Lady Bison Handcuffed by Lady Raider Ace Baney

HYDE — It’s doubtful the Clearfield Area High School softball team will see more heat this season than what Bellefonte senior Tara Baney brought to the Bison Sports Complex Monday afternoon.

The hard-throwing right-hander, who one-hit Penns Valley 3-0 Thursday, fired a four-hitter and rang up 17 strikeouts in the 11-1 Mountain League victory over the Lady Bison.

“Having to face a pitcher of that quality in the second game is a tough task,” Clearfield coach Bob Lewis acknowledged. “She’s one of the top two we’ll probably see all year, but I think the kids were up to it for the first four innings.”

Brooke Cline broke up Baney’s bid for a second shutout by slashing a triple into the right field corner and scoring on a passed ball in the bottom of the fourth, cutting the Lady Raiders’ lead to 3-1.

And the Lady Bison would have had the bases loaded with two outs if Aspen Bishop had not rounded third base too far on Molly Sartin’s single to short left field and wound up in an inning-ending rundown.

Lewis pointed out Cline’s run would have given Abby Fedder a 1-0 edge except for a two-out error in the first frame that the Lady Raiders capitalized on for the only runs Baney needed.

Angela Capparelle drilled a two-run triple to center and then scored when Taylor Kerr lined a hit off Fedder’s upper arm.

Fedder shook off the hard shot to keep the Lady Raiders in check until the fifth inning, when they broke it open with five runs on three hits around three walks. Kerr drove in two runs with a double, while Baney and Lissi Przybys recorded RBIs with a flyout and groundout, respectively.

Fedder gave up six hits, four walks and five earned runs.

“I was happy with how well she threw,” Lewis said. “She continues to mix her speeds, and she’s locating the ball where she wants. Keeping these things in perspective, this really is maybe her second or third varsity start.”

Freshman Kyra Mollura pitched the last two innings, allowing four hits, one walk and three runs.

Baney appeared to be throwing as hard, maybe harder, in capping her effort by striking out four of the last five batters she faced. She finished with at least two strikeouts in every inning.

Lewis did like the way the Lady Bison worked deep in the count several times.

“We had some very good at-bats,” he said. “We’ve had discussions with the girls about taking a different mindset to the plate. In that respect, we’re improving.”

The Lady Bison are slated to play at Tyrone Thursday and home against Curwensville Friday.

Friday’s home opener against Huntingdon that was rained out has been rescheduled for Monday, April 24.

Mountain League standings — Philipsburg-Osceola 2-0, Bellefonte 2-0, Central 2-0, Huntingdon 1-0, Bald Eagle Area 1-1, Clearfield 0-2, Tyrone 0-2, Penns Valley 0-3.

BELLEFONTE — 11

Alexis Wetzler ss 3210, Stephanie Liliedahl ph 1011, Mallorie Smith rf 2000, Emma DeHaas ph 0100, Jaelyn Smith ph-rf 2110, Tara Baney p 3111, Rianna Trexler 3b 3111, Carson Kustaborder pr 0100, Angela Capparelle cf 1212, Taylor Kerr 4121, Jenna Ault c 3012, McKenna Hendrix ph 1000, Lissi Przybys 1b 4001, Emily Pugh lf 4110. TOTALS: 31 11 10 9.

CLEARFIELD — 1

Karly Rumsky cf 3000, Kyra Mollura 3b-p 3000, Brooke Cline ss 3110, Aspen Bishop lf 3000, Abby Fedder 2010, Kirstin Norman 3b 1010, Makayla Ross 1b 1000, Kate Lansberry ph-1b 1000, Lindsay Hand rf 2000, Marissa Sunderland rf 0000, Molly Sartin c 3010, Makeeli Redden 2b 3000. TOTALS: 25 1 4 0.

Score by Innings

Bellefonte   300  052  1  –  11  10  0
Clearfield    001  000  0  –    1    4  3
E – Rumsky, Mollura 2. PB – Ault; Sartin. LOB – Bellefonte 6; Clearfield 6. 2B – Ault. 3B – Capparelle; Cline. Sac – Capparelle. SF – Baney. SB – Wetzler, Kerr.

Pitching

Bellefonte – Baney 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 17 K.
Clearfield – Fedder 5 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 1 K; Mollura 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.
WP – Baney 2; Fedder 4, Mollura 2.
W – Baney (2-0). L – Fedder (0-2).

Umpires – Jay Siegel (plate) and Dave Glass (bases).

Lady Bison Scoreboard: