Blackhawk's historic run ends with loss to Valley View in PIAA championship

STATE COLLEGE — Throughout Blackhawk’s postseason run in the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs, there has been a simple formula to the Cougars’ success and that has been to start fast and the results will come.

While Blackhawk got off to that signature fast start, Valley View’s bats staged a five-run comeback in a massive fourth inning to defeat the Cougars 13-8 to claim back-to-back PIAA 4A high school softball championships on Friday, June 12 at Beard Field.

“When the lights come on and it’s time to play, these girls come out and get off to fast starts,” Blackhawk head coach Jim Riggio said. “Things were moving, scoring five in the first two innings and would have loved to take that fourth inning back, but if you told me that we would score that much against Valley View, I’d take it in a heartbeat.”

After cutting into the Blackhawk (15-6) deficit in the third inning, Valley View (24-3) put together a fourth inning of epic proportions, tagging the Cougars for nine runs on nine hits.

The inning consisted of six straight hits to begin the frame and four extra-base hits, capped off by catcher Maggie Hanett’s bases-loaded three-RBI single to give Valley View a five-run lead of its own.

“There might have been a couple of above-average plays that we could have made, but Kylie Prisuta has been our mule all year and you allow her to get out of those jams,” Riggio said. “I decided to walk the pitcher to load the bases. I wasn’t going to let her beat us.”

Despite the lopsided nine-run inning from Valley View, it wasn’t for a lack of effort from the Blackhawk bats, with the team ending Valley View’s impressive nine-game shutout streak.

Required Reading: Blackhawk softball dances its way to PIAA championship on historic run