EBENSBURG — The Clearfield Lady Bison softball team survived and moved on, holding off the Somerset Lady Eagles 5-4 in the District 5/9 AAAA semifinals on the turf of Central Cambria High School on Monday.
After plating a singleton in the third inning and posing serious threats that went for naught in the fourth and fifth innings, the third seeded Lady Bison held a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning as Megan Wisor held the second seeded Lady Eagles hitless through the first five innings of play.
To lead off the third, freshman shortstop Dalayni Kushner laid down a bunt that the Somerset pitcher chucked down the right field line for a three base error. After an out on a Raigan Uncles comebacker, Kushner scored on a wild pitch for the early lead.
Back-to-back singles to start the fourth by designated player Joell Henry and first baseman Haley Billotte gave the visiting team a chance to break the game open. After an infield fly for the first out, and a fielder’s choice got the lead runner at third, pitcher Wisor had an infield single to no-man’s land that loaded the bases. Lady Eagle pitcher Brooklyn Thomas then picked up one of her nine stikeouts on the night to snuff out the potential rally.
The Lady Eagles finally broke through with their first baserunner in the fourth on a two-out walk, as Wisor was perfect through 3 2/3 innings. Wisor then notched one of her seven strikeouts to close out the inning.
The fifth inning again started out well for the Lady Bison as centerfielder Raigan Uncles led off with a double to left center and an infield pop up off the bat of right fielder Eve Siegel resulted in the shortstop and second baseman colliding and the ball dropping harmlessly for an error. Uncles and Siegel then moved up on a passed ball to put two runners in scoring position with none out. Thomas once again managed to wiggle out of a potential rally via strike out, another comebacker, and an infield pop up.
Three up and three down innings in the bottom of the fifth, which kept the no-no intact, and top of the sixth set the stage at 1-0 in favor of the Lady Bison heading to the bottom of the sixth inning.
Thomas helped her own cause by lofting a fly ball that fell in between left fielder Madi McBride and Uncles to end Wisor’s no-hit bid. She came right back with a strikeout and held her composure a smoked liner right back at her, somehow getting the second out at first first base, advancing Thomas’ courtesy runner to second. Savannah Landis then lined one into right center to knot the score at one apiece and giving the home squad some life.
The complexion of the game changed on a 3-2 pitch to Riley Wencek. She lofted a deep fly ball that looked to be headed over the chain link fence for a homerun that Siegel somehow saved at least one run, and most likely two, as she snared it at the top of the fence ending the inning and swinging the momentum back into the Lady Bison favor.
Down to a one-inning game, the visitors went small ball to start the top of the seventh.
Kushner and Uncles both beat out bunts to start the frame, putting two runners on and keeping the red-clad squad on a high. on a 2-2 pitch Siegel then hit a “bug on the rug” past the second baseman that rolled all the way to the wall for a two-run double, giving Clearfield back the lead at 3-1. Hayward then singled to center and advanced to second on the throw into third. Still with no out, Henry delivered a liner to left center, plating both Siegel and Hayward to make it 5-1. There was no further scoring as Thomas regrouped, striking out the side with the next three batters.
All seemed safe with the 4-run lead heading to the bottom of the seventh.
Unfortunately the hard hitting started by the Lady Eagles in the sixth continued in the seventh. Payton Pollock led off with a double and Belle Martin followed with a single. An infield error on a fielder’s choice loaded the bases with none out, putting the tying run at the plate.
A fielder’s choice that did result in an out at second base plated Pollock to make it 5-2, keeping the tying run still at the plate. A hard hit ball up the middle by Thomas was somehow snagged by Hayward, but it went for a base hit to make it 5-3. Now the tying runs were on base and the winning run at the plate.
Number nine hitter Emily Rush then laid down a sac bunt for the second out, but moved the tying runs onto second and third. Lead off hitter Elly Fletcher then had a hard hit ball that wasn’t fielded cleanly, resulting in an error that scored a run to make it 5-4 with runners on the corners.
With the tying run on third, and the winning run on first, Landis, who had driven in the first Lady Eagle run an inning previous, stepped to the plate.
Two balls, a swinging strike, a third ball, and another swinging strike had Landis with a 3-2 count. She then popped out to catcher Ellie McBride, who promptly spiked the ball “Pete Rose style”, signaling the end of the 5-4 nailbiter!
Now the Lady Bison (7-12) will head to the District 5/9 Championship game against the top seed Punxsutawney Lady Chucks (9-5), who beat Bradford 15-0 in three innings in the other semifinal. The game will be played at Heindl Field in DuBois on Memorial Day at a time to be determined.
Score by innings:
Clearfield 001 000 4 5 10 2
Somerset 000 001 3 4 5 2
CLEARFIELD — 5
Raigan Uncles-cf 4120, Eve Siegel-rf 4112, Aevril Hayward-2b 3110, Joell Henry-dp 4022, Mia Helsel-pr 0000, Haley Billotte-1b 4020, Madi McBride-lf 4000, Ellie McBride-c 4000, Megan Wisor-p 3010, Dalayni Kushner-ss 3210, Rae Duckett-flex/3b 0000, TOTALS 33 5 10 4.
SOMERSET — 4
Elly Fletcher-c 4000, Savannah Landis-cf 4011, Riley Wencek-ss 2000, Payton Pollock-dp 3110, Ava Baumgardner-rf 3000, Jo Sharbaugh-2b 3101, Brooklynn Thomas-p 3021, Emily Rush -1b 2000, Addy Berkey-flex/lf 0000, TOTALS 27 4 5 3.
E – Duckett, Hayward; Thomas, Sharbaugh. 2B – Siegel, Uncles; Pollock. Sac – Rush.
Pitching:
Clearfield: Wisor – 7 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Somerset: Thomas – 7 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
WP – Wisor (6-9). LP – Thomas.
LADY BISON SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
3/18 CENTRAL 11 – 1 1 – 0
3/20 @ Bellefonte 4 – 9 1 – 1
3/25 BISHOP GUILFOYLE 14 – 3 2 – 1
3/27 @ Tyrone 3 – 2 3 – 1
4/01 HOLLIDAYSBURG 10 – 9 4 – 1
4/04 @ Somerset 3 – 8 4 – 2
4/08 @ Huntingdon ppd. 4 – 2
4/11 FOREST HILLS ppd. 4 – 2
4/14 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 3 – 14 4 – 3
4/16 @ Bellwood-Antis ppd. 4 – 3
4/17 FOREST HILLS 1 – 8 4 – 4
4/22 PENNS VALLEY 0 – 11 4 – 5
4/24 @ DuBois 2 – 12 4 – 6
4/26 @ Bellwood-Antis ppd. 4 – 6
4/28 @ Bald Eagle Area 0 – 7 4 – 7
4/29 @ Huntingdon 4 – 7 4 – 8
4/30 BRADFORD 13 – 6 5 – 8
5/02 BISHOP CARROLL 16 – 0 6 – 8
5/05 @ Greater Johnstown ppd. 6 – 8
5/06 @ Bellwood-Antis ppd. 6 – 8
5/07 @ St. MARYS 1 – 2 6 – 9
5/09 @ Bellwood-Antis 5 – 11 6 – 10
5/09 @ Central 4 – 8 6 – 11
5/12 BELLEFONTE 0 – 11 6 – 12
5/13 @ Greater Johnstown cancelled 6 – 12
5/14 PUNXSUTAWNEY ppd. 6 – 12
5/16 PUNXSUTAWNEY cancelled 6 – 12
5/19 District 5/9 Semis vs. Somerset 5 – 4 7 – 12
5/26 District 5/9 Finals vs. Punxsy
