BELLEFONTE – The Lady Bison of Clearfield got out to a 3-0 advantage in an important Mountain League game, but they unfortunately could not hold off a late game surge from Bellefonte as Clearfield fell 7-3 on Thursday evening.
Clearfield (7-4) was able to score the first two runs of the game in the top of the third as pitcher Emma Hipps started a rally with a one out walk. Hipps moved up 60 feet to second while Lauren Ressler was at the dish, but was quickly replaced as Ressler connected on an RBI double to left to score Hipps and make it a 1-0 ball game.
The next batter was Olivia Bender and she was able to reach on an error by the third basemen which allowed Ressler to come around and score to make it a 2-0 in favor of the visiting team.
Hipps was able to take the bump and work out of trouble by stranding a run on second with two fly outs to end the third inning. In the top of the fourth, Clearfield added another run to their credit and stretched the lead to 3-0. Morgan Cheek worked a walk and later in the inning advanced to second on a one out single from Ruby Singleton.
Cheek would score the third run for the Lady Bison as she was plated on an RBI double from Ressler. After three and a half innings, it was all Clearfield.
The bottom of the fourth saw Bellefonte draw closer and score two runs to make it a 3-2 game. Clearfield was able to collect singles from Alaina Fedder and Alexis Bumbarger in the top of the fifth, but the Lady Bison were not able to push a run across and clung to a narrow 3-2 lead.
Unfortunately for Clearfield, the bottom of the fifth inning got away from them as they gave up four runs as Bellefonte was able to take their first lead of the game at 6-3. Five Lady Raider hits in the fifth inning made the difference in the game as Bellefonte would add one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend their lead to 7-3 which would be the final score.
Bellefonte’s 12 hits compared to Clearfield’s nine went a long way in helping Bellefonte improve their record to 13-1 on the season and 8-1 in the Mountain League.
For Clearfield, the Lady Bison collected strong offensive performances from Ressler, Singleton, and Fedder who combined for seven of the teams hits in the game. Hipps and Bumbarger were each able to collect one hit each in the contest.
Both Ressler and Singleton continue to bat over .400 on the season for Clearfield with Ressler sporting a .474 average and Singleton batting .421 primarily out of the leadoff spot this season. Olivia Bender and Emma Hipps also continue fine seasons at the plate for the Lady Bison with Bender leading the team in home runs (4) and RBI’s (14). Hipps has hit well in the middle of the lineup and has a .351 average and a team leading 13 runs scored.
The Lady Bison will look to get back on track Friday afternoon, May 7, in a Mountain League game held at Phillipsburg-Osceola with a start time of 4:30 p.m. The Lady Bison won the first matchup between the two programs back on March 30 by a score of 4-0 and will look to secure a season sweep over the Mounties for 2021.
CLEARFIELD – 3
Ruby Singleton (CF) 4020, Emma Hipps (P) 3110, Lauren Ressler (1B) 4132, Olivia Bender (C) 4000, Alaina Fedder (SS) 3020, Alexis Benton (RF) 2000, Alexis Bumbarger (3B) 4010, Morgan Cheek (LF) 3100, Kylee Hertlein (2B) 3000, TOTALS 30 3 9 2.
Batting
2B: Alaina Fedder, Lauren Ressler 3
TB: Alaina Fedder 3, Lauren Ressler 6, Alexis Bumbarger, Emma Hipps, Ruby Singleton 2
RBI: Lauren Ressler 2
ROE: Olivia Bender
FC: Alexis Benton, Lauren Ressler, Olivia Bender
HBP: Alexis Benton 2
SB: Emma Hipps
CS: Ruby Singleton
BELLEFONTE – 7
Lily Gardner (RF) 4230, Tori Reichert (2B) 4121, Lexi Rogers (P) 3122, Hanna Lauck (3B) 3001, Maddie Tice (C) 4011, Sara DeHaas (CF) 3120, Makenna Port (1B) 3100, Haylie Rimmey (LF) 3011, Madison Melius (SS) 3110, TOTALS 30 7 12 6.
Batting
2B: Maddie Tice, Lexi Rogers, Gardner
TB: Haylie Rimmey, Madison Melius, Maddie Tice 2, Sara DeHaas 2, Tori Reichert 2, Lexi Rogers 3, Gardner 4
RBI: Hanna Lauck, Haylie Rimmey, Maddie Tice, Tori Reichert, Lexi Rogers 2
ROE: Makenna Port
FC: Hanna Lauck
SB: Sara DeHaas
Score by Inning
Clearfield 0021000
Bellefonte 000241x
Pitching
Clearfield Emma Hipps 6 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.
Bellefonte Lexi Rogers 7 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 K.
W – Lexi Rogers (10-1). L – Emma Hipps (5-4).
Lady Bison Softball Falls to Bellefonte, 7-3
