Sentinel photo by MIKE GOSS Juniata assistant coach Craig Bubb congratulates Shalelyn Armstrong during a recent playoff game.

MIFFLINTOWN — Juniata softball’s postseason run is no longer a surprise to most teams. Just ask Forest Hills, which the Indians beat in walk-off fashion to capture the District 6 Class 3A crown.

Or Burrell, which was greeted by a packed house in Mifflintown and left with a 1-0 defeat to Juniata in the PIAA opener. You could also try defending 3A state champion Avonworth, which was drubbed by the Indians and knocked out of the playoffs.

Then, there was Jamestown, which was stymied by Juniata’s left-handed ace Elizabeth Gaisior in the PIAA Final Four.

That brings us to today’s PIAA Class 3A State Championship game at Penn State’s Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park. The Indians (25-3) certainly won’t sneak up on the Mid Valley Spartanettes (22-2), who were the state runner-up in 2021.

“They have a really good pitcher,” Juniata head coach Erin Cressman said of Mid Valley phenom Maranda Runco, who is headed to Division I Villanova University next year.

A senior, Runco is 19-2 with a 0.51 earned run average, 14 complete games, 14 shutouts and six no-hitters in 19 states. By the way, on offense, she also batted .640 with 15 home runs.

Mid Valley, winner of District 2, advanced to the title tilt by knocking off District 11 champion Palisades, 8-1. The Spartanettes scored seven runs in the bottom of the second inning on a combination of timely hits, walks and errors.

One advantage is the braintrust of Cressman’s staff with assistants Jack McCurdy, Craig Bubb and Jordan Shirey, who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the ballpark.

McCurdy was a tremendously successful high school softball coach in Mifflin County, while Bubb has coached many travel teams and even faced Runco on one occasion.

“Jack’s probably been coaching for as many years as I’ve been alive,” Cressman quipped. “Just having that experience really helps us adjust. They’ve coached so many kids, they know how to coach personalities and how to coach them.”

Cressman played softball at Nashoba Regional High School in Massachusetts then at Division III Messiah University. In high school, she started out in centerfield as a freshman then played third base as a sophomore and junior and shortstop as a senior.

At Messiah, Cressman was a designated player and first baseman for the first two years then third base as a junior and shortstop as a senior.

“In high school, we never got past the district semis,” she said. “In college, my freshman year, we made it all the way to nationals and lost in the national championship series. That was a really fun experience.”

Cressman believes the keys to Juniata winning the game are playing solid defensively, hitting the ball and having Gaisior continue to dominate from the circle.

“If that happens, we should be in a good spot,” Cressman noted.

The Indians could be in for a long day if the Spartanettes get to Gaisior, who’s verbally committed to Division I Fordham as a junior.

“If they can really get to Liz, they’ll probably win,” Cressman said. “No one’s been able to do that this year.”

Part of the problem for opposing teams is that they haven’t seen a pitcher like Gaisior before and by the time they figure out a possible approach, it’s game over.

“We’ve liked the fact that these teams haven’t seen Liz before,” Cressman said. “With these games, you have to make adjustments on the fly. They have a couple slappers and a couple power hitters.”

One thing Cressman has noted is that her players haven’t gotten rattled in pressure-packed situations.

“They’re a good group that wants to win,” she explained. “They take themselves too seriously, but they have that confidence about them.

“They come to practice and work hard. They show up for games and play well, like they’ve been there before,” she added. “Their level of focus has gone up a notch since school got out and it’s stayed there.”

The playoff run has been a total team effort. While Gaisior’s pitching garners most of the headlines with her Ks – 20 against Jamestown – her bat has also been red-hot in the playoffs.

While contributions have come from up and down the lineup, juniors Lexie Frontz and Alexa Kuhn, sophomore Regan Lowrey and freshman Sophie Smith have been a few of the clutch hitters as of late.

Gaisior’s .423 average leads all regulars, but Lowrey at .352 and Frontz at .342 are also hitting well. Lowrey’s five home runs lead Juniata. Gaisior has driven a team-high 28 runs, while Frontz and junior Shalelyn Armstrong had 21 apiece.

First pitch of the PIAA Class 3A Championship versus Mid Valley is at 1:30 p.m. today.