HYDE — It was a case of too little, too late for the Clearfield Area High School softball team in Monday afternoon’s 11-5 Mountain League loss to Huntingdon at the Bison Sports Complex.
Shut out on two hits through five innings by hard-throwing Catherine Miller, the Lady Bison scored two runs in the sixth to avert a Mercy Rule defeat and pushed across three more in the seventh that excited the home fans but just made the final score respectable.
A heads-up play by Lady Bearcat right fielder Alissa Brown prevented the rally from being extended as she grabbed Aspen Bishop’s liner on the first hop and fired to first base for the game-ending out that also negated another Lady Bison run.
“We didn’t quit, and that’s the mentality we’re instilling in our program,” Clearfield coach Bob Lewis said. “I’m very, very proud that the kids battled and battled and pushed it to seven innings.”
Sierra Jones drove in three runs with a pair of singles for the Lady Bison, now 3-7 with a 2-7 league record.
The senior third baseman’s first hit plated Brooke Cline after she had doubled to right center with one out in the sixth frame and moved to third on a wild pitch.
In the seventh inning, Jones came through with a two-out liner to right that scored Karly Rumsky and Cline, both aboard on Huntingdon’s only misplays.
Alana Kochan accounted for the other Lady Bison runs.
She scored in the sixth on a wild pitch after walking, stealing second and advancing to third on Jones’ single and then singled for an RBI in the seventh.
Clearfield wound up with six hits off Miller, who struck out eight and walked two.
“She’s an impressive, tall, strong girl who throws hard,” Lewis said. “She has a fast ball and she’ll mix in a changeup, usually when she’s up in the count.”
The Lady Bearcat sophomore hurled a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts in a 4-3 win over the Lady Bison on March 31.
Lewis was hoping for another close game before learning about two hours prior to the first pitch that he would not be starting senior pitcher Raeleigh Redden, who was the loser in the previous meeting but gave up only six hits and three earned runs.
“She just needs some rest for her shoulder,“ he explained.
Soph Abby Fedder got the call for her second career start but was unable to get out of the second inning, when the Lady Bearcats got to her for five hits, including a two-run single by Hannah Coffman and a run-scoring double by Emily MacDonald.
“Abby threw well,” Lewis said. “The defense has to help her out more. They didn’t make the plays behind her. So, that’s a rough start for her.”
Erica Hanes, another sophomore, relieved with two runners on and no outs, and Huntingdon’s lead grew to 7-0 on a two-run triple by Kylie Shea and an RBI flyout by Miller.
Hanes allowed four more runs, but only three hits while fanning six and walking three in a six-inning stint, by far the longest of her six appearances in the circle the last two seasons.
“I was impressed with Erica,” Lewis said. “She pretty much held them at bay. She mixed her speeds, and she worked in her change.”
Miller’s early dominance and Huntingdon’s big inning were just was too much for the Lady Bison.
“We’ve been stressing to the kids that you have to show up in inning one ready to go, and for some reason, we just come out of the gates gun-shy,” Lewis said. “I think that’s just the inexperience showing. Until we get past that, we’re not gonna grow as a team.
“When they came out and jumped on us early, now you’ve got to go to Plan B. That was let’s go in there and take our best cuts.
“I think our kids did. We had some really good, quality, drawn-out at bats.”
Those led to the late rallies that gave the Lady Bison something positive to take away from the loss and something to build on going into what will be another tough game Thursday against co-leader Bellefonte at the BSC.
Mountain League Standings — Philipsburg-Osceola 7-1, Bellefonte 7-1, Bald Eagle Area 7-2, Central 6-3, Huntingdon 4-5, Clearfield 2-7, Penns Valley 2-7, Tyrone 0-9.
HUNTINGDON — 11
Kylie Shea 1b 4223, Hannah Varner ss 4111, Catherine Miller p 3012, Alissa Brown rf 4110, Brooke shuck 2b 2111, Gabby Brown 2b 1000, Leah Read c 4110, Olivia Himes cr 0000, Hannah Coffman 3b 3112, Baylee Hesketh lf 3210, Emily MacDonald dp 3211, Sierra Thompson (flex) cf 0000. TOTALS: 31 11 10 10.
CLEARFIELD — 5
Brooke Cline ss 4210, Alana Kochan 2b 3111, Sierra Jones 3b 4023, Aspen Bishop 1b, Karlie Lewis cf 1000, Kate Lansberry ph-lf 1110, Lindsay Hand rf 2000, Makeeli Redden ph 1000, Abby Fedder p 0000, Erica Hanes p 3000, Molly Sartin dp 2000, Karly Rumsky ph 1100, Myra Kavelak (flex) c 0000. TOTALS: 29 5 6 4.
Score by Innings
Huntingdon 070 202 0 – 11 10 2
Clearfield 000 002 3 – 5 6 2
E Varner, Coffman; Jones 2. LOB – Huntingdon 3, Clearfield 5. 2B – MacDonald. 3B – Shea, Varner. SF – Miller. SB – Shea 2, Brown; Kochan. CS – Himes (by Kavelak).
Pitching
Huntingdon – Miller 7 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K.
Clearfield – Fedder 1 IP (pitched to 6 batters in 2nd), 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K; Hanes 6 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K.
WP – Miller 3; Fedder 1, Hanes 3.
W – Miller. L – Fedder (1-1).
Umpires – Tim Rupp (plate) and Gary Miller (bases).
Lady Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 3/29 | CENTRAL | 0 – 11 | 0 – 1 |
| 3/31 | @ Huntingdon | 3 – 4 | 0 – 2 |
| 4/05 | @ Bellefonte | 0 – 8 | 0 – 3 |
| 4/08 | TYRONE | ppd. | 0 – 3 |
| 4/11 | @ Bald Eagle Area | ppd. | 0 – 3 |
| 4/13 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | 3 – 0 | 1 – 3 |
| 4/14 | PENNS VALLEY | 7 – 5 | 2 – 3 |
| 4/18 | TYRONE | 10 – 0 | 3 – 3 |
| 4/19 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | 0 – 9 | 3 – 4 |
| 4/20 | @ Bald Eagle Area | 1 – 11 | 3 – 5 |
| 4/22 | @ Central | 0 – 11 | 3 – 6 |
| 4/25 | HUNTINGDON | 5 – 11 | 3 – 7 |
| 4/28 | BELLEFONTE | ||
| 5/02 | GLENDALE | ||
| 5/03 | @ Tyrone | ||
| 5/05 | @ Curwensville | ||
| 5/06 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ||
| 5/09 | @ Penns Valley | ||
| 5/12 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | ||
| 5/16 | @ Hollidaysburg | ||
| 5/18 | ALTOONA | ||
| 5/19 | @ Bradford |