DUBOIS – It has been said, many times actually, that the third time is the charm, especially when it comes to teams in various sports doing battle with one another in the same season.
On Wednesday afternoon the Curwensville Lady Tide and the DuBois Central Catholic (DCC) Lady Cardinals met for the third time this year, with this game being in the second round of the District 9 A softball playoffs in DuBois.
Unfortunately, “the third time is the charm” thing didn’t work for Curwensville, as the Lady Tide dropped a tough 2-0 decision to the Lady Cardinals.
DuBois Central Catholic had already beaten the Lady Tide twice during the 2015 regular season, 8-0 and 4-1.
It was an old-fashioned type pitching duel with two girls with differently spelled, same first names.
Rylee Young for the Lady Tide and Riley Assalone for DCC. Neither one disappointed.
Assalone threw a two hitter with 12 strikeouts, while Young, equal to the task, gave up just four hits and struck out nine.
In the three games that Assalone pitched against the Lady Tide, the Lady Cardinal ace allowed just one run on 11 hits, with 35 strikeouts.
Young, at one point, struck out six straight DCC hitters, from the last out of the first inning to two outs in the third frame.
Curwensville head coach Allen Legiey spoke afterwards about the DCC hurler, “We knew going in against Assalone (Riley) that it was going to be a real struggle and a very competitive type game. And it was. We just could never figure her out in all three games that we faced her.”
Curwensville, who never got a runner to second base, had singles from Alaina Stiles in the first inning and Megan McCartney in the fourth inning.
The only other Lady Tide base runner was Kayley Harnett who reached base on a third inning DCC error.
The two Curwensville singles came with two outs, as did the Lady Cardinal error.
DCC first baseman Sami Liddle hit what turned out to be the game winner with a lead off, first pitch, homerun over the left field fence in the bottom of the fifth inning.
DuBois Central Catholic picked up an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Assalone drove home Macey Hanes from third base with a sacrifice fly to center field with one out.
With the end of the season for Curwensville, Leigey commented about this year’s squad, saying, “I am so proud of this team. They were just a lot of fun to coach and be around. I called them the “lunch box” team because they came everyday to practice, never complaining and always ready to work hard. They just bought into the system. And I will truly miss the seniors on this squad because they became real leaders throughout the course of the season.”
With the win, DCC, the fourth seed, moves on to battle either the number one seeded Elk County Catholic or Coudersport next Tuesday, at a site and time to be announced.
Curwensville ends the 2015 campaign with a record of 12-8 and says good-bye to seniors Nikki Harker, Megan McCartney, Alaina Stiles, Jordan Round, Morgan Ross, Heather Thorp, Dominique Newkirk and Bree Sheeder.
CURWENSVILLE – 0
Kayley Harnett 2b 3000, Rylee Young p 3000, Alaina Stiles c 3010, Nikki Harker 1b 3000, Megan McCartney lf 3010, Hannah Dixon ss 3000, Haley McGarry rf 2000, Morgan Ross dp 2000, Jordan Round 3b 2000, Madison Bumbarger flex/cf 0000, TOTALS – 24 0 2 0.
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC – 2
Macey Hanes cf 3110, Libby Maurer ss 3000, Jordy Frank c 2000, Riley Assalone p 3011, Sami Liddle 1b 3111, Bri Clyde 2b 2000, Caitlyn Drahushak dp 2010, Tessa Sayers rf 2000, Maria Ginther 3b 2000, Maddie Nasuti flex/lf 0000, TOTALS – 22 2 4 2.
SCORE BY INNINGS – R H E
CURWENSVILLE 000 000 0 – 0 2 1
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC 000 011 X – 2 4 1
ERRORS – Dixon, Ginther. LOB – CURWENSVILLE – 3 DCC – 3. 2B – Drahushak. HR – Liddle (5th, solo). SB – Hanes, Assalone. SF – Assalone. DP – CURWENSVILLE.
PITCHING
CURWENSVILLE
Young 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 9 K, 1 BB
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC
Assalone 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 12 K, 0 BB
WP – Assalone (13-2) LP – Young (12-8)
UMPIRES: John “Bruno” Martino, Bill Overly and Jay Siegel
Final Lady Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 3/24 | BROOKVILLE | ppd. | 0 – 0 |
| 3/31 | @ Johnsonburg | ppd. | 0 – 0 |
| 4/01 | ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC | ppd. | 0 – 0 |
| 4/06 | HARMONY | 6 – 0 | 1 – 0 |
| 4/08 | SHEFFIELD (DH) | ppd. | 1 – 0 |
| 4/09 | SHEFFIELD | 15 – 0 | 2 – 0 |
| 4/09 | SHEFFIELD | 14 – 5 | 3 – 0 |
| 4/10 | KANE | ppd. | 3 – 0 |
| 4/13 | WEST BRANCH | 9 – 16 | 3 – 1 |
| 4/14 | DUBOIS CENTRAL CATH. | 0 – 8 | 3 – 2 |
| 4/16 | @ Brockway | 8 – 2 | 4 – 2 |
| 4/17 | BROOKVILLE | 4 – 3 | 5 – 2 |
| 4/20 | @ Clearfield | ppd. | 5 – 2 |
| 4/22 | @ Johnsonburg | ppd. | 5 – 2 |
| 4/23 | ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC | ppd. | 5 – 2 |
| 4/24 | MO VALLEY | 4 – 11 | 5 – 3 |
| 4/27 | @ Purchase Line | 7 – 3 | 6 – 3 |
| 4/28 | @ Elk County Catholic | 2 – 5 | 6 – 4 |
| 4/29 | ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC | 3 – 7 | 6 – 5 |
| 4/30 | @ Glendale | 6 – 2 | 7 – 5 |
| 5/04 | PURCHASE LINE | 10 – 0 | 8 – 5 |
| 5/05 | @ Kane | 7 – 1 | 9 – 5 |
| 5/05 | @ Kane | 4-4, susp. | 9 – 5 |
| 5/07 | @ DuBois Central Catholic | 1 – 4 | 9 – 6 |
| 5/08 | JOHNSONBURG (DH) | 3 – 2 | 10 – 6 |
| 5/08 | JOHNSONBURG (DH) | 9 – 6 | 11 – 6 |
| 5/12 | BROCKWAY | 15 – 4 | 12 – 6 |
| 5/13 | @ Clearfield | 8 – 16 | 12 – 7 |
| 5/20 | District 9 AA Playoffs | ||
| 5/20 | @ DuBois Central Catholic | 0 – 2 | 12 – 8 |