HYDE – Far from perfect, the Clearfield Area High School softball team displayed persistence and determination to pull out an eight-inning, 8-7 victory over Huntingdon at the Bison Sports Complex Wednesday afternoon.
After grabbing the early lead with two runs in the second inning, the Lady Bisons came from behind three times to forge ties in the Mountain League Allegheny Division thriller.
Rachel Hoffman’s dramatic two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh forced the extra frame, and she wound up the winning pitcher when reserves Becca Byerly and Lucy Kovalick came through with solid hits that led to the deciding run that Tristan Lewis scored on a Lady Bearcat misplay.
“One of the best things about it is that we didn’t quit,” coach Bob Dixon said after the Lady Bisons improved to 4-6 with their second win in a row. “If we made a mistake, we didn’t drop our heads and just fold. They stayed right with it, and they played hard.
“They earned themselves that one. They beat a good team.”
Huntingdon (8-5) had won its last five games and was bent on avenging a 9-1 home-field loss on April 4, but Clearfield would not be denied a sweep.
Nine Lady Bisons joined the hit parade, with B.J. Bowman and Hoffman fronting the 12-hit attack.
Bowman singled and scored twice before belting a clutch, two-out double for two RBIs that knotted the score at 5-5 in the fifth inning.
The senior center fielder has eight hits in the last three games and is 10-for-15 in the last five after going hitless for four games.
Hoffman, meanwhile, extended her hitting streak to nine games with the homer and a single, her sixth multi-hit effort.
The sophomore right-hander struggled in the circle en route to her third win and fifth complete game.
She gave up 10 hits, twice as many as she had surrendered in any of her previous four starts, issued a season-high five walks and fired four wild pitches, two of which cost her runs.
“Early in the game, she really was missing,” Dixon said. “She had a tough time getting pitches down. Later, she got a little better location.
“Any pitcher is gonna have that night. I don’t care how you feel, some nights you’re gonna struggle. Thank goodness, it wasn’t so bad that we got beat.”
The Lady Bearcats had their chances to hang a loss on Hoffman, who had limited them to four hits and struck out eight in the prior meeting.
They stranded 12 runners, nine of them in scoring position, and had two aboard in the top of the eighth when Hoffman reached back to register her eighth and ninth strikeouts.
Singles by Bowman and Mikayla Ebeling, a sacrifice fly by Lewis and a two-out, run-scoring single through the middle by Nellie Wallace gave Clearfield its 2-0 start.
“That was a big hit,” Dixon said of the freshman catcher’s first varsity safety.
Huntingdon went in front 3-2 in the third inning. Singles by Brionna Mort, Toni Strait and Atalie Yingling got the visitors on the board. The other runs scored on a wild pitch and Cheyanne Snyder’s sacrifice fly.
After the Lady Bisons picked up the equalizer in the fourth, Bowman singled and eventually scoring on an error. Both teams posted two runs in the fifth.
After Yingling doubled inside first base, the Lady Bearcats took advantage of two miscues to regain the lead, but the Lady Bisons answered with singles by Andrea Butler and Hoffman around a forceout setting the stage for Bowman’s two-bagger that rolled to the fence in right center.
Mort broke the 5-5 tie with a leadoff liner over the fence in left in the sixth and drove in another run in the seventh with a single to left that chased home Alexyss Spencer, who had reached base when she swung at a low, inside wild pitch on an 0-2 count.
However, Hoffman restored Clearfield’s hopes with her first homer of the season, a blast to dead center.
“There was a little bit of pressure on her there, and she came through,” praised Dixon.
Scoring ahead of Hoffman was Robyn McBride, perched at third after a single on a pop-up to short right center, a stolen base and an error.
In the bottom of the eighth, Byerly led off with a laser into left field. After failing to bunt, Lewis rapped a grounder into the hole on the left side, but Lady Bearcat shortstop Kyra Shea made a nice play to force Byerly.
Then, Lewis raced around the sacks when Kovalick drilled a grounder through the right side that got past two Huntingdon outfielders.
“You’ve gotta give Becca credit for getting us a hit.” Dixon said. “That was important.
“And Lucy coming through with that hit “Oh, man!
“It was a heck of a game. They have a good, solid team. You expect that from them.
“Defensively, we made a few mental mistakes, including myself, but we fought through them.
“I told them after the game, ‘This is what I’ve been telling you all year long. This is how good you are. Don’t think you can’t play with these girls.'”
Dixon expects the win to be a big confidence booster for the Lady Bisons.
“Coming back and winning this game, especially after beating Bald Eagle (Area), maybe this is how we needed to win this game and give us more of a jumpstart.”
The Lady Bisons make the long bus ride to Mifflintown Thursday for a Mountain League cross-over game against Juniata and then will host Central in another ML-Allegheny tussle Friday.
See photos of the win here: http://www.ladybisonsports.org/lbsSBall042512.html
HUNTINGDON — 7
Brionna Mort c 5232, Toni Strait cf 5110, Atalie Yingling rf 5231, Casey Baird 1b 3120, Jenna Conner pr 0000, Cheyanne Snyder 3b 2001, Morgan Glover p 4010, Alexyss Spencer lf 3100, Kyra Shea ss 2001, Kiley Dubs dp 4000, Shannon Henney 2b (flex) 0000. TOTALS: 33 7 10 5.
CLEARFIELD — 8
Andrea Butler ss 4010, Melinda Owens 4100, Rachel Hoffman p 4222, B.J. Bowman cf 3232, Heather Picard p 2000, Mikayla Ebeling 1b 2110, Becca Byerly 1b 2010, Tristan Lewis lf 3111, Nellie Wallace c 2011, Lucy Kovalick c 2010, Robyn McBride rf 3110, Megan Vanderburgh 3b (flex) 0000. TOTALS: 31 8 12 6.
Score by Innings
Huntingdon 003 021 10 – 7 10 4
Clearfield 020 120 21 – 8 12 3
Errors – Mort, Yingling, Snyder, Spencer; Butler, Kovalick, Vanderburgh. PB – Wallace 1. LOB – Huntingdon 12; Clearfield 5. 2B – Bowman. HR – Mort; Hoffman (1). Sac – Shea; Picard 2. SF – Snyder, Shea; Lewis. SB – Mort, Yingling; McBride.
Pitching
Huntingdon – Glover 7-1/3 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.
Hoffman – 8 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 5 BB, 9 K.
HB – Hoffman 1 (Spender). WP – Hoffman 4.
W – Hoffman (3-2). L – Glover.
Umpires – J.R. Rosselli (plate) and Norm Bender (bases).
Lady Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 3/26 | @ Bellefonte | 1 – 11 | 0 – 1 |
| 3/28 | MIFFLIN COUNTY | 0 – 10 | 0 – 2 |
| 3/30 | @ Penns Valley | 0 – 1 | 0 – 3 |
| 4/04 | @ Huntingdon | 9 – 1 | 1 – 3 |
| 4/09 | @ Central | 3 – 9 | 1 – 4 |
| 4/11 | TYRONE | 7 – 1 | 2 – 4 |
| 4/13 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | 1 – 11 | 2 – 5 |
| 4/16 | @ Central Mountain | 1 – 3 | 2 – 6 |
| 4/20 | BALD EAGLE AREA | 8 – 0 | 3 – 6 |
| 4/23 | @ Juniata | ppd. | 3 – 6 |
| 4/25 | HUNTINGDON | 8 – 7, 8 inn. | 4 – 6 |
| 4/26 | @ Juniata | ||
| 4/27 | CENTRAL |