HYDE – The Clearfield Area High School softball team got back on the winning track Thursday afternoon with Mandy Rowles spinning a strong one-hitter against Brookville for a 2-0 shutout at the Bison Sports Complex.
Ashley Lias rapped the game-winning hit and the inner defense gobbled up every grounder except one for the Lady Bisons, who had dropped their last two outings.
Rowles struck out 10 and walked none to best Leah Dietrich in a pitching duel that lasted only one hour and eight minutes. Dietrich relied more on her teammates as she struck out two while giving up five safeties.
\”A little quick, huh?\” Clearfield coach Bob Dixon began his post-game interview. \”Like Coach (Rodger) Porter told them out there, since we took over, we\’ve always preached pitching and defense. You don\’t have to score a lot. If the other team doesn\’t score, you can\’t lose. We played real good defense and got good pitching, and we won the ball game.\”
Rowles dominated the Lady Raiders with an 88-pitch performance, losing a no-no in the fifth inning when Shannon Shaffer looped a single to right, the lone ball to reach the outfield grass. Shaffer was the only Brookville (5-5) baserunner, reaching on an error in her first at-bat.
\”Mandy threw a really good game,\” Dixon said. \”(She was) all around the plate. She was hitting her mark really well. And her curve ball worked pretty good.\”
Rowles, who has worked all but one inning in the circle for the 9-4 Lady Bisons, handled two of the Lady Raiders\’ 10 groundouts, with second baseman Alanna Luzier and shortstop Lias having three assists apiece and third baseman Megan Butler adding one.
\”They played very well,\” Dixon said. \”Even ones they didn\’t field cleanly, they knocked down, kept in front of them, picked the ball up – no panic – and threw them out.
\”Hey, when you don\’t make mistakes, games are good.\”
Clearfield posted its runs in the third and sixth innings.
Luzier singled and stole second to set up the first one. She took third on a passed ball and scored on Lias\’ ground single to right field.
Dixon didn\’t foresee the Lady Bisons running up the count against Dietrich.
\”She\’s a tough little nut on us,\” he said. \”She beat us twice last year, so I guess we owe her a little bit.
\”Greg (Fenstermaker) is a good coach. He always has them ready. We\’ve always had tough games with them, no matter what they\’re doing.
\”I was nervous, because one run\’s not a lot in a ball game like this. When we got that insurance run, that made me feel better.\”
In the sixth, Lady Raider center fielder Brianne Dietrich just missed making a spectacular catch of Butler\’s drive to the left center gap, the ball falling out of her glove for a double. One out later, Rowles ended a three-game slump by drilling a single to center.
Then, she retired the Lady Raiders in order for the fifth time to get the Lady Bisons back into the win column.
\”We lost to two good teams (Philipsburg-Osceola and Bellefonte),\” Dixon said. \”We expect more of them. I think they expect more of themselves. They\’ve worked hard. And they continued to work hard. And we\’re gonna continue to work hard.
\”We want to extend our season. That\’s what we come to play for any more. People don\’t come to Clearfield thinking they\’re gonna have an easy win any more. We expect to battle them. I don\’t think there\’s any game we walk in to we don\’t expect to win. Even against Philipsburg, we felt we were gonna win.\”
Clearfield will be at home against District 9 rival St. Marys Tuesday and take to the road for the rematch with Brookville Thursday.
BROOKVILLE — 0
Amanda Liebeman ss 3000, Tonya Shaffer rf 3000, Leah Dietrich p 3000, Courtney Keth c 3000, Samantha Dietrich 3b 3000, Shannon Shaffer 1b 2010, Lindsay McManigle 2b 2000, Maria Fulmer lf 1000, Cheyanne Ross ph 1000, Brianne Dietrich cf 2000. TOTALS: 23 0 1 0.
CLEARFIELD — 2
Alanna Luzier 2b 3110, Megan Butler 3b 3110, Ashley Lias ss 3011, Mandy Rowles p 3011, Julie Colesar 1b 3000, Alyssa Anderson cf 3010, Kenzie McGovern c 2000, Courtney Morgan rf 2000, Carrie Harbold dp 2000, Sarah Kovalick (flex) lf 0000. TOTALS: 24 2 5 2.
Score by Innings
Brookville 000 000 0 – 0 1 1
Clearfield 001 001 x – 2 5 1
Errors – Keth, B. Dietrich; J. Colesar. PB – Keth. LOB – Brookville 2; Clearfield 4. 2B – Butler. SB – S. Shaffer; Luzier.
Pitching
Brookville – L. Dietrich 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
Clearfield – Rowles 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K.
WP – Rowles 2.
WE – Rowles (9-4). L – L. Dietrich (5-4).
Umpires – Scott Viehdorfer (home); Al Frecke (bases).
