Pitcher Bethany Devore begins her windup for Juniata Valley on Monday. Mirror photo by Andy Stine

HOUTZDALE — The Juniata Valley softball team may not have gotten its bats rolling like it would have liked to on Monday afternoon, but the solid pitching of Bethany Devore and Braelyn Hall, plus an error-free game, was enough to beat Moshannon Valley, 4-1.

The Lady Hornets got six hits, but only one of their four runs was earned as they took advantage of four Damsel errors for the day.

“I just think we were over-adjusting in the box,” Juniata Valley coach Robbie Hall said. “We were making too big of an adjustment instead of just keeping it simple. But they did what they needed to do, and the defense played solid.”

More importantly, with the win, the Lady Hornets earned themselves a spot in today’s Inter-County Conference playoffs at Claysburg-Kimmel High School. Juniata Valley will play Southern Huntingdon, while Everett and Berlin Brothersvalley will be in the other semifinal.

Part of Juniata Valley’s troubles at the plate came from the hands of Mo Valley pitcher Annabeth Anderson. Anderson walked one and struck out seven in her complete-game effort.

“She threw a gem,” Mo Valley coach Joe Vereshack said. “A few little mistakes behind her and a few little errors, and that’s a 1-0 game for us. That’s what it comes down to. She threw an outstanding game.”

The Lady Hornets scored twice in each of the third and fourth innings, and only needed two hits in each inning.

Hall hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to score Julia Devore, which was the only RBI for Juniata Valley.

Kelsey Ersek doubled after Hall’s sac fly, and later scored when Lexey Smith reached on an error.

The Damsels got their lone run in the bottom of the third. Anderson ripped a one-out triple and scored on an Ava Robison base hit.

Bethany Devore tossed the first four innings before giving way to Hall the rest of the way. Hall, who recently came back from injury, threw three scoreless innings and struck out five.

“She’s one of those pitchers that stays in the zone,” Coach Hall said. “She battles. She brings an energy to the team.”

Moshannon Valley finished the regular season at 7-10 and will enter the District 6 Class 2A playoffs.

“This is a big step for us,” Vereshack said. “It’s been a while since they’ve been in the playoffs. It’s been about seven years or so. That’s a great start for these girls. They deserve it.”

Juniata Valley’s ICC semifinal game with Southern Huntingdon will be at 2 p.m. this afternoon at Claysburg-Kimmel High School. Everett and Berlin will play in the other semifinal at 4, and the winners will play in the championship at 6.

“Through this season they’ve faced adversity, and most times they’ve come out of it on top,” Coach Hall said. “I’m seeing them grow every week, every game, every practice. They’re getting more confident, and they’re starting to feel better about themselves. Going down the stretch, I think we’re going to be tough.”

JUNIATA VALLEY (4): B. Devore p-dp 400, Hall dp-p 300, Ersek ss 321, L. Smith 1b 412, Brown cf 400, Mease c 300, Harman rf 302, Houck 2b 300, J. Devore lf 311, S. Smith (flex) 3b 000. Totals — 30-4-6.

MOSHANNON VALLEY (1): Anderson p 311, Robison c 401, Kephart ss 401, Miller 1b 200, O’Donnell rf 300, Beirlair 3b 302, Graffius 2b 100, Walstrom lf 301, Vereshack dp 300, Williams (flex) cf 000. Totals — 25-1-6.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Juniata Valley 002 200 0–4 6 0

Moshannon Valley 001 000 0–1 6 4

2B–Ersek; Kephart. 3B–Anderson. RBI–Hall; Kephart. WP–B. Devore. LP–Anderson. Save–Hall. SO–B. Devore 1, Hall 5; Anderson 7. BB–B. Devore 1; Anderson 1.

Records: Juniata Valley (11-5); Moshannon Valley (7-10).