Lady Bison Rally for First Win Against Scarlet Dragons, 8-6

MARTINSBURG — After watching a three-run lead turn into a two-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Clearfield Area High School softball team came right back in the top of the seventh with four runs to defeat Central 8-6 Tuesday afternoon.

A game-tying, two-run homer by Karlie Lewis highlighted the rally that gave the Lady Bison their first season-opening win since 2007.

Clearfield, which had never beaten Central since joining the Mountain League in 2011, had fallen behind when two errors around a walk and a run-scoring single by Lexi Ritchey erased a 4-1 lead and Jenna Berzansky belted a two-run homer to left center.

Then, the Lady Bison showed their mettle.

After Lauren Butler walked, Lewis socked her first career dinger over the left center fence to make it a new game again.

Brittani Priester and Sierra Jones followed with singles to set the stage for the winning run, scored by pinch-runner Erica Hanes on Nikki Brossard’s groundout.

Molly Sartin then greeted Central’s third pitcher of the inning with a single for the insurance run.

“The team showed a lot of heart in the last inning,” Lady Bison coach Bob Lewis said. “They got down but they didn’t hang their heads. They didn’t give up. They came back with some clutch hits.

“Obviously, Karlie’s homer was very, very big. Then we kind of scrapped and clawed to get the lead and the insurance run.

“I’m very happy with the comeback against a really good team. It was a great team victory.”

Raeleigh Redden, who had held the Scarlet Dragons to two hits before they tallied the five unearned runs in the sixth, closed it out with the tying runs aboard in the bottom of the seventh.

The junior right-hander gave up seven hits while striking out two and walking two.

“Raeleigh threw a very good game for it being the opener,” Lewis said. “She trusted the defense, and they made the plays behind her when they needed to. The defense was pretty rock-solid for the most part.”

Central (0-2) starter Brooke Albright was working on a one-hitter with eight strikeouts in the fifth frame, when Clearfield took advantage of two errors and control problems by Albright and reliever Darby Boyles to take a 4-1 lead.

Jones’ leadoff infield single was the only hit. Brooke Cline had a sacrifice fly for the go-ahead run, while three Lady Bison crossed the plate on wild pitches.

“It’s a very big win for our program and a step forward for us,” Lewis said.

The Lady Bison will take that momentum into their home opener against Huntingdon Friday.

CLEARFIELD — 8

Brooke Cline ss 3011, Lauren Butler 2b 2200, Karlie Lewis cf 3112, Brittani Priester 1b 2010, Erica Hanes pr 0100, Raeleigh Redden p 4000, Sierra Jones 3b 4220, Nikki Brossard c 3101, Molly Sartin lf 2011, Victoria Ireland ph 0000, Macala Leigey rf 2100. TOTALS: 25 8 6 5.

CENTRAL — 6

Olivia Smith 3b 4000, Jenna Ritchey 2b 3220, Marissa Snyder ss 3100, Darby Boyles rf-p-rf 4110, Lexi Ritchey dp-p 4112, Jenna Berzansky 1b 3112, Brooke Albright p 3010, Maddie Kreider rf 0000, Courtney Garver p 0000, Rachel Reed lf 3010, Cassidi Barnes cf 2000, Danielle Wagner ph 1000, Cassi Mock c (flex) 0000, Tierny Fernandez c (flex) 0000. TOTALS: 30 6 7 4.

Score by Innings

Clearfield   000 040 4 – 8 6 2
Central       000 105 0 – 6 7 2
E – Priester 2; Berzansky, Mock. PB – . LOB – Clearfield 8; Central 5. HR – Lewis (1); Berzansky. SF – Cline. SB – Priester, Jones, Leigey. CS – Sartin (by Mock).

Pitching

Clearfield – Redden 7 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
Central – Albright 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 8 K; Boyles 1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 1 K; Garver 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K; L. Ritchey 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
WP – Redden 4; Albright 2, Boyles 4.
W – Redden (1-0). L – Garver.

Lady Bison Scoreboard: