HYDE — Well aware of the high caliber of opponents in the always-strong Mountain League, Clearfield Area High School first-year softball coach Derek Danver has established modest goals for a Lady Bison team that boasts a dozen letterwinners, one a transfer.
“I know we play in a tough conference, and I want to compete in it, but I would like us have a winning record first and then compete in the District 9 (Class AAAA) Tournament,” said the former Bison three-sport athlete.
Danver’s diamond background includes four years as a starter for Bison baseball teams, hitting .500 as a senior, and continuing the sport four seasons at the collegiate level, one at Penn State DuBois and three at Clarion University.
Coaching softball will be a learning process, but he inherited a veteran nucleus from Bob Lewis, who stepped down last spring after guiding the Lady Bison for five years while teaming with assistant Fred Redden to organize and promote what has turned into a very successful Clearfield Little League program.
Aspen Bishop, Brooke Cline, Abby Fedder and Erica Hanes are three-year letterwinners, while Lindsay Hand, Mikayla Ross and Kate Lansberry own two letters apiece.
All are seniors, as is returnee Kirstin Norman.
Juniors Makeeli Redden and Karly Rumsky and sophomore Kyra Mollura also earned letters for the 2017 Lady Bison who struggled most of the season before winning four of their last seven games for a 4-16 record.
The 12th letterwinner is Mackenzie Lansberry, who was a starter for Moshannon Valley last year.
Danver is counting on Fedder and Hanes to get the job done in the circle after making 16 and four starts, respectively, as juniors.
Fedder was 4-13 with eight complete games, a 5.54 earned run average and 53 strikeouts in 90.1 innings, while Hanes was 0-3 with one complete game and 13 strikeouts in 29 innings.
“Abby is going to see the bulk of the pitching,” Danver said. “She was injured a little bit in the offseason and didn’t get to put in a lot of work, but she’s looked pretty good this spring.”
While Hanes is expected to spell Fedder when necessary, her main position will be behind the plate after making four starts at second base, seven in right field, two in left field and one as the designated player last year.
“All winter, Erica came to me and asked if she could catch,” Danver explained. “She is an athletic girl and really has a good knowledge of the game. I feel comfortable with her back there.”
The batterymates were very productive in the batter’s box last season, Fedder hitting .315 with 17 safeties and Hanes driving home a team-high 15 runs with 17 hits, including six doubles, for a .273 average. Hanes also was second in runs scored with 14.
Mollura, who hit .228 with seven RBIs, will move from catcher to third base, where she started seven games as a rookie before going behind the plate for the last 13. She had 13 hits for a .228 average with seven RBIs.
“From what I’ve seen of her, she is an outstanding infielder,” Danver said. “She could move to second base.”
If that switch is made, Norman (.286) or Lansberry would man the hot corner. Norman made 10 starts there in the second half of the 2017 season.
Cline will anchor the infield in her fourth year at shortstop, having earned All-Mountain League First Team laurels the last two after landing on the second team as a freshman.
As the Lady Bison’s leadoff batter, she led them with a .433 average, 29 hits, 10 doubles, two triples and 17 runs scored on the heels of an outstanding junior year at .389 on 28 hits. She sports a career average of .356.
“Cline can hit, she can field and she has a cannon of an arm,” Danver said. “I hope to see her play at the next level, because she has that kind of ability.”
Ross is the incumbent at first base where she produced 16 hits for a .291 average with seven RBIs as the starter in every game.
“Ross is a girl who did not miss a single workout from the time we started in the fall,” Danver noted.
Mackenzie Lansberry will open the season at second base.
“That’s eventually where we would like to see Redden,” Danver said early in the week. “She played a lot of travel ball, but she hasn’t reported yet because of swimming (in the state championships).
Redden made 11 starts at second before shifting over to shortstop for the last three games when Cline was unable to play in the field because of an injury. She lifted her average to .242 with seven hits in the last six games.
The outfield should be solid with returning starters Bishop, Rumsky and Hand, who patrolled from left to right most games last season.
Bishop closed with an eight-game hitting streak that raised her final average to .361 and her career average to .306. She had 22 hits, including five doubles and a home run, and was second in RBIs with 12.
“Bishop and Rumsky were playing some games in February,” Danver noted. “Bishop really is a powerful hitter. I’m excited to see what she can do.”
Mackenzie Lansberry is another experienced fly chaser, having started in center field for the Lady Damsels.
Kate Lansberry or Norman probably will be penciled into the lineup if Danver opts for a designated player.
Danver expects to see marked improvement in the overall defense and hitting.
The Lady Bison were guilty of 104 errors that cost Fedder and Hanes 111 unearned runs last season.
“I feel like we have a pretty solid infield and a pretty solid outfield,” Danver said. “We need to be smart with the ball and not try to make a play when there isn’t a play. We haven’t been on a dirt field yet, but I’m happy with what we’ve done defensively so far.”
Clearfield wound up with a .280 batting average and scored at a 4.5-run clip, but that wasn’t enough to translate into more victories.
“I see a lot of good hitters,” Danver said. “We have the potential to put up runs. We really stressed hitting to all fields in the offseason and season.
“We’re really focusing on where we’re making contact with the ball, letting the outside pitches go deeper and getting the inside pitches out front.”
The Lady Bison are slated to begin their challenging schedule Friday at home against Central, one of the top teams in the Mountain League which boasts perennial District 6 powers Philipsburg-Osceola, Bald Eagle Area and Bellefonte.
“Every game you play in the conference is gonna be a battle,” Danver said. “There’s some teams in there that are known at the state level. It’s one of the harder conferences around, for sure.”
District 9 Class AAAA champion Punxsutawney, arch-rival Curwensville and an up-and-coming Glendale team highlight a tough non-league slate.
Sloan Sample, who was a standout at West Branch Area High School with four letters as an outfielder and pitcher, and volunteer Sandy Bailor are Danver’s assistant coaches.
Junior varsity coaches Harlen and Nikki Funk will help out on the varsity level at times, too.
Three-year letterwinner Molly Sartin was the lone senior last season. She made seven starts behind the plate and seven at second base in 17 appearances, finishing with 13 hits and seven RBIs.
The 2018 Lady Bison varsity roster, with (*) designating letterwinner:
Seniors – Aspen Bishop (*) lf, cf; Brooke Cline (*), ss; Abby Fedder (*) p, 3b; Lindsay Hand (*), rf; Erica Hanes (*), p, c; Kate Lansberry (*), 3b, dp; Mackenzie Lansberry (*), 2b; Kirstin Norman (*), 3b; Makayla Ross (*), 1b.
Juniors- Makeeli Redden (*), 2b; Karly Rumsky (*), cf, lf.
Sophomore – Kyra Mollura (*), c, 3b, p.
* * * * *
The schedule, with (ML) for Mountain League games, home games in capitals and all games at 4:30 p.m. unless noted:
March
23 – CENTRAL (ML); 26 – at Curwensville, 4:15 p.m.; 29 – at Huntingdon (ML).
April
3 – at Bellefonte (ML); 5 – TYRONE (ML); 9 – at Bald Eagle Area (ML); 11 – PUNXSUTAWNEY; 12 – PENNS VALLEY (ML); 16 – Glendale; 17 – at Philipsburg-Osceola (ML); 20 – at Central (ML); 23 – HUNTINGDON (ML); 26 – BELLEFONTE (ML); 30 – at Bradford, 4:15 p.m.
May
1 – at Tyrone (ML); 4 – BALD EAGLE AREA (ML); 7 – at Penns Valley (ML); 9 – at Hollidaysburg; 10 – PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (ML); 14 – ALTOONA.
