HYDE — Getting to the District 9 championship game was one of the goals for the 2019 Clearfield Area High School softball team, and the Lady Bison will have the opportunity to reach that target when they host Brookville in the Class AAA semifinal Wednesday afternoon.
The winner of the 4 p.m. game between the 10-9 teams at the Bison Sports Complex will advance to the district final against No. 1 seed Karns City (16-1) the following Wednesday on the all-turf Heindl Field in DuBois, with the time for the first pitch to be determined.
Coach Derek Danver has cautioned the No. 2-seeded Lady Bison about looking ahead in their first postseason in Class AAA after competing in Class AAAA when the PIAA expanded from four to six classifications.
“I told them we can’t even think about that (district final),” Danver said. “We have to focus on Brookville.
“We played them last year, and they have a lot of girls back.”
One of the top returnees for the Lady Raiders is senior Carlie McManigle, who was the pitcher in their 4-1 loss to the Lady Bison in 2018.
She is 9-8 with a 3.92 earned run average and 72 strikeouts in 101-2/3 inning, according to MaxPreps statistics.
She is tied for second in hitting with a .393 average on 24 hits and has driven in a mind-boggling 34 runs.
Sophomore Megan Suhan leads the Lady Raiders at .404 on 23 hits, including nine doubles and two triples, and has 19 RBIs.
Junior Laura Hergert, who alternates going behind the plate and playing shortstop with Suhan, also is hitting at a .393 clip with 24 hits and has scored 29 runs. She has 13 RBIs.
Other starters who have contributed to the offense are junior second baseman Leah Kammerdeiner (.295, 14 RBIs), junior outfielder Dani Maring (.275, 11 RBIs) and sophomore third baseman Julie MacWilliams (.246, 14 RBIs).
Punxsutawney and Bradford are the only common opponents.
The Lady Bison lost to the Lady Chucks 1-0 in eight innings Friday, while the Lady Raiders were swept by their Jefferson County rivals 15-1 and 11-6.
Clearfield routed the Lady Owls 15-3 in 4½ innings, and Brookville blitzed them 15-0 and 19-1.
The Lady Bison will rely on the right arm of freshman Emma Hipps, whose 9-8 record is very misleading considering she boasts a 1.92 ERA with 187 strikeouts in 18 starts.
She has worked 117 innings and allowed 91 hits and 33 walks.
Hipps also leads the Lady Bison in almost every offensive category with a lofty .452 average on 28 hits, including six home runs and seven doubles, as well as 17 RBIs and 22 runs scored.
Two other freshmen enjoying solid rookie seasons are first baseman Lauren Ressler (.339, 21 hits, 12 RBIs) and catcher Olivia Bender (.333, 20 hits, 12 RBIs).
Joining Ressler on the inner defense are freshman Kylee Hertlein at second base and juniors Kyra Mollura at shortstop and Casey English (.208) at third base.
Center fielder Karly Rumsky (.267, 16 hits) is the lone senior starter and will be flanked by sophomore Morgan Cheek in left and freshman Alexis Benton in right.
Danver declared two keys for the Lady Bison to extend their season.
“We’ve got to get baserunners, and we’ve got to play good defense,” he said.
Lady Bison Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
3/26 BALD EAGLE AREA 2 – 17 0 – 1
3/29 HUNTINGDON ppd. 0 – 1
4/01 @ Philipsburg-Osceola ppd. 0 – 1
4/02 CURWENSVILLE 9 – 1 1 – 1
4/04 TYRONE 7 – 5 2 – 1
4/06 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 1 – 3 2 – 2
4/09 @ Penns Valley 3 – 4 2 – 3
4/10 HUNTINGDON 11 – 1 3 – 3
4/11 BRADFORD 15 – 3 4 – 3
4/12 CENTRAL ppd. 4 – 3
4/15 @ Bellefonte ppd. 4 – 3
4/16 CENTRAL 4 – 1 5 – 3
4/18 @ Bald Eagle Area 0 – 9 5 – 4
4/22 @ Glendale 2 – 6, 9 inn. 5 – 5
4/23 @ Huntingdon 9 – 4 6 – 5
4/26 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA ppd. 6 – 5
4/29 @ Tyrone 0 – 1 6 – 6
4/30 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 1 – 4 6 – 7
5/02 PENNS VALLEY 4 – 1 7 – 7
5/06 @ Bellefonte 7 – 1 8 – 7
5/07 @ Central 2 – 6 8 – 8
5/08 HOLLIDAYSBURG 10 – 1 9 – 8
5/10 BELLEFONTE cancelled 9 – 8
5/13 @ Punxsutawney ppd. 9 – 8
5/14 @ Punxsutawney ppd. 9 – 8
5/15 @ Altoona 9 – 4 10 – 8
5/17 @ Punxsutawney 0 – 1, 8 inn. 10 – 9
5/22 District 9 AAA Playoffs
5/22 BROOKVILLE