HYDE — Any hopes the Clearfield Area High School softball team had of avenging its season-opening 10-0 Mercy Rule loss to Central were muffled by Brooke Albright’s solid pitching, and the Scarlet Dragons mounted an 11-hit attack to defeat the Lady Bison 8-2 at the Bison Sports Complex Thursday.
Albright, who hurled a three-hitter with eight strikeouts, was so dominant in the early going of the Mountain League game that she retired 10 batters in a row and 16 of the first 17.
“We were just late on stuff to start the game and the kids were a little bit tentative,” Clearfield coach Bob Lewis said. “You try to figure out hitting secrets and sometimes you’re just not as aggressive as you need to be at the plate. I think that’s what we saw.”
Lauren Butler broke up Albright’s no-no with a single to center the fourth inning.
Her shutout went by the boards in the sixth when Rachel Hoffman blasted a triple to deep center after pinch-hitter Taylor Luzier received Albright’s only walk, Megan Vanderburgh reached on a force-out and Butler dropped a single behind second base.
Central (7-3, 4-2 ML) already had seven runs in the hopper, though.
Held scoreless for three innings by Hoffman, the Lady Dragons capitalized on two walks in the fourth when Albright grounded a two-out single through the middle to plate Marissa Snyder and Darby Boyles.
“We hit that wall about the fourth inning, because the two runs that scored were walks,” Lewis said. “You’ve gotta try to avoid that when you’re in a tight ball game. But, we had fought out of a couple jams early as well.
“In the kids’ defense, they did all play well through those first three and a half innings. Like coach (Fred Redden) said, it’s all about momentum. It really is.”
And the Scarlet Dragons kept it going in the fifth, Taylor Garman igniting the five-run outburst with a frozen rope to left field for a home run at the now-fenceless BSC varsity field.
Moments later, Snyder singled for an RBI and scored easily when Ashley Smith boomed a triple to very deep left center.
After Raeleigh Redden relieved Hoffman, Smith scored on a wild pitch and Gabby Eberlin singled and stole second ahead of an RBI double by Albright.
Snyder led off the seventh by lashing Central’s fifth extra base hit, a triple down the left field line, and scoring on Smith’s groundout.
“They are a good hitting team, and they just hammer away at the ball,” Lewis said.
That’s the area the Lady Bison must improve on the most in the next month.
“I’ll compliment our kids for playing solid defense,” he lauded their errorless effort. “And Rachel did pitch well. It was only 2-0 going into the fifth inning.
“But the hitting has to be more consistent.”
Clearfield (2-5, 2-4 ML) will seek a season sweep of Huntingdon Tuesday at the BSC.
CENTRAL — 8
Taylor Garman c 4121, Janine Snyder lf-cf 3110, Brittany Garner ph-rf 1000, Marissa Snyder ss 3321, Ashley Smith 3b 3112, Gabby Eberlin 1b 4120, Darby Boyles rf 3110, Morgan Ebersole 2b 0000, Brooke Albright p 4023, Lauren Aiello 2b-cf 3000, Cassidi Barnes cf 2000, Kerry Walters cf 1000. TOTALS: 31 8 11 7.
CLEARFIELD — 2
Megan Vanderburgh 3100, Lauren Butler 2b 3120, Rachel Hoffman p-cf 3012, Devynn Ireland c 3000, Karlie Lewis cf-lf 3000, Sierra Jones 3b 3000, Victoria Ireland 1b 3000, Macala Leigey dp 2000, Rachel Redden lf-p 1000, Taylor Luzier ph 0000, Olivia Smith rf (flex) 0000. TOTALS: 24 2 3 2.
Score by Innings
Central 000 250 1 – 8 11 1
Clearfield 000 002 0 – 2 3 0
E – M. Snyder. LOB – Central 5; Clearfield 2. 2B – Garman, Albright. 3B – M. Snyder, Smith; Hoffman. HR – Garman. Sac – Smith. SB – J. Snyder, Eberlin, Boyles.
Pitching
Central – Albright 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K.
Clearfield – Hoffman 4-1/3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; Redden 2-2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
WP – Albright 1; Redden 1.
W – Albright. L – Hoffman (2-4).
Umpires – Bill Bacharach (plate) and Tim Rupp (bases).
Lady Bison Scoreboard:
Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
3/24 | @ Central | 0 – 10 | 0 – 1 |
3/25 | @ Central Mountain | ppd. | 0 – 1 |
3/27 | @ Huntingdon | 8 – 4 | 1 – 1 |
3/31 | @ Central Mountain | 1 – 12 | 1 – 2 |
4/01 | BALD EAGLE AREA | 2 – 7 | 1 – 3 |
4/04 | BELLEFONTE | ppd. | 1 – 3 |
4/07 | @ Tyrone | ppd. | 1 – 3 |
4/08 | @ Tyrone | ppd. | 1 – 3 |
4/09 | BELLEFONTE | 4 – 5 | 1 – 4 |
4/10 | PENNS VALLEY | 7 – 6 | 2 – 4 |
4/14 | BROOKVILLE | ppd. | 2 – 4 |
4/16 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | ppd. | 2 – 4 |
4/17 | CENTRAL | 2 – 7 | 2 – 5 |
4/22 | HUNTINGDON | ||
4/23 | @ Bradford | ||
4/24 | @ Bald Eagle Area | ||
4/28 | @ Tyrone | ||
4/29 | @ Bellefonte | ||
5/01 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | ||
5/02 | TYRONE | ||
5/05 | @ Penns Valley | ||
5/08 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | ||
5/13 | ALTOONA | ||
5/15 | @ Hollidaysburg |