HYDE – Clearfield Area High School softball coach Bob Dixon has eight good reasons to be optimistic about the 2008 season, and five of those returnees have earned more than one letter.
A big bonus is the strong senior leadership from a quartet of veterans, infielders Alanna Luzier and Ashley Lias, center fielder Alyssa Anderson and catcher Kenzie McGovern. Luzier and Lias are working on their fourth letters. Anderson and McGovern are two-year letterwinners.
Junior returnees who will be plugged into the starting lineup are pitcher Mandy Rowles, another two-year letterwinner, and first baseman Julie Colesar, third baseman Megan Butler and left fielder Sarah Kovalick.
Even with all that experience, Dixon\’s outlook is somewhat tempered because of the Lady Bisons\’ up-and-down 2007 season in which they won the District 9 Class AAA championship but finished a deceiving 11-10.
Unbelievably, eight of the losses were by one run. One more clutch hit or one less error probably would have translated into wins in most of those games.
\”We want to be more consistent this year,\” Dixon said. \”We\’ll have to tighten up our defense and get more timely hits.
\”Usually, it was one inning or one mistake or leaving too many runners on base that cost us games last year. We\’re working hard so that won\’t happen again.
\”Last year, maybe we were a little too lax in accepting poor performances, both in practice and in games. If we didn\’t have a good practice, it was like, \’We know they can do it,\’ and let it go. We just assumed they would come through in the game. But it\’s always been, you play like you practice.
\”We\’re really stressing we do everything right. We\’ve made it a point that the players know if they don\’t work real hard, they\’re cheating themselves. My seniors have done a real good job of leading by example. They\’re trying to do everything correctly instead of just going through the motions.
\”And the team is working hard. I\’m proud of them. They\’re a really good group.\”
Dixon, whose first two Lady Bison teams were a combined 26-14, forecasts a big year from Rowles, who pitched much better than her 7-9 record last spring. She had a 1.98 average with 88 strikeouts and 20 walks in 109-2/3 innings in the circle. Both of her shutouts came against defending PIAA Class AAA champion Punxsutawney, 2-0 in the season opener and 4-0 in the district title game.
That was after going 5-0, one a no-hitter, with a 1.14 ERA, 36 strikeouts and 12 walks in 30-2/3 innings her freshman year.
Rowles, who has four career shutouts, has been working out under the tutelage of Bald Eagle Area coach Dave Breon of Bellefonte after all last summer for the Frenchville Her-a-Canes.
It\’s paying off, according to Dixon.
\”I think she smoothed out her motion a little bit, and she has a lot more power this year,\” he said. \”She\’s got a couple more pitches she can throw, too.\”
Promising freshman Katie Bowman is the only other pitcher on the staff.
\”If you\’re going to win in softball, you\’ve got to start out with good pitching,\” Dixon said. \”You\’ve gotta have somebody who can throw strikes, hit their spots and try to make the batters hit their pitch. We have a good 1-2 punch.\”
Rowles also will be counted on to provide power on offense as the clean-up hitter. She hit .357 with 25 hits, four doubles, one home run and 15 runs batted in last season after an outstanding freshman year when she hit .400 with 20 hits, four doubles, one triple, a team-high three homers and 15 RBIs.
McGovern will be the Lady Bison catcher for the third year in a row.
\”She made a huge step from her sophomore year and did a great job behind the plate,\” Dixon said. \”In the second half of last year, she was phenomenal in throwing out runners.
\”She didn\’t hit real well, but she has shown signs of improvement. She\’s got a little more confidence.\”
Dixon has switched positions for three players to offset the loss via graduation of all-around standouts Brittany Pataky and Nikki Collins, four-year letterwinners now playing for NCAA Division II teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
Colesar (.279 batting average in 2007) has moved from left field to first base, Lias (.366 with 25 hits and 12 RBIs) from center field to shortstop and Anderson from right field to center field.
\”We don\’t expect Julie to be Brittany Pataky, someone a coach might see only once or twice in a career, but we like her height for first base. Julie will do a solid job defensively, and we expect her to be our No. 5 hitter and hit well.\”
Dixon doesn\’t foresee Lias, who hit in the No. 3 slot, having any problems making the transition from the outfield to shortstop.
\”She has good hands and a really strong, accurate arm,\” he said.
Luzier (.293 with three doubles, three triples and 17 runs) and Butler return at second base and third base, respectively. Luzier is the ideal leadoff batter with her ability to get on base and run. Butler, who finished just under .250 last season, might be right behind her in the batting order.
\”Alanna is as good defensively as anybody we\’ve had,\” Dixon said. \”She a good leader who plays hard and is not lacking for confidence. Megan came a long way last year and made probably the best play I\’ve ever seen at Clearfield when she jumped up for a really high hopper and threw the Punxsutawney girl out in the District 9 finals. She had an amazing day at third base that day, and I\’m expecting that all the time.\”
Anderson will anchor the outfield, with Kovalick flanking her in left and junior Amber Mahlon in right.
\”Alyssa has good range and gets a great jump on the ball,\” Dixon said. \”We hope she can hit the ball like she did at the beginning of last year and stretch it out over the whole year. We\’re gonna need her to help us out offensively
\”Sarah started last year as our leftfielder, but Julie started hitting pretty well and bumped her out. Sarah is a good, solid outfielder with a strong arm.\”
Dixon noted Mahlon has grabbed the starting role in right from a group that includes junior Mariah Dunsmore and freshman Suzie Colesar. He added that Butler also might get some work in the outfield to give junior Courtney Morgan, her backup last season, some time at third base.
The 24-player varsity-JV roster is a lower number than usual, but Dixon viewed that as a plus in preseason, giving all of the players more reps in fielding and batting practices. He was very happy that Clearfield Fast-Pitch League hurlers Bob Gearhart, Larry Conklin, Todd Schickling and Andy Squires volunteered to throw in the batting cage.
\”They all came up and took their turns, so our hitters got to see live pitching more so than ever in the past,\” Dixon said. \”Once we get out on the field and in games, it won\’t be something new to them, because they\’ve been seeing quality pitches.\”
The Lady Bisons, who\’ve already lost games against Brookville and St. Marys because of weather, are scheduled to open Monday at Curwensville.
The reigning state Class A champion Lady Tide is one of four district title teams Clearfield will face. DuBois (AAAA) won the Districts 9-10 sub-regional game, while State College (AAAA) and Bellefonte (AAA) won District 6 crowns.
Another defending state champion, Philipsburg-Osceola (AA), might be another opponent, depending on how the Lady Mounties and Lady Bisons fare in the first round of the Mountaineer Tournament in late April.
With Punxsy one of several other foes boasting very good pitching, Clearfield will be tested in most games.
\”That will get us ready for the playoffs, and that\’s what it\’s all about,\” said Dixon, noting that the Lady Bisons have won the District 9 title but lost in the first round of the state tourney the last three years.
Backup pitcher Toni Brubaker (4-1) and outfielder Mallory Janocko were other seniors on the 2007 squad. Janocko, a three-year letterwinner, saw limited action because of a severe knee injury she suffered at the end of the basketball season.
Collins and Pataky, good enough as freshmen to make the All-District 9 Team, rank as two of Clearfield\’s all-time top hitters.
Collins, a strong-armed second baseman and shortstop in her four years, led the team in hits (29) and RBIs (19) for the second year in a row and also was tops in batting average (over .400), slugging percentage, doubles (7), triples (3) and home runs (3). She had nine stolen bases in 11 attempts. Collins hit .418 and drove in 19 runs as a sophomore with five doubles and four homers among her 23 hits. She hit .388 as a junior with a team-high 26 hits and 23 RBIs. She was 22-for-23 in steal attempts, most likely a Lady Bison record.
Pataky ended her career with a 103 hits, a .390 average and 50 RBIs after a 25-hit, 16-RBI senior season highlighted by a four-hit, two-RBI performance in the District 9 championship game. The gold-glove first baseman hit .333 with six doubles, two triples and two homers and 14 RBIs her junior season after pounding the ball at a .515 clip with 35 hits as a sophomore.
Rodger Porter and Mark Morgan will be Dixon\’s varsity assistants.
J.R. Rosselli, Tammy Byerly and Todd Schickling will coach the junior varsity.
The roster, with (*) denoting letterwinners:
Seniors
Alyssa Anderson (**), cf; Ashley Lias (***), ss; Alanna Luzier (***), 2b; Kenzie McGovern (**), c.
Juniors
Cassidy Aughenbaugh, of; Katlin Adamson, 3b; Megan Butler (*), 3b; Julie Colesar (*), 1b; Mariah Dunsmore, of; Carrie Harbold, 2b; Courtney Holtmyer, ss; Sarah Kovalick (*), lf; Amber Mahlon, of; Courtney Morgan, 3b-2b; Monika Parks, of; Sophie Reed, of; Mandy Rowles (**), p.
Sophomores
Samantha Broad, of-c; Amber Byerly, of-1b; Breanna Braylock, of; Rachel Cordon, ss; Baillie Davis, c; Kylie Knepp, of; Jessica Maines, 2b; Janell Zalno, 2b.
Freshmen
Katie Bowman, p; Suzie Colesar, 1b-of.
* * *
The schedule, with home games in capitals and all games to start at 4:15 p.m. unless noted:
March
20 – BROOKVILLE, postponed; 27 – at St. Marys, postponed; 31 – at Curwensville.
April
2 – at DuBois; 4 – BELLEFONTE; 8 – PUNXSUTAWNEY; 14 – BROCKWAY; 16 – SHEFFIELD; 18 – RIDGWAY; 22 – at Johnsonburg; 24 – ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC; 26 – Northern Cambria (10 a.m.) and Hollidaysburg or Philipsburg-Osceola in P-O Tournament; 27 – Hollidaysburg or Philipsburg-Osceola in P-O Mountaineer Tournament; 28 – DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC.
May
6 – ST. MARYS; 8 – at Brookville; 12 – DUBOIS; 14 – at Punxsutawney; 16 – at State College.