BLOOMSBURG - For Cassidy Pinchorski and her Williams Valley teammates, it was likely do-or-die time.
The Vikings had just taken a one-run lead and momentum appeared to be slipping away just as quickly as it had been seized the half-inning prior.
Thunk. Hit by pitch. Bases loaded. One out.
Pinchorski rose to the occasion in the circle just as she had the previous inning at the plate.
The junior right-hander struck out the final two batters to end the bases-loaded threat and finished the game by retiring eight of the last nine hitters she faced as Williams Valley defeated Northeast Bradford 2-1 in the PIAA Class A semifinals on a windy Tuesday afternoon at Jan Hutchinson Field to reach the state final for the first time in school history.
Pinchorski made the final two outs of the fifth appear much less challenging than they were, especially after the Panthers loaded the bases.
Veteran Williams Valley coach Lee Reiser made his way out to visit Pinchorski and the infield.
"I just went out and said, 'Just relax. Infield comes up. Play up. The ball's hit right at you, we come home. If the
ball's hit to either side of you, get an out. We still have the lead in the game, and we're better,' '' Reiser recalled.
"As soon as I said it they all looked at me, nodded their heads and I didn't have to say another word. I was going to give them a big, long lecture and I thought, 'That's enough. Just get out of there. They can handle it.' "
Pinchorski made sure the Vikings' defense didn't even need to make a play.
In the most pressure-packed situation, Pinchorski fired four straight strikes at Northeast Bradford left fielder Courtney Coleman.
Strikeout.
A few more pitches against opposing pitcher Chelsea Souto, who had two hits already.
Strikeout. Three outs. Inning over. Lead safe.
"He said, 'I knew you could do it. I had faith in you,' " Pinchorski said. "He knew we would get out of it with our defense. That was good."
Pinchorski has risen to the occasion since the postseason started.
Over 40 innings of playoff softball, Pinchorski has recorded 41 strikeouts and allowed just four earned runs, posting a 0.70 ERA.
She noticed a positive change in a 7-1 win over Tri-Valley for the District 11 title that came on the heels of a 2-1 win over Minersville in the semifinal.
"That was really hard to get out of our district," Pinchorski said. "Once we did that, it started getting easier. Now it's working its way back up to hardness again.
"I think our turning point came the first time we beat Tri-Valley,'' she added. "We lost to them twice during the regular season, and we knew we had to get them. Plus, it was our district championship. We would've been done right after if we had lost."
Reiser said a combination of changes has helped Pinchorski. The coaching staff has mixed her pitches - fastball, curveball and change-up - better.
On Pinchorski's end, she has started to throw her change-up more consistently for strikes.
"Once she started going with the change-up and using the change-up more, it made her fastball sneaky fast," Reiser said. "It made her curveball better. Suddenly, teams were intimidated by missing that breaking pitch. All of sudden they're looking around 'Oh my God! When's it coming?' Next thing she'll throw a fastball by you."
Against Northeast Bradford (21-5), Pinchorski knew she needed to throw strikes and rely on her defense to make plays behind her.
"I needed to hit my spots, and our defense needed to be top-notch today, which it was pretty good," Pinchorski said.
"This was one of the best hitting teams I threw against. I knew they were going to hit so I knew my defense was there to back me up."
Pitching wasn't the only thing Pinchorski needed to do well Tuesday.
Her momentum-changing double to lead off the bottom of the fourth set the table for RBI singles by Haley Nestor and Kyrsten Miller that gave Williams Valley a 2-1 lead.
"I was able to read her grips," Pinchorski said. "I knew the pitch was coming where I liked the pitch so I took it that way. It felt good right off the bat."
Reiser had a positive vibe before Pinchorski stepped to the dish.
"That really picked us up," Reiser said. "To tell you the truth, I said to her before she went up, 'Take one out of here. This is a bandbox here. You could take it out of here.' She's hitting the ball 300, 400 feet at practice. I said 'Take one out of here if you can.' She looked at me and laughed. Then she hit it, and at first I thought it was gone. The wind caught it and it died.
"When she got on second base, I thought we have momentum now. We should be OK."
With the way Pinchorski was dealing from the circle, that lead was going to be safe despite some tense moments.
After Pinchorski escaped the bases-loaded jam in the fifth, she retired the Panthers in order in the sixth. A hard-hit lineout to shortstop started the seventh before MaKaylah Holbert singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
The tying run 120 feet from home, Pinchorski was determined to end it.
"She was bearing down," Reiser said. "When the last batter came up all I said to her is 'You're better. You know you're better.' She looked over and she nodded. She dusted her. That's all it took."
Bindy Boyer made a running catch of a flyout to left field for out No. 2. Then a strikeout sent the Vikings into a celebration and off to Happy Valley for Friday's 3 p.m. final against Neshannock.
"It's so exciting. It's the best feeling ever," Pinchorski said. "That was our main goal. Our first goal was to win our district. Now our goal is to win states."