JOHNSONBURG – Curwensville Area High School softball coach Allen Leigey was looking to his hitters to carry the Lady Golden Tide through the 2012 season, and if the last two nights are any indication, the sticks have arrived. Curwensville traveled to Johnsonburg Tuesday and handled the Ramettes in three innings by a 17-1 score.
“We hit the ball all right. It wasn’t against good pitching, but we took advantage of it,” Leigey said. “Tiffany (Carter) and Taylor (Goodman) really tagged the ball on a pair of home runs, and everyone hit the ball hard.”
For the second night in a row, the Lady Tide had eight batters hit safely in the game, and six of those hitters had multiple hits. Goodman, Sarah Wriglesworth and Megan Barrett pounded out three hits each while Carter, Molly Demchak and Cheyenne Pentz added two hits apiece. Carter, with a homer and a triple, and Barrett, with a double, ended the afternoon with five RBIs each. Wriglesworth legged out a triple as well and plated three teammates with her efforts.
The offense got stronger as the game went on for the visitors, but four runs in the first inning proved to be enough to win the game. Goodman led off the game with a single and Madi Peterman walked before Carter’s triple was the eventual game winning hit for a 2-0 lead. The inning continued after Carter was tagged out at home on a fielder’s choice. Pentz and Wriglesworth loaded the bases with consecutive hits, and after the second out, Barrett singled home two runs for the 4-0 lead.
Johnsonburg scored its lone run in the bottom of the first with the help of hits from Kassa Kojancic and Tommy Dwyer around the Lady Tide’s only error of the game.
The Tide second inning started exactly the same way as the first (a Goodman single, Peterman walk), but Carter would not be denied scoring as she cleared the bases with a long homer. Later in the inning Barrett doubled in two runs for a 9-1 lead.
Eight runs scored for the visitors in the third inning that would eventually invoke the mercy rule. Curwensville pounded out seven hits in the frame that featured back-to-back triples by Wriglesworth and Abby Johnson, as well as Goodman’s towering home run.
The offensive power from the Tide bats helped pitcher Tierra Shope breeze on the mound for the second night in a row as well. Shope fashioned a no-hitter on Monday against Glendale and followed that up with a three-hitter on Tuesday. Shope struck out two and walked no one in three innings of work against the Ramettes. Shope faced only 12 batters to record her fifth win of the season.
“I was very pleased with the results of today’s game, but we’re going to really find out how far we’ve come on Thursday,” Leigey looked down the road. “I think we can play with Elk County, and we have to keep hitting the ball. It will be a good measuring stick for our progress so far.”
The Lady Tide will get that test on the road Thursday afternoon in St Marys. Curwensville will face Elk County Catholic at 4:15.
CURWENSVILLE – 17
Taylor Goodman 2b 4332, Madi Peterman1b 1310, Tiffany Carter c 2225, Abby Dugo cr 0000, Molly Demchak 3b 3120, Melanie Milliron 0100, Cheyenne Pentz ss 4221, Sarah Wriglesworth cf 3233, Abby Johnson lf 3211, Megan Barrett dp 3135, Hannah Bressler rf 3000, Tierra Shope flex/p 0000, TOTALS – 26 AB 17 R 17 H 17 RBI.
JOHNSONBURG – 1
Kassa Kojancic 2b 2010, Danie Dwyer c 2010, Tommy Wildnauer cf 2010, Kiana Myers p 1000, Brittany Watts ss 1000, Cassie Biondi lf 1000, Katie Galsick 1b 1000, Alexa Marciniak 3b 1000, Raimi Akers rf 1000, TOTALS – 12 AB 1 R 3 H 0 RBI.
SCORES BY INNINGS – R H E
Curwensville 458 xxx x – 17 17 1
Johnsonburg 100 xxx x – 1 3 1
ERRORS – Wriglesworth, Wildnauer. LOB – Curwensville 6; Johnsonburg 2. 2B – Barrett. 3B – Carter, Wriglesworth, Johnson. HR – Carter, Goodman. SB – Peterman, Barrett. SAC – none. DP – none. PB – Carter; Dwyer. WP – None. HB – Demchak (Myers).
PITCHING
Curwensville – Shope 3 IP 3 H 1 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K 0 HB
Johnsonburg – Myers 3 IP 17 H 17 R 17 ER 5 BB 1 K 1 HB
WP – Shope (5-1). LP – Myers (0-6).
Lady Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 3/27 | @ DuBois Central | 8 – 7 | 1 – 0 |
| 3/29 | BROCKWAY | 2 – 6 | 1 – 1 |
| 4/02 | @ Sheffield – DH | ppd. | 1 – 1 |
| 4/04 | @ Ridgway | 11 – 3 | 2 – 1 |
| 4/11 | KANE | ppd. | 2 – 1 |
| 4/13 | @ Keystone | ppd. | 2 – 1 |
| 4/13 | KANE | 5 – 1 | 3 – 1 |
| 4/16 | @ Glendale | 11 – 0 | 4 – 1 |
| 4/17 | @ Johnsonburg | 17 – 1 | 5 – 1 |
| 4/19 | @ Elk County Catholic |