HYDE — With a pair of three-year standouts who already have made commitments to play at the college level, another trio of two-year letterwinners and a young but very talented pitcher, coach Bob Dixon is optimistic about his second season as coach of the Clearfield Area High School softball team.
\”We\’re a pretty veteran team, and I think we\’ll be a little stronger than last year with that year\’s experience and seven starters coming back,\” he said. \”Plus, we have a real good sophomore class to fill in there. Overall, I think we\’re going hit better than we did last year (.296). We\’d like to win districts and get to the state playoffs. That\’s our goal.\”
Dixon noted that many of the Lady Bisons played on summer age-group teams like the Frenchville Her-a-canes, who were 120-6-1, the Bellefonte Firestorm and the Philipsburg Hurricanes, and several were on a team that played in a New Castle dome in the late fall and early winter.
In all, eight letterwinners return from the 2006 Lady Bison squad that wound up 15-6 after losing 2-1 to Punxsutawney in the District 9 Class AAA championship game; which ended with a very controversial play in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Lady Bisons thought they were headed for extra innings on an apparent out call at first base, but the umpire ruled he had called the runner safe, allowing the winning run to score.
Clearfield\’s returnees are seniors Nikki Collins, Brittany Pataky and Mallory Janocko, juniors Ashley Lias, Alanna Luzier, Alyssa Anderson and Kenzie McGovern and sophomore Mandy Rowles.
Collins, who has accepted an offer from Slippery Rock University, and Pataky, who is headed to 2006 NCAA Division II champion Lock Haven University, will be working on their fourth Lady Bison letters. Both are career .400 hitters who were good enough to be the only freshmen named to the 2004 District 9 All-Star Team.
Collins switched from second base to shortstop without missing a beat last year, starring in the field with her range and strong arm. She had only two errors in 56 chances. Changing positions didn\’t affect her hitting. Coming off a .418 sophomore season in which she had 23 hits, including five doubles and four home runs, drove in 15 runs and scored 19 runs, Collins led the Lady Bisons in hits (26) and runs batted in (23) while sporting a second-best .388 average. She shared the lead in runs (23) and had seven extra base hits for a .552 slugging average. She may have set a school record with 22 stolen bases in 23 attempts.
Pataky provides the same combination of glovework and hitting at first base. Last year, she was charged with just one error in 181 chances for a .994 fielding average. At the plate, Pataky had a team-high six doubles, two triples and two home runs among her 21 hits that were good for a .333 batting average, third best on the team, and a .587 slugging average, which was second best. She matched Collins\’ team-high 23 runs and was third in RBIs with 14.
Pataky, who averaged a robust .515 on 35 hits as a sophomore, has collected 78 hits for a .392 average in her career. She has 34 RBIs overall.
Janocko, currently sidelined by a serious knee injury she suffered at the end of the basketball season, Lias and Luzier are the Lady Bisons with two letters.
Pitching is the dominant position in softball, and Clearfield lost one of the school\’s all-time best when Hilaree Dixon, the coach\’s daughter, graduated in 2006. The righthhander piled up 37 wins, 15 of them shutouts, and 51 complete games in four seasons, including nine victories last year when she worked 101 innings and registered a 1.87 earned run average. Dixon, who also hit .262 with a team-high three triples, gave up 72 hits, 27 earned runs and 30 walks. She notched 98 strikeouts.
However, opponents expecting a drop-off in Clearfield pitching are in for a big surprise, according to coach Dixon. Rowles started and completed four games as a freshman and finished 5-0 with two shutouts, one a no-hitter. In 30-2/3 innings, she struck out 36 batters and gave up only 17 hits and six runs, five of them earned for a 1.14 earned run average. The batting average for her opponents was .156.
\”Mandy is a big, strong girl who throws real hard and has a fantastic changeup,\” Dixon said. \”And now she\’s working on a drop. She\’s way ahead of most sophomores. She\’s pitched in the Keystone Games twice. She pitched in a national tournament in Georgia for a 16-and-under team out of Mifflinburg. She threw probably 60 games last summer for the Frenchville Her-a-canes. So, she\’s a veteran.\”
Rowles also is a power hitter who will team with Pataky and Collins for a very formidable middle of the lineup. She was the rightfielder when not pitching and led the Lady Bisons in hitting with a .400 average and slugging with a .700 average as a rookie. Among her 20 hits were four doubles, a triple and a team-high three home runs. Rowles also was second with 15 RBIs as she combined with Collins and Pataky to account for half of Clearfield\’s 104 ribbies.
Senior Toni Brubaker, who won her only varsity, will be the backup hurler.
\”She\’s been with the program four years and I want to try to get her quite a few innings,\” Dixon said. \”She\’s a dedicated kid.\”
The Lady Bisons will be solid behind the plate with McGovern and, if needed, Lias (.280 average). McGovern was the starter a year ago but gave way to Lias when she got off to a slow start at the plate. Dixon sees a different player this spring.
\”Kenzie went over to Bellefonte to work on her hitting with Bill Masullo, and she\’s not the same girl,\” Dixon said. \”She\’s really improved. I expect a lot out of her with her stick. I don\’t know who she worked with catching other than her brother Doug, who caught varsity baseball here, but she\’s definitely one of the most improved players this year.\”
Lias will return to center field and will be flanked by Anderson (.244) in right and either Sara Kovalick or Julie Colesar, both sophomores, in left. Anderson moved into the starting lineup in the second half of last season when Lias went behind the plate. Janocko (.206) will be a bonus in the outfield if she can play.
Sophomore third baseman Megan Butler is the only new face in the infield, which features Pataky, Collins and second baseman Luzier (.291), who made the transition from the outfield to lead the team in assists with 41.
Butler replaces three-year starter Chelsea Kovalick, who had 20 hits for a .333 average as a senior.
Also lost to graduation were Kyleigh Bowman, who saw action at several positions, Jess Massimino and Lori Fye.
Punxsutawney, led by ace pitcher Brooke Callen, again is the team standing in Clearfield\’s path to the state playoffs. After beating the Lady Bisons in the 9-AAA final last year, Callen hurled three consecutive shutouts as the Lady Chucks became the first District 9 team to play for a PIAA softball championship. They were beaten 3-0 by Donegal in the title game.
\”They\’ll be pretty tough,\” Dixon said. \”They play good, sound defense, and Callen throws pretty good. She tries to make you hit her pitch.\”
Since Friday\’s game at Curwensville was postponed, the Lady Bisons will open at DuBois Tuesday, weather permitting, or at home against Punxsutawney on Thursday.
Assisting Dixon are Jim Collins, Rodger Porter and volunteer Mark Morgan.
The roster, with letterwinners denoted by an asterisk:
Seniors
Toni Brubaker, p; *Nikki Collins, ss; Sara Graham, 3b; *Mallory Janocko, of; *Brittany Pataky, 1b.
Juniors
Alyssa Anderson, of; *Ashley Lias, of, c; *Alanna Luzier, 2b; *Kenzie McGovern, c.
Sophomores
Megan Butler, 3b; Julie Colesar, of; Ashlie Gearhart, of; Sara Kovalick, of; Amber Mahlon, of, c; Courtney Morgan, of, 2b; *Mandy Rowles, p.
The schedule, with home games in capitals and all games to start at 4:15 p.m. unless noted:
March
23 – at Curwensville, postponed; 27 – at DuBois; 29 – PUNXSUTAWNEY.
April
2 – BROOKVILLE; 12 – at Brookville; 13 – BALD EAGLE AREA; 16 – BROCKWAY; 18 – at Sheffield; 20 – RIDGWAY; 23 – at St. Marys; 26 – JOHNSONBURG; 27 – at Elk County Catholic; 28 – at Philipsburg-Osceola Tournament (10) with Altoona and Northern Cambria; 30 – DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC.
May
4 – DUBOIS; 8 – at Punxsutawney; 10 – ST. MARYS; 11 – at Bellefonte; 17 – CENTRAL MOUNTAIN