JACKSON TWP — Erica Thrower stepped into the batter's box, dug in her right foot and waited for the pitch.

With a quick swing, the Butler senior catcher sent the softball flying over the center-field fence for a solo home run.

It was no big deal at the time; The homer merely made the score Seneca Valley 6, Butler 2.

But that wasn't the biggest hit of the inning for Thrower or the Golden Tornado.

Nine batters later, Thrower dug into the box again, this time lining a single through the drawn-in infield to bring home a run and to give Butler a 7-6 lead on the way to a dramatic 8-7 come-from-behind win at Seneca Valley Thursday.

"That was fantastic," Thrower said. "That made me so happy because, in the last couple of games, I haven't been hitting as well as I would have liked to have been. So, to start it off and finish it off like that made me feel like a leader."

As elated as Butler was after the comeback, things were equally as somber on the Seneca Valley bench.

The Raiders were a three outs away from a possible WPIAL playoff berth after a 1-4 section start.

Freshman pitcher Emily Watson was cruising, scattering five hits in six innings. The only Butler run before the final disastrous inning was a solo homer off the bat of Amanda Skidmore.

There was no relief pitcher for Seneca Valley coach George Trew to call on; Watson was it.

Butler collected nine hits off Watson in the final frame.

"It's tough. It's tough," Trew said. "(The Raiders) put it all on the line today. They did a great job. They played a great game. But you have to give credit to Butler, man. That's why you never quit. That's why you play all seven innings."

After struggling against Butler starter Angie Reddick the first time the two teams met, Seneca Valley was able to get to the Tornado ace.

The Raiders scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by Megan Buletko and a two-run home run by Lauren Hunt.

Hunt's blast was the Raiders' first home run of the season after the team slammed more than 30 a year ago.

It also was Hunt's first career home run at any level.

Seneca Valley tacked on two more runs in the fourth to chase Reddick.

Skidmore, though, worked three strong innings of relief, surrendering two runs on an RBI double by Buletko in the fifth and an RBI single by Hunt in the seventh.

Skidmore wiggled out of a jam in the final inning, stranding the potential tying and winning runs on base.

"(Skidmore) is a great pitcher," said Butler coach Lori Kline. "It's tough for teams to catch up to her speed. She did a great job for us."

Butler had a playoff spot wrapped up before the game against Seneca Valley. The Raiders, who have no juniors or seniors on the roster, needed to win to stay alive.

"We had a chance," Trew said. "We came up a little bit short. We're going to keep working to build up the program, and they'll all be a year older next year and we'll be ready to go."

Butler will ride into the home stretch of the regular season and the playoffs on a high that only a dramatic comeback can provide.

"They did it for themselves," Kline said. "They turned it around all by themselves. It shows me there is no quit in them, and that's a valuable thing to have."

Butler 000 100 7 — 8 14 1Seneca Valley 030 310 1 — 7 14 2W: Amanda Skidmore (3 IP) 2 K, 1 BB.

L: Emily Watson (7 IP) 1 K, 2 BB.

Butler (9-4, 5-4): Jocelyn Bachman 2-1B, RBI; Karen Cumberledge 3-1B; Angie Reddick 2-1B; Jenna Geibel 2B, 2-RBI; Amy Steinheiser 1B, RBI; Nikki Hladik 1B; Amanda Skidmore HR, 1B, RBI; Erica Thrower HR, 1B, 2-RBI

Seneca Valley (4-10, 3-7): Alyssa DiMaria 1B, 2B; Julia Vandrak 2B, 2-RBI; Ciara Mislan 1B; Watson 2B, 2-1B; Megan Buletko 1B, 2B, 2-RBI; Sara Mantick 1B; Lauren Hunt HR, 1B, 3-RBI; Kelsey Mislan 2-1B

Today: North Allegheny at Butler; Seneca Valley at Montour