HYDE – A sparkling five-hitter by Toni Brubaker highlighted a 6-1 Senior Day victory over St. Marys for the Clearfield Area High School softball team Thursday at the Bison Sports Complex.
One of four Lady Bison seniors recognized prior to the game, Brubaker struck out six and walked one en route to her third win in four decisions. The Lady Dutch\’s run was unearned.
\”She did a heck of a job in the circle,\” coach Bob Dixon said after the Lady Bisons ended a three-game losing skid. \”She\’s a solid pitcher.\”
Dixon admitted he had mixed emotions watching Brubaker, shortstop Nikki Collins, first baseman Brittany Pataky and outfielder Mallory Janocko walk down the third base line with their parents to stand in front of the Clearfield fans.
\”It\’s kind of sad to see them leave,\” he said. \”I\’ve been with Nikki and Brittany and Mallory and Toni since they were in junior high, because I was working junior high when they were playing. So, it\’s a sad day in a way. But they all played well. They\’ve represented Clearfield very well. They\’re four excellent young people. The school did a good job.\”
Brubaker, whose opportunities have been limited because of former Lady Bison standout Hillaree Dixon and current No. 1 hurler Mandy Rowles, made the most of this one. The righthander set St. Marys down in order in four innings, and only three Lady Dutch runners reached second base.
\”She did a nice job,\” Dixon said. \”At the beginning of the game, she had a tough time getting it down. That\’s what she needed to work on, trying to keep the ball down and let them hit it. That\’s why we work on defense.\”
If Brubaker was having any problems with location early on, the Lady Dutch weren\’t aware of it. They went down in order the first time around before shortstop Whitney Schlimm, who speared five line drives to frustrate Lady Bison hitters, ended Brubaker\’s perfect start with a leadoff double into the left field corner in the fourth inning. She scored on a throwing error on Ashley Jacobs\’ infield hit.
Aided by two strong throws by Kenzie McGovern that cut down Lady Dutch runners trying to steal, Brubaker was in command throughout.
\”They were right on the bag,\” Dixon said of his junior catcher\’s throws. \”All Nikki had to do was grab the ball. She\’s doing a great job back there. She\’s really come a long way. And she keeps getting better. I know she\’s not having a great year as far as average, but, man, she has a good on-base percentage.\”
Sophomore third baseman Megan Butler enjoyed her best day at the plate with an RBI-single and a triple, her first career extra base hit, while junior second baseman Alanna Luzier also had a pair of hits and an RBI.
The seven hits the Lady Bisons had didn\’t reflect the way they stung the ball. Eight line drives wound up in the gloves of the St. Marys fielders, and Alyssa Anderson and Rowles just missed home runs with clouts down the left field line that landed in foul territory.
\”That shortstop has got to have a sore hand as many (line drives) as she caught,\” Dixon laughed. \”We hit the ball well, hit it hard. We\’ve been hitting the ball well. What we haven\’t done up to this point has been hit the ball well with people in scoring position. Maybe that\’s why we lost seven one-run games.\”
Clearfield, 7-8 with only four games remaining due to the loss of the home finale against Central Mountain because the start of the District 6 Playoffs next week, pecked away at Holt after breaking on top 2-0 in the second inning.
Butler came through with a clutch two-out single to center to drive in Pataky with the first run,and Anderson also scored when the ball bounced past the Lady Dutch outfielder.
Butler was the catalyst for two runs in the fourth. When rightfielder Nicole Gradizzi failed to make a shoestring catch of her drive to right, Butler raced around to third. She alertly dashed to the plate on a wild pitch on ball four to McGovern. Luzier followed with a double to left center to make it 4-0.
The Lady Bisons also scored singletons in the next two innings with two outs. Pinch-hitter Sarah Kovalick\’s single that dropped just inside the right field line plated Pataky in the fifth. Luzier punched a single to right and then used her legs to produce the final tally, stealing second and scoring on two wild pitches.
Clearfield backed Brubaker with a good defensive effort, which included four catches by centerfielder Ashley Lias, one on which she raced almost to left field.
\”How much ground did she cover tonight?\” Dixon asked. \”That one play, I thought she was coming over here and get something to eat before she caught it. She came a long way. That was some catch. Between her and Anderson, we\’ve got two of the best defensive outfielders I\’ve ever seen.\”
The Lady Bisons will travel to Bellefonte today.
ST. MARYS — 1
Whitney Schlimm ss 2110, Lindsey Daly 1b 3010, Ashley Jacobs 3b 3010, Macy Rupprecht cf 3000, Vanessa Eozzo c 3010, Jocelyn Wensel 2b 3000, Nicole Gradizzi rf 2000, Alyssa Nicklas rf 1010, Katie Daly lf 3000, Shelly Herzing dp 2000, Jen Holt (flex) p 0000. TOTALS: 25 1 5 0.
CLEARFIELD — 6
Alanna Luzier 2b 4121, Ashley Lias cf 3010, Nikki Collins ss 3000, Mandy Rowles dp 3010, Brittany Pataky 1b 2200, Alyssa Anderson rf 2100, Sara Kovalick ph-rf 1011, Mallory Janocko lf 3000, Megan Butler 3b 3121, Kenzie McGovern c 2100, Toni Brubaker (flex) p 0000. TOTALS: 26 6 7 3.
Score by Innings:
St. Marys 000 100 0 – 1 5 4
Clearfield 020 211 x – 6 7 2
Errors – Schlimm, Rupprecht, Eozzo, Wensel; Collins, Butler. PB – Eozzo 1. LOB – St. Marys 4; Clearfield 6. 2B – Schlimm, Lias. 3B – Butler. SB – Luzier 1, Lias, Butler. CS – Rupprecht, Kati Wendel (by McGovern).
Pitching
St. Marys – Holt 6 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 4 BB. 3 K.
Clearfield – Brubaker 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.
WP – Holt 5.
W – Brubaker (3-1). L – Holt.