Jen Robinson doesn't have a background in meteorology, but if you would have asked the Montour softball coach back in March to forecast her team's season, she would have told you it was somewhat cloudy.

Robinson was excited about the potential of her group of girls, but with just a handful of seniors on the roster and a glut of underclassmen being looked upon to play key roles, predicting how much success the Spartans would have was not an easy task.

"We really weren't sure what we would have," Robinson said. "Obviously, we wanted to win a section title and make it into the playoffs. But as the season continued, we felt like we had a chance to challenge for a WPIAL title."

Montour did indeed challenge for the WPIAL Class AAA title -- advancing to the semifinals -- and also made a run at the PIAA championship. The Spartans season may have ended with a loss to Belle Vernon in the PIAA quarterfinals last Thursday, but it did not rain on what the Spartans accomplished over the past two and a half months.

First and foremost, the Spartans (18-8) achieved their top two goals: a playoff appearance and a section championship. The Spartans jolted to a scorching 11-2 start and, despite dropping four of their final seven regular-season games, advanced to the postseason for the 10th consecutive season with a 14-6 record, 13-2 in Section 3-AAA.

And while the playoff berth was solidified long before the regular season ceased, the section title was not decided until the final day. Montour had dropped two of three games to Keystone Oaks and trailed the Golden Eagles by one game.

But in their respective regular-season finales, Montour defeated West Allegheny, and Keystone Oaks was upset by Chartiers Valley. Thus, the Spartans and Golden Eagles shared the section crown. It was Montour's third title in four years.

"It showed we had a good team and showed we could go really far if we wanted to," freshman second baseman Marina Scarantino said.

Montour continued to prove its mettle once the postseason began, advancing to the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in five seasons. The Spartans shut out New Castle and Waynesburg Central in the opening two rounds, before falling to Belle Vernon, 5-2, in the semifinals.

In the PIAA tournament, the Spartans knocked off District 10 champion Corry, 1-0, in the first round, but were bounced by Belle Vernon once again, 1-0, in the quarterfinals.

The Spartans propensity for "living on the edge" was omnipresent throughout their playoff run. Four of the team's six postseason games finished with 1-0 scores, and the others were decided by three runs.

"It was nerve-racking at some points," Scarantino said. "In the seventh inning it seemed like we were always up or down a run. If it came down to it, we did whatever we could, and most of the time we came through."

A lot of that confidence and coolness under pressure came from the fact the Spartans boasted one of the premier pitchers in Class AAA, Sarah Capp. A senior, Capp had been the Spartans top hurler the previous two seasons, and her exceptional play this year went hand in hand with the team's spiked success.

"She was the cornerstone of our team the entire year. We knew we would have to ride Sarah the entire season," Robinson said of Capp, who will switch to catcher when she moves on to Robert Morris in the fall.

Montour's quickly maturing younger players also played a gigantic role in the Spartans' extended postseason run, and provide the Spartans with plenty of optimism for upcoming years. In addition to Scarantino, the team's leadoff hitter, fellow freshmen starters Nicole Pajak and Paige Deley are also set to return, in addition to several other talented underclassmen. The Spartans will lose only four seniors, and Robinson told her team the skies will only get brighter.

"She told us not to hang our heads," Scarantino said. "She's just ready for us to come back next year and hopefully do the same."