CURWENSVILLE – For the Curwensville varsity softball team it was a day of first among two more wins on the season, but anyway you add it up, it equals 300. While his team put up a pair of victories, Head Coach Allen Leigey tallied win number 300 in his career at Curwensville.
Leigey started coaching for the Lady Tide in 2002 and his record for nearly 22 years (covid washed out the 2020 season) currently stands at 300-169 with three District IX (2007, 2009, 2013) and two State Championship seasons (2007, 2009). In 2024, the Tide stands at 10-3 after Saturday’s games.
“I didn’t do anything. I’ve just been along for the ride,” Leigey stated. “The key to this run has always been good players who genuinely like playing ball as a team. I’ve been very blessed in both of those things and the girls have rewarded me with any accolades that have come my way.”
The firsts on the day came from the plate as sophomores Bella Wood, and Emily Neeper along with freshman Sylvia Witherite collected their first varsity hits. Freshman Briah Peoples also belted her first career home run.
base coaching box. Leigey picked up his 300th career win on Saturday.
The Lady Tide used little time in both games to set North Star down 16-1 and 15-0 in less than seven innings combined in the two games. Addison Siple recorded both victories giving up just three hits on the day. She struck out 18 batters in the seven innings total while walking only one hitter.
The Cougars only bright spot of the day was a 1-0 lead after the first inning of the first game. The rest of the afternoon belonged to Curwensville.
Siple put the Tide ahead for the rest of the day in the bottom of that first inning with a one-out, one-on home run and a 2-1 lead. It was the second inning when Peoples delivered her two-run dinger for a 4-1 lead. By the end of the second inning the score moved to 8-1 with two hit batters, an error, an intentional walk and a single by Addison Butler.
In the third inning, Natalie Wischuck led off with a double, and after a Peoples walk, Jenna McCartney drove in a run with a single to right. Now at third, Peoples scored on a pop out behind first base for a 10-1 mark.
While Siple held off the Cougars with three K’s in the fourth, the Tide was back in action with Wood’s lead off single in the bottom of the frame. Wischuck followed with her second double of the game and another walk to Peoples loaded the bases. Sydney Simcox drove in two runs with a double of her own, and McCartney drove in two more runs with a single to left. An Addison Warren double then plated Simcox and a ground out moved the final run to third base. Warren soon scampered home on a passed ball to evoke the Mercy rule at 16-1.
Curwensville quickly posted three runs in the first inning of the second game – much like the first game. Butler and Warren opened the game with singles before Siple drove a towering home run to left center.
Butler led off the second with a double and scored on a groundout and an error. Siple singled and after the second out scored on Ava Olosky’s double. Wischuck then singled Olosky home for a 6-0 score.
The bottom of the third would never be completed as singles by Witherite and Butler set the table for a Warren double to score two. Siple followed with an RBI double, Ava Hainsey was hit by a pitch and replaced by Wood on the bases, and Olosky again doubled to push the score to 11-0. The hits just kept coming as Wischuck singled in a run and after the second out of the inning, Caitlyn Irwin contributed a pinch-hit single to the cause. Witherite added her second hit, a double, for the 13-0 mark. Butler drew a walk to load the bases and Neeper stepped in as a pinch-hitter to drive the two, game-ending runs in on a single to center.
Curwensville finished the day with 27 hits including three home runs, and 11 doubles.
The Tide will be back in action on Monday when they travel to Purchase Line. They will finish the week hosting Moshannon Valley on Tuesday and West Branch on Thursday.
1st Game
Score by Innings R H E
North Star 100 0xx x – 1 1 1
Curwensville 262 6xx x – 16 10 1
NORTH STAR – 1
(CF) R Grove 2110, (P) Brant 2000, (SS) Rhoads 2000, (1B) Sheets 2000, (C) Speigle 2000, (2B) Paxon 1000, (3B) L Grove 1000, (RF) Walker 1000, (LF) A Barnick 1000, TOTALS: AB 14, R 1, H 1, RBI 0.
CURWENSVILLE – 17
(C) Addison Butler 2211, (RF) Addison Warren 4214, (P) Addison Siple 1112, (1B) Ava Hainsey 4000, (CF) Ava Olosky 2000, (PH) Bella Wood 1110, (SS) Natalie Wischuck 2320, (2B) Briah Peoples 1312, (LF) Sy dney Simcox 1212, (PH) Alaina Reitz 0000, (3B) Sylvia Witherite 0000, (DP) Jenna McCartney 2223, TOTALS: AB 21, R 16, H 10, RBI 14.
Pitching IP H R ER SO BB WP
North Star – L – Brant 3.2 10 16 14 1 8 1
Curwensville – W – Siple 4 1 1 0 10 0 1
Batting
HR – Curwensville: Siple, Peoples. 2B – Curwensville: Wischuck 2, Warren, Simcox. SB – Curwensville: Butler 2, Siple 2, Warren 2, McCartney, Peoples. E – North Star: Sheets; Curwensville: Hainsey. HBP – Curwensville: Simcox, McCartney.
2nd Game
Score by Innings R H E
North Star 000 xxx x – 0 2 1
Curwensville 339 xxx x – 15 17 1
NORTH STAR – 0
(P) R Grove 2010, (SS) Rhoads 2000, (C) Sheets 2010, (1B) Speigle 2000, (RF) Paxton 1000, (3B) L Grove 0000, (LF) Walker 1000, (2B) Brant 1000, (CF) M Barnick 1000, TOTALS: AB 12, R 0, H 2, RBI 0.
CURWENSVILLE – 15
(C) Addison Butler 3330, (RF) Addison Warren 3222, (PH) Emily Neeper 1012, (P) Addison Siple 3334, (1B) Ava Hainsey 1000, (PH) Bella Wood 0100, (CF) Ava Olosky 3223, (SS) Natalie Wischuck 2000, (2B) Briah Peoples 2000, (LF) Sydney Simcox 2000, (PH) Caitlyn Irwin 1110, (3B) Sylvia Whitherite 3221, TOTALS: AB 25, R 15, H 17, RBI 14.
Pitching IP H R ER SO BB WP
North Star – L – Grove 2.2 17 15 11 3 3 1
Curwensville – W – Siple 3 2 0 0 8 1 1
Batting
HR – Curwensville: Siple. 2B – Curwensville: Butler, Siple, Warren, Witherite, Olosky 2. SB – Curwensville: Butler, Siple. E – North Star: Grove; Curwensville: Siple. HBP –Curwensville: Hainsey.
SCHEDULE
MARCH Score W-L
25 @Moshannon Valley 9 – 0 1-0
26 Juniata Valley 7 – 6 2-0
APRIL
9 Williamsburg 5 – 0 3-0
15 Purchase Line 11 – 1 4-0
16 @Glendale 5 – 4 5-0
18 @Claysburg-Kimmel 0 – 6 5-1
20 Glendale 2 – 0 6-1
22 @Juniata Valley 3 – 7 6-2
23 Brockway 17 – 1 7-2
Brockway 12 – 0 8-2
25 @Mount Union 5 -11 8-3
27 North Star 16 – 1 9-3
North Star 15 – 0 10-3
29 @Purchase Line 4:00
30 Moshannon Valley 4:30
MAY
2 West Branch 4:30
6 @ Union/All-Clarion 4:00
7 @Williamsburg 4:30
13 @West Branch 4:30
