CURWENSVILLE – Working any batting order to spin a no-hitter is never an easy task and requires dedication and focus. Curwensville Area High School senior Stacey Johnson earned her fifth no-no of the season Wednesday night in a 15-0, four inning win over Harmony.
Johnson struck out seven before the mercy rule took effect in in the bottom of the fourth inning. Nine Owl runners were allowed to reach base on the night via seven walks and two hit batsman. However, after loading the bases twice, Johnson and the defense denied the visitors in consecutive innings.
Harmony went down in order in the first inning as Johnson used just 13 pitches to strike out the side.
The Lady Tide opened the bottom of the first with a run as Sara Clark led off with a single. Tess Bloom then laid down a successful bunt that moved Clark to second. After the second out, Johnson singled over third base to plate Clark for the 1-0 start.
An unearned run in the second gave the hosts a 2-0 lead. Lindsay Barrett reached first on a fielder’s choice and an error. She stole second base, moved to third on a ground out to the right side and scampered home on a passed ball.
Harmony threatened in the third and fourth innings by loading the bases twice. After two strike outs in the third, Johnson hit Alecia Sheath on a 1-and-2 pitch and walked Danielle Wright and Lindsay Neff consecutively. Barrett was able to get the Tide out of the inning by knocking down a hard liner and taking the ball to first unassisted.
Two walks opened the fourth for the Owls, and after two fly-ball outs, a third free pass filled the bases again. Barrett again handled the opportunity for the third out on a soft liner that she gloved easily.
The game came to an abrupt end in the bottom of the fourth as the Tide took advantage of every opportunity to plate 13 runs while sending 17 batters to the plate.
Hannah Bressler opened the inning with a single, Barrett was hit by a pitch and both moved up on a wild pitch from Lindsay Neff. After the first out, Neff walked Cheyenne Pentz and Madi Peterman to score the first run. The bats came to life as Clark singled and Bloom doubled to set the score at 6-0 at the time. Taylor Goodman was then hit by a pitch to load the bases again and walks to Johnson and Bressler chased Neff from the circle with an 8-0 deficit.
The pitching woes continued for Harmony as Makenzie Kruise opened with a pair of walks for a 10-0 count. Pentz then singled in the final two runs charged to Neff. Peterman followed with a free pass to once again load the bases. Clark’s fielder’s choice came up empty for the Owls at the plate and the score stood at 13-0 with just one out.
The inning continued as Bloom hit safely for the second time in the inning to give the hosts a 14-0 lead with the bases still loaded. Head Coach Allen Leigey then went to the bench and called on junior Katie Wriglesworth to pinch hit. Wriglesworth jumped on the first pitch offered and drove a ball deep enough to right field to score Peterman on a sacrifice fly to set the 15-0 final.
“I wanted to get it (the game) over as quick as possible,” Leigey said. “We came up with hits when we needed them, and we’ll take the walks. We sure have given away our share of them, and it was nice to take advantage of them for once.”
Bloom paced Curwensville at the plate by going 3-for-3 with two doubles, three RBI’s and scoring once. Clark finished the game with two hits, two runs scored and two RBI’s while Johnson and Pentz also drove in two runs each. Barrett scored three times as Bressler, Pentz and Peterman also scored twice.
Curwensville now stands at 12-4 on the season and will travel to Moshannon Valley on Friday.
HARMONY -0
Makenzie Kruise c/p 2000, Alecia Sheath 3b 2000, Danielle Wright ss 1000, Lindsay Neff p/lf 0000, Amanda Royer cf 2000, Chelsey Hughes rf 0000, Whitney Rogers 2b 0000, Brittany Maseto 1b 2000, Brianna Beck lf/c 20000, TOTALS – 11 AB 0 R 0 H 0 RBI.
CURWENSVILLE – 15
Sara Clark ss 4222, Tess Bloom cf 3133, Taylor Goodman 3b 2100, Katie Wriglesworth ph 0001, Stacey Johnson p 1112, Hannah Bressler rf 1211, Lindsay Barrett 1b 1301, Rachel Holland dp 2101, Cheyenne Pentz 2b 1212, Madi Peterman rf 1201, Tiffany Carter flex/c 0000, TOTALS – 16 AB 15 R 8 H 14 RBI.
SCORES BY INNINGS – R H E
Harmony 000 0xx x – 0 0 1
Curwensville 110 (13)xx x – 16 8 0
ERRORS – Maseto. LOB – Harmony 8; Curwensville 4. 2B – Blom 2. SB – Barrett. SAC – Bloom, Wriglesworth. HBP – Sheath, Rogers (by Johnson); Goodman, Barrett (by Neff) PB – Kruise ; Carter 2. WP – Neff.
PITCHING
Harmony- Neff – 3.1 IP 6 H 11 R 10 ER 7 BB 2 K 2 HB
Kruise – 0.1 IP 2 H 4 R 4 ER 3 BB 0 K 0 HB
Curwensville – Johnson 4 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 7 BB 7 K 2 HB
