ORWIGSBURG – Head coach Candace Olson thinks the Panther Valley softball program is heading in the right direction.

Schuylkill Haven is just a lot closer to the ultimate destination.

The Hurricanes showed Panther Valley how much further along the road they are, rolling to a 13-0 District 11 Class 2A semifinal victory behind the no-hit pitching performance of Kyla Umbenhaur on Thursday.

Umbenhaur struck out five and allowed just one baserunner as Haven advanced to its second straight district championship game. Meanwhile, the Panthers are left with signs of improvement as their consolation prize.

“We went from winning just two games last season to winning seven games and qualifying for the district playoffs this season,” said Olson. “Our improvement has been obvious to anyone who has seen us play.

“I think the thing I’m most proud of are the compliments we’ve received from umpires and opposing coaches this season. So many of them have told me how impressed they are with the strides we’ve made.”

The Panthers flashed some of that improved play early as they trailed the heavily-favored Hurricanes just 4-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.

Although disaster struck in the form of a nine-run Haven fourth inning that put the game out of reach, Hurricane coach Tim Schweigert is someone who has seen positive signs from the Panthers.

“They improved a lot since we played them earlier in the season,” Schweigert said about a 16-1, three-inning Schuylkill Haven rout the first time the teams met. “I talked to our girls before the game about not taking Panther Valley lightly.

“If you look at their scores since we played them during the regular season, you knew they had to be improving. They only lost to Mahanoy Area, 3-2, and Mahanoy beat us this season. I made sure our girls were aware of that.”

Thanks to Umbenhaur’s dominance, the Hurricanes were never in trouble. But they weren’t comfortable either — until the fourth.

In that nine-run inning, Haven banged out six hits and took advantage of four Panther Valley errors. Seven of the nine runs were unearned.

“We have a habit of having one bad inning, Olson said. “That’s part of our learning process, I guess.

“We make a couple mistakes, and instead of finding a way to overcome them, we let them snowball. That’s probably the area we need to improve the most. Softball is a mental game, and we have to be stronger mentally.”

After scoring a two-out run in the first, Schuylkill Haven added three in the second with Abagail Mills’ two-run single being the key hit.

In the fourth, Mills added a two-run double and also scored twice. Carissa Yeager, Umbenhaur, Madison Schegel and Sophia Bates all knocked in one run during the outburst.

But it was Umbenhaur’s pitching that both coaches talked about after the game.

“That’s probably the best she has pitched this year,” Schweigert said. “We have two quality pitchers, and use both of them, so Kyla has pitched about half our games this year.

“As far as being around the strike zone and making quality pitches, this is probably the best I’ve seen her look.”

Olson added, “give their pitcher credit. We couldn’t get anything going against her. She threw strikes and their defense did a really job behind her.”

RECORDS … Panther Valley finishes the season with a 7-14 record. Haven is now 13-8.

LONELY BASE COACHES … The only Panther Valley batter to reach base was Claire Kokinda, who struck out in the second inning, but got on when the third strike got past the catcher.

MISCUES … Panther Valley pitcher Megan Pascoe deserved a better fate. The Panthers made seven errors behind her, which led to eight of the 13 runs being unearned.

TITLE GAME … Haven will meet top-seeded Minersville for the 2A championship on Tuesday.

Panther Vy. 000 00 - 0 0 7

Sch. Haven 130 9x - 13 11 0

Pascoe and Drumbone; Umbenhaur and Scott. W - Umbenhaur. L - Pascoe.