HYDE – A revamped and very challenging schedule because of the formation of two leagues and a lot of new faces on his fourth Clearfield Area High School squad have coach Bob Dixon apprehensive and excited about the 2009 season.
Veteran pitcher Mandy Rowles, first baseman Julie Colesar, infielder Megan Butler and right fielder Suzie Colesar are the only returning letterwinners from last year\’s 11-7 team, but Dixon expressed a lot of confidence in the players moving up from the junior varsity as well as a very good group of freshmen.
\”With the Junior Olympic and junior high programs we have, the girls coming up to high school are better prepared than several years ago,\” Dixon proclaimed. \”This is the best freshman class we\’ve had in a long time. Some of them have been playing five or six years.\”
How quickly the returnees and newcomers jell will be all-important since Clearfield will face four Class AAAA opponents in the next 10 days, a tough task for a team needing to gain some confidence. The opener is Wednesday at State College.
\”It definitely will be a lot tougher to get wins, but it\’s going to be interesting,\” Dixon said in evaluating the schedule which features the three teams that battled for the District 6 Class AAAA title last spring, State College, Central Mountain and Hollidaysburg, as well as the only Class AAAA teams in District 9, DuBois, and District 4, Williamsport.
The upgraded schedule does give the Lady Bisons a chance to seek a league title for the first time in the program\’s history.
Clearfield will join DuBois, District 9 Class AAA champion Punxsutawney, Brookville, St. Marys and Bradford in the District 9 League and DuBois, Punxsy, St. Marys, State College, Altoona, Hollidaysburg and Williamsport in the Central Penn League.
Non-league opponents, in addition to Central Mountain, are District 9 Class A runner-up Curwensville and perennial District 6 Class AAA contender Bellefonte.
\”I don\’t see a weak spot on the schedule,\” Dixon said. \”Hopefully, we\’ll be up to the challenge and surprise a lot of people.\”
Gone from the schedule are DuBois Central Catholic, Brockway, Elk County Catholic, Johnsonburg, Ridgway and Sheffield, all District 9 Class A teams.
Dixon views the changes as a big plus for the Lady Bisons, especially down the road, since more opportunities will be provided for players at the junior high level.
\”A lot of the small schools in District 9 don\’t emphasize softball like we do here in Clearfield, and we\’re surrounded by schools that take their softball seriously,\” he pointed out.
\”We should be a lot better going into the playoffs.\”
The Lady Bisons will be leaning heavily on Rowles, who pitched almost every inning last year and enters her senior season 23-16 with 251 strikeouts and only 51 walks in 231-1/3 innings. The senior right-hander\’s strikeout-walk ratio was 127-19 for 108 innings in 2008.
\”She worked hard all year around and has looked good so far,\” Dixon said. \”Hopefully, this will be her best year.\”
Any innings Rowles doesn\’t work will go to freshman Andrea Butler, who will be in the circle for the jayvees along with classmate Tristan Lewis.
Rowles also will be counted on to produce at bat and will move from clean-up into the No. 3 spot in the order.
She\’s owns a career .380 average with 65 hits, including 11 home runs and 14 doubles, and has driven in 59 runs.
The Lady Bisons will be solid defensively at the corners with seniors Julie Colesar at first and Megan Butler at third, and both are above-average hitters. Butler (.358) had 19 hits and nine RBIs and Colesar (.320) had 16 hits and 11 RBIs last season.
Slated to start in the middle of the diamond are senior Courtney Morgan at second and Andrea Butler at short.
\”Courtney played some third base the last two years, but second base is her position,\” Dixon said. \”It\’s just that we had two really good players (Nikki Collins and Alanna Luzier) ahead of her the last three years. She\’ll handle the job. She has nice range.\”
Junior Chantell Read, who transferred from Curwensville, rates the edge over freshmen McKenzie Moore and junior Baillie Davis as the successor to three-year starter Kenzie McGovern behind the plate.
\”Read is looking good, but Moore is a very talented freshman and is pushing her hard,\” Dixon said.
The Lady Bisons could have different looks around the infield.
Megan Butler is the back-up for her younger sister at short, Read has been working at third base and Morgan also could help out there with senior Carrie Harbold and junior Janell Zalno very capable of getting the job done at second.
Zalno or Katie Bowman will be in left, with the other one possibly getting the nod as the designated player.
Freshman B.J. Bowman has all the tools to be a fixture in center field for the next four years.
Suzie Colesar (.200 last year) will be in right field but also can play first base.
Other outfield candidates include seniors Laura Jean Hill in left, Sophie Reed in center and Maria Dunsmore in right.
Harbold, who was 7-for-15 but didn\’t letter last year, is another DP candidate.
\”I\’ve always liked her,\” Dixon said. \”She is very fast and always make contact.\”
Most likely, Dixon will utilize various combinations during the course of the season.
\”By the end of the year, our lineup might be totally different from the way we start because of so many new players,\” he said.
McGovern, Luzier, shortstop Ashley Lias and center fielder Alyssa Anderson were the 2008 seniors, and they departed CAHS with 14 letters. Luzier and Lias earned four apiece.
\”They were all solid ball players, and they played a in lot of games,\” Dixon said. \”It\’s gonna be tough replacing them.\”
Sarah Kovalick, a two-year letterman in left field, is not playing her senior season.
Dixon will be assisted by Rodger Porter and volunteers Phil Hugney and Larry Conklin on the varsity.
Andy Squires is the junior varsity coach and Dave Picard is the junior high coach.
The roster, with letterwinners denoted by (*):
Seniors – Kaitlin Adamson, 3b; Megan Butler (*), 3b-ss; Julie Colesar (*), 1b; Mariah Dunsmore, of; Carrie Harbold, 2b; Laura Jean Hill, of; Courtney Morgan, 2b-3b; Sophia Reed, of; Mandy Rowles (*), p.
Juniors – Breanna Blaylock, of; Samantha Broad, of; Baillie Davis, of-c; Rachel Cordon, ss; Bethany McClellan, of; Chantell Read, c; Janell Zalno, lf-2b.
Sophomores – Katie Bowman, lf-ss; Suzie Colesar (*), rf-1b; Ana Dungan, if; Sarah Graham, of.
Freshmen – B.J. Bowman, of; Andrea Butler, ss-p; Maria Cordon, of; Mia Keener, 1b; Robyn McBride, 3b-of; McKenzie Moore, c; Tristan Lewis, p-3b; Melinda Owens, 2b; Amanda Peoples, of; Lindsey Samsel, of; Tori Wilsoncroft, of.
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The schedule, with home games in capitals, (CPL) for Central Penn League and (D9L) for District 9 League:
(All games at 4:15 p.m. unless noted)
March
25 – at State College (CPL), 4:30 p.m.; 30 – DUBOIS (D9L and CPL).
April
1 – HOLLIDAYSBURG (CPL); 3 – ALTOONA (CPL); 6 – at Bradford (D9L); 8 – PUNXSUTAWNEY (D9L and CPL); 15 – at St. Marys (D9L and CPL); 20 – WILLIAMSPORT (CPL); 22 – at Brookville (D9L); 24 – CURWENSVILLE; 25 – at Central Mountain, 10 a.m.; 27 – at DuBois (D9L and CPL); 29 – BRADFORD (D9L).
May
1 – at Hollidaysburg, 4 p.m.; 4 – at Punxsutawney (CPL and D9L); 6 – ST. MARYS (D9L); 8 – at Bellefonte, 4:30 p.m.; 11 – CENTRAL MOUNTAIN; 13 – BROOKVILLE (D9L); 15 – at Altoona, 4:30 p.m.
