HYDE – Plays the Clearfield defense didn’t make helped prolong innings for Hollidaysburg at the Bison Sports Complex Tuesday afternoon, and the Lady Bisons came out on the short end of a 10-5 non-league scholastic softball game that appeared very winnable.
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Four of the Lady Tiger runs were unearned, while a few others might have been prevented had the Lady Bisons executed better in the field.
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“I thought we had some shabby play,” said disappointed Clearfield coach Bob Dixon, who had missed Monday’s loss to DuBois because of personal reasons.
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“I heard (Monday) night we looked lethargic.
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“Some of the kids tonight gave a good effort. Some of the performances left something to be desired.”
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The Hollidaysburg second inning pretty much told the tale.
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Aided by three errors and a fielder’s choice that didn’t result in an out, the Lady Tigers scored six runs when Lady Bison first-time starter Tristan Lewis easily could have escaped with a scoreless tie intact.
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Hollidaysburg (5-9) did register six hits in the rally, but two never left the infield and three others were flares that fell in front of Lady Bison outfielders. Amber Lemus and Hannah Mercer had run-scoring singles, and Ashley Grassmyer drove in the last two runs with a single to short center.
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“You can’t give anybody extra outs in an inning,” Dixon said. “You just can’t do that.”
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That 6-0 hole was too deep for Clearfield (6-7) to climb out.
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The closest the Lady Bisons get was 8-4 with three runs in the fifth.
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After B.J. Bowman and Julie Colesar walked, Mikayla Ebeling lashed a double to left center for an RBI. Groundouts by Mackenzie Moore and Mia Keener made it a four-run difference.
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The Lady Tigers got two runs back with two outs in the sixth to clinch a sweep of the season series, thanks to Mackenzie Walter’s second infield hit and Meredith’s pop fly that fell for an RBI-single. Julie Brustle ripped a run-scoring double into the left field corner, one of the few hard hit balls off Lewis.
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“I thought Tristan did an admirable job,” Dixon said. “I didn’t think she was overpowering by any means, but she located pretty darn good.
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“They had some weak hits. She would hit the mark, and they would get the end of the bat on it or just part of the bat on it and loop it over (the infield). Some of those loops, I think, should have been caught.”
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Lewis, a sophomore making her first start of the season, did give up 17 hits, but five were of the infield variety to go with at least a half dozen soft flyballs that fell. She struck out five and walked only one.
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Mercer paced the Lady Tigers with four hits and three RBIs. Walter had three singles while Lemus, Grassmyer and Jenna Fleck chipped in two apiece.
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Winner Kelsey Salyards scattered five hits and struck out eight. She walked eight and hit one batter.
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“Their pitcher did a nice job,” Dixon said. “She had a drop that worked really good. She looked tough at times. Other times, she was hittable.”
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Bowman and Lewis each had two safeties and one RBI for the Lady Bisons.
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Dixon, hoping his team would avenge its 5-4 loss at Hollidaysburg on April 7 when the Lady Tigers pulled it out with three runs in the bottom of the seventh, wasn’t happy his players weren’t more involved in the game.
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“Tristan comes up and gets a double and knocks in a run, and the bench is asleep,” he said. “And one inning, I looked over here on the bench, and I’ve got four players. Everybody else is out here (behind the dugout). They’re not paying attention.”
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With Lewis in the circle, Dixon shuffled his infielders, moving Keener from third to second, Colesar from first to third and giving freshman Lucy Kovalick her first start at first base.
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“We had kids out of position but, still, you’ve gotta come out here and play hard,” Dixon said. “You’ve gotta want to win. You just don’t put the uniform on and come over and have fun. Sure, it’s supposed to be fun, but it’s a lot more fun winning ball games than losing.”
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The Lady Bisons journey to Bradford Wednesday for a District 9 Northern Allegany League Big School Division game.
See photos of the game at: http://www.ladybisonsports.org/lbsSBall050410.html
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Melinda Owens ss 2000, Janell Zalno lf 3000, B.J. Bowman cf 3121, Suzie Colesar 1b 3100, Mikayla Ebeling rf 3111, McKenzie Moore c 4001, Mia Keener 2b 3101, Tristan Lewis p 4021, Lucy Kovalick 1b 1100. TOTALS: 26 5 5 5.
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Score by Innings
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Hollidaysburg 061 012 0 – 10 17 0
Clearfield     010 031 0 –  5  5 5
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Errors – Owens 3, Zalno, Bowman. LOB – Hollidaysburg 11; Clearfield 9. 2B – Brustle; Ebeling, Lewis. Sac – Fleck. SB – Bowman.
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Pitching
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Hollidaysburg – Salyards 7 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 8 BB, 8 K.
Clearfield – Lewis 7 IP, 17 H, 10 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.
HB – Salyards 1 (Zalno). WP – Salyards 4.
W – Salyards (5-7). L – Lewis (0-1).
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Umpires – Norm Bender (plate); Jay Siegel (bases).
 CLEARFIELD — 5
HOLLIDAYSBURG — 10
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Amber Lemus cf 5121, Jenna Fleck 3b 4120, Hannah Mercer ss 5143, Kat Sheehan c 5010, Mackenzie Walter 2b 5230, Kelsey Salyards p 5000, Ashley Grassmyer 1b 4122, Meredith Smith rf 4211, Jordan Stubbs lf 2210, Julie Brustle lf 1011. Â TOTALS: 40 10 17 8.
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