COUDERSPORT – The rematch of last year’s District IX Class A softball final changed drastically on Wednesday. Last season the Curwensville Area High School softball team won the district title over Coudersport. Yesterday afternoon in a quarter final match-up, it was the Lady Falcons who came out on top of a 4-2 tally.
Perhaps the inexperience of both teams showed a bit as only one run was earned on the night and five errors were committed – four by Curwensville freshmen.
“The breaks just fell their way this time,” said Lady Tide Coach Allen Leigey. “We didn’t hit the ball well and couldn’t get the offense going after the first inning.”
The Lady Tide put the pressure on the hosts early with two runs in the top of the first. Sara Clark led off by beating out an infield single to short. Tess Bloom followed with a grounder to second that resulted in no outs when Lady Falcon Amanda Morey’s attempt to tag Clark missed, and Bloom beat the throw to first. A wild pitch moved both runners up before Taylor Goodman’s sacrifice fly to right scored Clark. After the second out, Hannah Bressler’s double down the right-field line resulted in an RBI and a 2-0 lead for Curwensville.
“We came out and made contact right away,” Leigey said. “I thought we would score more runs after that first inning, but that’s the nature of the game. She (Falcon pitcher Kori McManus) settled in after that and made it tough for us.”
The Lady Tide really only threatened to score in one other inning with the bases loaded in the fourth. However, a double play started by McManus ended the threat and the inning. Curwensville couldn’t push a runner past first base in any other innings.
Meanwhile, Coudersport started chipping away at the lead. The only earned run of the game came in the bottom of the second. With one out Tide pitcher Stacey Johnson issued a free pass to Marissa Kinder. Amanda Morey followed with a base hit and Erin Whitman bunted both runners into scoring position. Lady Falcon shortstop Tori Brown then singled in one run to set the score at 2-1 before Johnson struck out Kayla Gleason to hold the lead at 2-1.
The hosts loaded the bases in the third with two outs, but Johnson again came up big by striking out Morey to get out of trouble.
“Stacey worked out of a couple of jams early in the game to keep it close,” Leigey mentioned. I thought that would come back to haunt them, but they kept battling.”
The inexperience in the Tide’s defense appeared in the fourth inning, however. With one out, Brown doubled and moved to third on a passed ball. Kayla Gleason then dropped down a safety squeeze that catcher Tiffany Carter threw into right field. With one run in, and a runner at second, Johnson walked Ellen Gerner and hit Angela Smoulder to again load the bases.
McManus bounced a ball to third that Goodman fielded cleanly. However, instead of forcing the runner at home, the freshman third basemen stepped on third for a force and conceded the run and the lead of 3-2. Johnson again struck out the next batter to end the inning.
“Our inexperience showed a little tonight,” said Leigey, “but we still weren’t in a bad position to win. We just didn’t take care of things offensively.”
Two errors in the sixth inning by Curwensville helped the Lady Falcons score an insurance run. Gerner reached on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice by Smoulder. After the second out, Gerner stole third, but the throw from Carter again sailed wide and allowed the run to score for the 4-2 final.
“My seniors have been through it all,” Leigey said. “They were part of two state championships. They had strong role models, and when it was their turn to set the standards and be the leaders, Tess, Stacey and Sara did all they needed to do.
Johnson finished the game in the circle with nine strikeouts, four walks and three hit batsman while giving up just one earned run on six hits. McManus allowed five hits and also struck out nine while walking three batters and giving up no earned runs.
Offensively, Bressler paced the Tide with two hits including a double and an RBI. Brown (with a double) and Gerner both had two hits for the winners.
Curwensville finished the 2010 season with a 15-7 record while Coudersport advances to the district semifinal game at 15-1. Coudersport will play the winner of the Venango Catholic and Clarion game on June 1 at a site to be determined.
CURWENSVILLE – 2
Sara Clark ss 3110, Tess Bloom cf 3100, Taylor Goodman 3b 2001, Stacey Johnson p 2000, Hannah Bressler rf 3021, Sara Wriglesworth dp 3010, Lindsay Barrett 1b 3010, Cheyenne Pentz 2b 3000, Tiffany Carter c 2000, Rachel Holland ph 1000, Madi Peterman flex/lf 0000, TOTALS – 25 AB 2 R 5 H 2 RBI.
COUDERSPORT – 4
Tori Brown ss 3121, Kayla Gleason cf 4100, Ellen Gerner c 3120, Angela Smoulder 1b 2000, Kori McManus p 4001, Mo McCusker 3b 3000, Karissa Ness pr 0000, Marissa Kinder dp 0100, Joann Martinez dp 2000, Amanda Morey 2b 2010, Rin Whitman lf 2010, Taylor Green flex/rf 0000, TOTALS: 25 AB 4 R 6 H 2 RBI.
SCORES BY INNINGS – R H E
Curwensville – 20o 000 0 – 2 5 4
Coudersport – 010 201 x – 4 6 1
ERRORS – Carter 3, Goodman; Morey. LOB – Curwensville 7; Coudersport 13. 2B – Bressler; Brown. DP – Coudersport. SB – Bressler; Kane, Gerner. SAC – Goodman; Whitman, Smoulder. HBP – Martinez, Smoulder, Morey (by Johnson). PB – Carter 3. WP – Johnson ; McManus.
PITCHING
Curwensville – Johnson 6 IP 6 H 4 R 1 ER 4 BB 9 K 3 HB
Coudersport – McManus 7IP 5 H 2 R 0 ER 3BB 9 K 0 HB
