STRATTANVILLE — It’s been awhile since the Brookville Lady Raiders softball team won a postseason game.

Like since before none of the current Lady Raiders were even born.

Tuesday’s 2-1 nail-biting win over No. 4 seed Central Clarion at the C-L Sports Complex gave the fifth-seeded Lady Raiders their first playoff win since 2006, which happened to be an opening-round state playoff 2-1 victory over WPIAL runner-up Neshannock.

Unlike the regular-season slugfest Central Clarion and Brookville engaged in last Saturday at Heindl Field in DuBois where the Wildcats won 12-8, the playoff matchup had Lady Raiders pitcher Alyssa Tollini and Central Clarion’s Jenna Dunn throwing up zeroes.

Brookville (10-8) scored a run in the first and a very important insurance run in the top of the seventh. Tollini blanked the Wildcats for six innings until the scratched a run across in the bottom of the seventh.

“We’ve been preaching since day one that we want to put pressure on the other team,” said Brookville first-year head coach Cliff Park, whose team faces top-seeded Cranberry in Thursday’s semifinal at Heindl Field in DuBois at 4 p.m. “Today that worked out for us, and we were able to get the win.

“Survive and advance that’s what we’re looking for right now,” said Park. “We know we have a challenge ahead of us, but we’re looking forward to it.”

Up 1-0 in the top of the seventh, the Lady Raiders scored their second run when Cassidy Sarvey reached on an error. Megan McKinney laid down a bunt and reached on a throwing error, but Sarvey was thrown out on a rundown play with Wilson applying the tag for the out.

Kailin Bowser singled to center before Tollini drove in McKinney for a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, Karlee Mahle led off with a single up the middle, Brinley Kiskadden reached on an error. Ali Burford hit a ground ball to third which forced out Mahle at third, Burford reached when the return throw to first was mishandled.

Emileigh Mahle walked to load the bases. Wilson grounded out back to Tollini which scored Kiskadden, but a fly out to center by Dunn ended the game with the Raiders surviving with the one-run playoff win.

“We made a few errors today in the field,” said Park.

Tollini allowed one unearned run on six hits in seven innings. She walked three and struck out two.

“I was a little worried in that first inning when Alyssa got hit (by a pitch),” said Park. “But she recovered and threw a fantastic game for us today.”

For Tollini and the Lady Raiders, the win ended the program’s 19-year playoff drought that included just five playoff appearances since the team reached the second round of the PIAA playoffs in that 2006 Cinderella 9-11 season that saw the Lady Raiders win the D-9 title as the fourth seed with a 12-3 win over Redbank Valley.

After the win over Neshannock, the Lady Raiders were walked-off in a 4-2 loss to District 10’s Harbor Creek, the eventual Class 2A state champion, on a one-out three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning.

From there, the Lady Raiders lost playoff openers in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2017 and 2019, so the Tuesday win ended what was a six-game losing streak that covered 19 years.

“It feels surreal because for so many years we didn’t have a winning record and were overlooked for so long,” Tollini said later. “It was such an accomplishment to win such an important game, especially in my senior year, with the best defense behind me tonight.”

Ironically, Tollini had to give a big nod to one of her former travel ball coaches, who happened to be coaching the Wildcats in his first season with the program in Don Watson.

“The (seventh) started off with a few errors, but I knew I had to really focus on getting ahead of the count and had to trust that the defense behind me would eventually get us out of the inning,” Tollin said. “It was also significant in that inning because I was using the skills my pitching coach taught me, who was actually the head coach of the other team, so I felt like I was supported on both sides of the field.

“I’m just super-proud of us,” she finished. “I was so emotional after the game just with Coach Watson being my pitching coach to this day since like six or seven years ago.”

In the top of the first after one out, Kailin Bowser reached on an error and stole second base. After a strikeout, Jordan Daisley hit a triple to center field to score Bowser. Daisley was stranded at third and Brookville led 1-0.

In the bottom of the inning, JJ Wilson hit a one out single but was caught stealing. Dunn drew a walk and Ashlyn Clark singled. A flyout to left field ended the threat leaving the score 1-0 Brookville after one.

Brookville put a runner at second base in the second, fifth, and sixth innings but could not score. The Raiders left a total of nine runners on base for the game.

Central Clarion left eight runners on base including four at second base along with runners at second and third in the seventh.

“We weren’t able to hit the ball today,” said Central Clarion’s Watson, whose team wound up the year 9-7. “The whole team battled today from the ones on the field to our dugout, but we weren’t able to hit until the last inning and we still came up short.”

Bowser collected two hits to lead Brookville. Tollini, Daisley, Greeley, and Suhan each added one hit. Tollini and Daisley each drove in a run with Daisley hitting a triple.

Wilson led Central Clarion with two hits and an RBI. Emileigh Mahle, Ashlyn Clark, Karlee Mahle and Ali Burford each added a hit.

— Jeffersonian Democrat Sports Editor Rich Rhoades contributed to this story.