HYDE — With a trip to the District 9 Class AAA Playoffs as extra incentive, the Clearfield Area High School softball team took care of business against Brookville in non-league action at the Bison Sports Complex Wednesday.
Rachel Hoffman spun a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts and the Lady Bison piled up 13 hits to defeat the Lady Raiders 13-3 in five innings.
Hoffman also paced the offense by cracking two triples and a single, driving in three runs and scoring three.
Lauren Butler, Megan Vanderburgh and Macala Leigey contributed two singles apiece to the Lady Bison’s second win in as many days.
They’ve been triumphant four times in the last six games for a 6-9 record.
“We’re trying to build momentum for the postseason,” coach Bob Lewis said. “I told the kids if they won today that we were gonna enter the District 9 playoffs. And we are.
“We have five games left, and it’s nothing but plusses from here because we exceeded our wins from last year. I’m pretty happy with them, but we still have work to do.”
They were workmanlike against Brookville (2-11) with almost every player having a role in the Mercy Rule victory.
The four batters at the top of the lineup – Karlie Lewis, Butler, Vanderburgh and Hoffman, combined for eight hits and six RBIs with eight runs scored.
“That’s why they’re there, to produce and ease some of the pressure on the rest of the lineup, and that’s what they did,” Lewis said.
Hoffman tripled to deep center field to send Vanderburgh home and then scored on a passed ball in the first inning.
“Getting those couple runs took a little bit of the pressure off,” Lewis said. “And we were aggressive on the base paths. We felt we were going to be able to run, and we did.”
Hoffman’s second triple, a sharp grounder down the third base line that left fielder Madi Davie couldn’t cut off, became the third Clearfield run when Taylor Luzier came through with a two-out single in the third inning for a four-game hitting streak.
“Luzier has really stepped up,” Lewis said. “She has worked her hind end off to get to where she’s at right now. She deserves the swings. Even her outs are hard hit.”
Leigey and Raeleigh Redden, the No. 8 and No. 9 batters, triggered rallies in the next two frames.
Leigey led off the fourth with a single, advanced to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch. Redden drew a walk and crossed the plate along with Karlie Lewis on Butler’s slicing drive to right. Hoffman later made it 7-0 with a bouncer that squirted through the right side for an RBI.
In the fifth, Leigey and Redden singled with one out, and freshman Maci Coleman followed suit in a pinch-hit role for her first safety and first RBI. The trio of hits around Vanderburgh’s hard smash off Lady Raider hurler Hannah Simpson’s forearm had the Lady Bison poised for an early finish.
That occurred when Hoffman sprinted home on pinch-hitter Samantha Foster’s groundout.
Hoffman, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second inning via a strikeout and a weak grounder, handcuffed the Lady Raiders through four frames and lost a shutout because of a misplay in the fifth.
Elaina Powell went opposite field with a clout to deep right field for a three-run homer with two outs.
Hoffman issued three free passes and hit one batter, all in the first two innings en route to her fourth victory.
“She had a little trouble locating, but for the most part she pitched well,” Lewis said. “She threw hard, and it was tough for them to catch up to what she was throwing.”
The Lady Bison will hit the road Thursday for a doubleheader against Mountain League front-runner Philipsburg-Osceola that includes a make-up of the April 14 postponement that was to be played at Clearfield.
BROOKVILLE — 3
Madi Davie lf 2100, Morgan Reinard 2b 2000, Natasha Stritzinger 2b 1000, Elaina Powell c 3123, Laken Hergert dp 1000, Hannah Kirkwood 3b 3000, Hannah Simpson p 2000, Maggie Miller ss 1000, Brenna Dworek cf 2110, Amanda Delp 1b 2000, Kayla Bruner rf (flex) 0000, Jordan MacWilliams rf (flex) 0000. TOTALS: 19 3 3 3.
CLEARFIELD — 13
Karlie Lewis cf 3110, Olivia Smith cf 0000, Maci Coleman ph 1111, Lauren Butler 2b 4222, Megan Vanderburgh ss 4221, Hoffman p 4333, Devynn Ireland 3b 2001, Samantha Foster ph 1000, Taylor Luzier dp 2011, Victoria Ireland 1b 2000, Brittani Priester ph 1000, Macala Leigey rf 3220, Raeleigh Redden lf 2210, Molly Sartin c (flex) 0000. TOTALS: 29 13 13 9.
Score by Innings
Brookville 000 03 – 3 3 6
Clearfield 201 46 – 13 13 2
E – Davie 2, Stritzinger 2, Miller, Delp; Hoffman, V. Ireland. PB – Powell. LOB – Brookville 5; Clearfield 5. 3B – Hoffman 2. HR – Powell. SB – Davie, Powell, Hergert; Vanderburgh 2, Hoffman. CS – Vanderburgh (by Powell). HPB – Powell (by Hoffman).
Pitching
Brookville – Simpson 4-2/3 IP, 13 H, 13 R, 9 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
Clearfield – Hoffman 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 K.
HB – Hoffman 1 (Powell). WP – Simpson 3; Hoffman 1.
W – Hoffman (4-8). L – Simpson.
Umpires – Scott Viehdorfer (plate) and Norm Bender (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 | 1 – 7 | 2 – 6 |
| 4/23 | @ Bradford | ppd. | 2 – 6 |
| 4/24 | @ Bald Eagle Area | 5 – 10 | 2 – 7 |
| 4/25 | @ Bradford | ppd. | 2 – 7 |
| 4/28 | @ Tyrone | 11 – 1 | 3 – 7 |
| 4/29 | @ Bellefonte | ppd. | 3 – 7 |
| 4/30 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | ppd. | 3 – 7 |
| 5/01 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | 1 – 9 | 3 – 8 |
| 5/02 | TYRONE | 13 – 3 | 4 – 8 |
| 5/05 | @ Penns Valley | 1 – 2 | 4 – 9 |
| 5/06 | @ Bradford | 7 – 2 | 5 – 9 |
| 5/07 | BROOKVILLE | 13 – 3 | 6 – 9 |
| 5/08 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola (DH) | ||
| 5/12 | @ Bellefonte | ||
| 5/13 | ALTOONA | ||
| 5/15 | @ Hollidaysburg |