win total from last year, won a district playoff game on the road, and we will only lose one senior starter. Our future looks bright and I’m very encouraged with our growth and progress.”

Portage (9): Stancovich 3b 512, C.. Trusik 2b 401, Pinizzotto p 512, McCoy 3b 221, A. Trusik c 411, McCarty ss 402, Smith 1b 422, Stager cf 311, Halerz rf 311, Offman rf 100 Totals – 35-9-13.

Conemaugh Valley (18): Ferguson cf 433, McCleester ss 422, Ferguson cf 312, Bilak c 422, Beiter p 421, Poborski lf/p 412, Toth 3b 310, Dietz 2b 411, Masser dp 100, George pr 130, Stiffler rf 231, Schellhammer 1b 000. Totals – 31-18-12.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Portage 102 24 0 0 – 9 13 6

Con. Valley 000 23(13) x – 18 12 5

E–A. Trusik 2, Offman, Smith, Pinizzotto, Halerz, Poborski 2, Schellhammer, Dietz, McCleester. 2B–Stancovich, Ferguson. 3B–None. HR–McCoy, Poborski. RBI–Stancovich 4, Pinizzotto 1, McCoy 2, McCarty 1, Ferguson 3, McCleester 2, Bilak 3, Beiter 1, Poborski 3, Toth 1, Stiffler 1. WP–Poborski. LP–Pinizzotto. SO–Pinizzotto 7, Beiter 4, Poborski 3. BB–Pinizzotto 5, Stancovich 1, Beiter 2, Schellhammer 1.

Records: Portage (11-12); Conemaugh Valley (17-4)