CLEARFIELD – Softball on a baseball field is not as uncommon as some may think, but it is certainly a rarity for Clearfield softball in particular. However, Thursday evening saw a rarity become a reality, as the Clearfield Area School District approved a game between the Lady Bison and the Lady Mounties of Philipsburg-Osceola to take place on the district’s football field.
No matter where Clearfield seems to play, or the amount of days between games, they have come ready to play as no field proved to be no problem for the club. An 8-0 win over the visiting Lady Mounties helped Clearfield improve to 4-0 on the season as once again, plenty of hitting and solid starting pitching from Emma Hipps proved to be the right formula for another win.
The Lady Bison started the bottom of the first in style, scoring three of their eight runs for the game to help chase visiting pitcher Alivia Bizzarri, early in the second inning.
In the bottom of the first, Ruby Singleton started the half-inning with a walk and advanced to second with one out when Lauren Ressler was plunked on a 3-2 pitch from Bizzarri. With cleanup batter Olivia Bender at the dish next, she came through with a three-run blast to center to make it a three run lead for the home team.
After another scoreless frame pitched by Hipps, the Lady Bison added five more runs in the bottom of the second inning to put them ahead 8-0, the final score of the game.
The second inning hitting display was started by Kylee Hertlein who began the inning with a single to short. Alexis Bumbarger tried a sac-bunt to advance Hertlein, but she ended up reaching on an infield error to put two runners on to begin the inning.
After the first out of the inning, Singleton singled to left to score Hertlein to make it a 4-0 game. Hipps supported her own cause as she hit a two-run single to center to score Bumbarger and Singleton to extend the lead to six.
After a wild pitch allowed Hipps to make it to third, she scored on a single from Lauren Ressler to continue the rally and put Clearfield ahead 7-0. Ressler was able to take advantage of some miscues in the field by Philipsburg-Osceola as she found her way to third before scoring on the RBI groundout by Olivia Bender to plate the fifth run of the inning for Clearfield, a run that would ultimately be the last of the game.
Behind nine more strikeouts from Hipps and a two-hit game by Singleton, the Lady Bison were able to come away with another impressive win despite tough, inconsistent weather providing a long layoff for the team between games.
The Lady Bison will be back in action Friday evening as they face Mountain League opponent, Tyrone. The game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
CLEARFIELD – 8
Ruby Singleton (CF) 3221, Emma Hipps (P) 2112, Lauren Ressler (1B) 3211, Olivia Bender (C) 4114, Alaina Fedder (SS) 2000, Alexis Benton (LF) 3000, Kylee Hertlein (2B) 3110, Alexis Bumbarger (3B) 1100, Alexis Cole (DP) 2000, Anna Twigg (FLEX/RF) 0000. TOTALS 23 8 6 8.
Batting
HR: Olivia Bender
TB: Olivia Bender 4, Kylee Hertlein, Emma Hipps, Lauren Ressler, Ruby Singleton 2
RBI: Olivia Bender 4, Emma Hipps 2, Lauren Ressler, Ruby Singleton
SAC: Alexis Bumbarger
ROE: Alexis Bumbarger
HBP: Alexis Cole, Alaina Fedder, Emma Hipps, Lauren Ressler
SB: Alexis Bumbarger, Ruby Singleton
PIK: Alexis Benton
Fielding
E: Alexis Bumbarger
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA – 0
Paige Jarrett (CF) 4010, London Culler (SS) 4030, Abby Vaux (1B) 2000, Mykenna Bryan (3B) 2000, Camryn Chverchko (2B) 3000, Jocelyn Williams (C) 2000, Karissa Taylor (DP, P) 3000, Alivia Bizzarri (P, RF) 3020, Emily Herr (RF) 3000, Natalie Betz (LF/FLEX) 0000. TOTALS 26 0 6 0.
Batting
3B:Â Alivia Bizzarri
TB: Paige Jarrett, London Cutler 3, Alivia Bizzarri 4
ROE:Â Jocelyn Williams
FC:Â Emily Herr
Fielding
E: Mykenna Byran, Emily Herr
Score by Inning
Clearfield 3 5 0 0 0 0 0
Philipsburg-Osceola 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.
Pitching
Philipsburg-Osceola
Alivia Bizzarri 1.1 IP, 5 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 1 B, 2 K, 1 HR.
Karissa Taylor 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K.
Clearfield
Emma Hipps 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K.
W – Emma Hipps (4-0). L – Alivia Bizzarri.
