Rex, a senior who has received an NCAA scholarship from St. Francis University, hurled a four-hitter highlighted by 15 strikeouts for the Lady Mounties’ 16th win, their 10th in a row.
PHILIPSBURG – Chelsea Rex outdueled Heather Picard as once-beaten Mountain League Allegheny Division softball champion Philipsburg-Osceola slipped past Clearfield in a 2-1 nail-biter Tuesday afternoon.
Picard, a sophomore, wasn’t as dominating as far as strikeouts, recording five, but she limited one of the state’s premier Class AA teams to six hits and did not walk a batter in the finest performance of her short career.
“Heather threw a fantastic game,” Clearfield coach Bob Dixon said. “She really pitched her heart out.
“That’s a really good hitting team, and she located great, she changed speeds and she kept them off balance. She made them hit her pitch.”
The keys, according to Dixon, were Picard’s screwball, control and ability to work inside against the Lady Mounties.
“We threw up and in and down and in,” he said. “We threw only one or two pitches outside, because they like to take those pitches to right field.”
The fast-paced game was decided by an unearned run in the fourth inning, Kate Burge reaching base on the misplay and scoring on Kelci Knepp’s double.
P-O broke on top in the third when Mackenzie Wilson singled to drive in Carly Gonder, who had doubled.
For Clearfield, B.J. Bowman hit what Dixon described as a towering home run to left center in the fifth inning.
After Rex struck out eight of the first nine batters she faced, the Lady Bisons mounted a threat in the fourth when Andrea Butler broke up the Lady Mountie ace’s perfect game with a two-strike bunt single, Melinda Owens doubled off the fence in center and Bowman was intentionally walked.
Rex was up to the challenge, though, escaping via two strikeouts and a pop-up that she caught.
In the seventh, the Lady Bisons had the tying run on third base with two outs. Rachel Hoffman singled and advanced on Lucy Kovalick’s sacrifice bunt and McKenzie Moore’s groundout, but she was stranded there when Rex punctuated her eighth win with another strikeout.
“At first, we were intimidated by Rex,” Dixon said. “As the game wore on and we were hanging with them, they were really into the game. You could feel the excitement in the dugout.”
Only a win would have made Dixon any prouder of the Lady Bisons, who had lost 11-1 in five innings to the Lady Mounties last week when Burge pitched a two-hitter.
“We just fell short against a really good team,” Dixon said. “That’s the way they can play. They did a great job.”
Gonder and Wilson each had two hits for the Lady Mounties, who are 9-1 in the division with one game to play.
The Lady Bisons, 6-10 in their first season in the Mountain League with a 3-6 division mark, will travel to Brookville Friday for a non-league game.
See photos of the game here: http://www.ladybisonsports.org/lbsSBall051011.html
CLEARFIELD — 1
Andrea Butler ss 3010, Melinda Owens 2b 3010, B.J. Bowman cf 2111, Suzie Colesar 3b 2000, Mikayla Ebeling rf 3000, Rachel Hoffman lf 3010, Lucy Kovalick 1b 2000, McKenzie Moore c 3000, Heather Picard p 3000. TOTALS: 24 1 4 1.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA — 2
Carly Gonder c 3120, Amanda Arnold 1b 3000, Mackenzie Wilson ss 3021, Chelsea Rex p 3000, Kate Burge 3b 3110, Macy Harpster cf 2000, Kelci Knepp lf 2011, Aisha Goss dp 2000, Katie Carpin rf 2000, McKayla Myers 2b (flex) 0000. TOTALS: 23 2 6 2.
Score by Innings
Clearfield 000 010 0 – 1 4 1
Philipsburg-Osceola 001 100 x – 2 6 0
Error – Hoffman. LOB – Clearfield 5; Philipsburg-Osceola 4. 2B – Owens; Gonder, Wilson, Knepp. HR – Bowman (2). Sac – Kovalick; Harpster. CS – Burge (by Moore).
Pitching
Clearfield – Picard 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.
Philipsburg-Osceola – Rex 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 15 K.
W – Rex (8-0). L – Picard (3-8).