HYDE — The improved Clearfield Area High School softball team hung right with once-beaten and state-ranked Philipsburg-Osceola for six innings before home runs by Hannah Thompson and Kam Harris in the top of the seventh iced the Lady Mounties’ 6-2 win at the Bison Sports Complex Thursday afternoon.
Maddie Lucas cleared the left center fence in the first inning as the three long balls accounted for all but one of P-O’s runs in the Mountain League finale for both teams.
The Lady Mounties wrapped up another league championship at 13-1 while padding their record to 16-1.
“In MaxPreps, they’re the No. 1 Triple A team in the state, No. 2 overall, and we played right with them,” Clearfield coach Derek Danver said. “It was a good game. We were right in it.”
Lady Bison starter Abby Fedder saw to that with one of her more impressive outings, holding the potent Lady Mountie lineup to three runs in her five-inning stint.
She did give up nine hits, six coming in the first two innings when P-O grabbed a 3-1 lead, with two strikeouts and no walks.
After Hannah Thompson doubled inside third base with one out in the first, Maddie Lucas belted a home run, her 11th of the spring, over the left field fence.
That was No. 29 for the team, a new single-season record that was enhanced later on.
Clearfield got one run back on Aspen Bishop’s sharp single into center field after Kylie Adams walked Erica Hanes and Brooke Cline.
With two outs in the second, Thompson lined a single into left field that chased home Kylie Thal, who had doubled to deep left.
The Lady Bison made it a one-run game in the third frame.
Kylie Adams had retired seven batters in a row and should have been out of the inning, but Cline’s high fly fell between Lady Mountie fielders in short right. Bishop’s ensuing blooper landed in nearly the same spot, and Makayla Ross drove in Cline with a slicing liner down the right field line.
Harris replaced Adams in the circle in the fourth inning and shut out the Lady Bison over the last four frames to earn the win, striking out four.
Clearfield solved each of them for four hits, with Bishop and Cline registering three and two, respectively.
Danver opted for the usual late-game switch to Hanes after Jayde Burge’s lead-off single in the fifth, and the result was three fly balls to right fielder Lindsay Hand, who tracked down three other balls hit in her direction.
“A couple of the balls that she caught, off the bat, I didn‘t think we had any chance of making an out,” Danver said. “She did a good job all year, but over the last five games, she‘s been doing an outstanding job.”
There was no catching the two balls launched by the Lady Mounties in the seventh inning, though.
Thompson led off with a high-arcing fly to center for a solo homer and, after Lucas doubled to right, Harris ripped her eighth homer of the season to left field.
P-O totaled 14 hits as Thompson and Lucas had identical stat lines with three hits, two RBIs and two runs scored while Harris and Kendra Carns added two hits apiece.
“They’re tough one-through-nine,” Danver said. “I thought our pitchers did a really nice job for the most part.
“Defensively, we made some nice plays. We had a couple errors, but they didn’t hurt us. We did what we needed to do, but they just hit the ball over the fence. There’s nothing you can do about that.
“Hats off to their defense. They made the plays when we put it in play.”
His message to the Lady Bison right after the game was, “You’re right there. One small step and we can, hopefully, make a run in the playoffs.”
The Lady Bison, 8-11 with a final league record of 4-10, will close out the regular season Monday with a Senior Day home game against Altoona before turning their attention to the District 9 Class AAAA Playoffs.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA — 6
Kylie Thal c 4110, Hannah Thompson ss 4232, Maddie Lucas rf-cf-rf 4232, Kam Harris dp-p 4122, Kylie Adams p-lf 4010, Jayde Burge 3b 4020, Rachel Thompson 2b 3000, Madison Kephart ph 1000, Kendra Carns c 3020, Jordan McDonald rf 1000, Lacey Potter 1b 3000, Kaleigh Taylor lf (flex) 0000. TOTALS: 35 6 14 6.
CLEARFIELD — 2
Mackenzie Lansberry 2b 4000, Erica Hanes 3b-p 3110, Brooke Cline ss 3120, Aspen Bishop lf 4031, Makayla Ross 1b 3011, Abby Fedder p-3b 3000, Kate Lansberry dp 3000, Lindsay Hand rf 1000, Kirstin Norman ph 1000, Kyra Mollura c (flex) 0000. TOTALS: 28 2 8 2.
Score by Innings
Philipsburg-Osceola 210 000 3 – 6 14 1
Clearfield 101 000 0 – 2 8 2
E – Carns; Cline 2. DP – Clearfield 1 (Cline and Ross). LOB – Philipsburg-Osceola 9; Clearfield 8. 2B – Thal, H. Thompson, Lucas: Bishop. HR – H. Thompson, Lucas, Harris. Sac – Hand. SB – Carns. CS – Lucas (by Mollura).
Pitching
Philipsburg-Osceola – Adams 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; Harris 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K.
Clearfield – Fedder 5+ IP (faced 1 batter in 6th), 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K; Hanes 2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
HB – Hanes 1 (Potter). WP – Adams 1.
W – Harris. L – Fedder (5-11).
Umpires – Jay Siegel (plate) and Scott Viehdorfer (bases).
Lady Bison Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
3/23 CENTRAL ppd. 0 – 0
3/26 @ Curwensville 14 – 2 1 – 0
3/27 CENTRAL ppd. 1 – 0
3/29 @ Huntingdon ppd. 1 – 0
4/02 CENTRAL ppd. 1 – 0
4/03 @ Bellefonte ppd. 1 – 0
4/05 @ Huntingdon ppd. 1 – 0
4/06 TYRONE 8 – 18 1 – 1
4/09 @ Bald Eagle Area ppd. 1 – 1
4/11 PUNXSUTAWNEY 7 – 13 1 – 2
4/12 PENNS VALLEY 9 – 7 2 – 2
4/16 GLENDALE ppd. 2 – 2
4/17 @ Philipsburg-Osceola ppd. 2 – 2
4/18 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 2 – 8 2 – 3
4/19 CENTRAL ppd. 2 – 3
4/20 @ Central 8 – 6 3 – 3
4/20 @ Central 5 – 11 3 – 4
4/23 HUNTINGDON 10 – 3 4 – 4
4/24 @ Bellefonte 11 – 16 4 – 5
4/26 BELLEFONTE 9 – 20 4 – 6
4/28 @ Bald Eagle Area 4 – 14 4 – 7
4/30 @ Bradford 23 – 0 5 – 7
5/01 @ Tyrone 1 – 4 5 – 8
5/02 GLENDALE cancelled 5 – 8
5/03 @ Huntingdon 4 – 3 6 – 8
5/04 BALD EAGLE AREA 1 – 7 6 – 9
5/07 @ Penns Valley 2 – 3 6 – 10
5/08 BROOKVILLE 4 – 1 7 – 10
5/09 @ Hollidaysburg 12 – 6 8 – 10
5/10 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 2 – 6 8 – 11
5/14 ALTOONA