STROUDSBURG On Tuesday, the Mountain Valley Conference spring sports postseason got off to a stunning start with a pair of upsets in the baseball semifinals.

Lehighton came close to adding to the surprises in Wednesday's softball semifinals with an incredible rally against Stroudsburg.But in the end, the Indians' comeback from a huge deficit fell just short as they dropped a 10-8 decision.No. 2 seed Stroudsburg jumped out to a commanding 10-run lead. The Mountaineers scored four runs in the second inning and followed up with six more runs in the third inning.Emily Carmella got the party started for the Mountaineers as she blasted a two-run triple in the second inning. Teammate Emily Cramer belted another two-run triple in the following inning as Stroudsburg appeared headed for a mercy-rule victory.With the comfortable cushion, Stroudsburg coach Maynard Frantz swapped pitcher Erica Molinaro for reliever Kalista Gioglio and the game took an immediate swing."I was trying to give Erica a rest," Frantz explained. "I wanted to get Kalista some work in case I needed her tomorrow. I was thinking ahead too much. I looked at the scoreboard, saw 10-0 and I made a big coaching mistake."I was upset at myself, it seemed that the momentum shifted as soon as I made the change."The Indians scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning and blanked Stroudsburg in its half of the inningFrantz then substituted Molinaro back into the game but the Indians would keep rallying. Lehighton scored two runs in the top of the fifth and then added four in the sixth to close to within 10-8.Lehighton's Jocelyn Hunsicker was the big bat during the rally as she had three RBIs in the game. Sophia Everett and Saige Miller both contributed two singles and one RBI."That is the team that we could be," said Lehighton coach Greg Poremba about his team's gutsy comeback bid. "It's been an up and down year and we've been constantly fighting back."The girls didn't let the hits or the mistakes get to them. I couldn't ask for anything more except for a different score. They showed today why they deserve to be here because of their efforts. This is something good to build on for next week when we go to districts."Poremba credited Amanda Louden with always coming up with huge hits and underclassman Ally Armbruster in making huge strides this year and being brilliant defensively.The offense was impressive for Lehighton in the later innings, but a pitcher deserved a ton of recognition in the Poremba's eyes."Hannah Binyon came in and pitched very well coming in such a tough spot," said Poremba. "She's tough and confident and can fight through anything that goes wrong out there."Trailing by two runs heading to the seventh, the Indians weren't able to cap the comeback as Molinaro was able to sit them down in order.Stroudsburg will play for the Mountain Valley Conference title this afternoon against Pleasant Valley. The game will be at 4 p.m. at Pocono Mountain East.Lehighton 000 224 0 - 8 10 3Stroudsburg 046 000 x - 10 11 1Bickert, Binyon (3) and Andrews; Molinaro, Gioglio (4), Molinaro (5) and Pizzo. W - Molinaro. L - Bickert.