DUBOIS — Addison Siple fired a 1-hit shutout and Natalie Wischuck gave her all the run support she needed with an RBI double in the first inning as the top-seeded Curwensville softball team blanked Northern Potter 7-0 in the District 9 Class A semifinals Friday afternoon at Heindl Field.
Siple took a no-hitter into the seventh inning when Lady Panther cleanup hitter Kayla Hyde recorded a leadoff single for her team’s only hit. But Siple got a groundout and two strikeouts to end it. She fanned 17 Northern Potter batters and did not issue a walk as she threw 71 of her 95 pitches for strikes.
The Lady Panthers had a total of four baserunners in the game as Jaylyn Williammee reached on a wild pitch on a third strike in the first, Riley Knowles got on thanks to a dropped third strike in the third and Zoe White made it to first on a fifth-inning error. Knowles and Jacoby both advanced to third with two outs, but Siple strikeouts kept Northern Potter off the board both times.
“AK (Siple) is such a baller,” Curwensville head coach Jason Wos said. “She loves to compete and she is at her best in big games. Today she was hitting her spots, mixing up her speeds and kept Northern Potter off-balance.”
Curwensville’s offense in the meantime produced seven runs on 11 hits with five Lady Tide baserunners crossing home plate in the first two innings.
“Offensively our girls knew we had to hit the ball and put pressure on them from the start,” Wos said. “We see really good pitching in the ICC conference pretty much every game. That definitely had us ready for a very good Norther Potter pitcher. All the girls contributed in some way. Definitely a great team win.”
Siple and Wischuck got the Lady Tide bats rolling in the first with back-to-back, one-out doubles. Siple scored on the Wischuck two-bagger.
Ava Hainsey followed with an RBI single that plated Wischuck and ended up also scoring on the play after an outfield error, giving Curwensville a 3-0 advantage.
A two-out walk from Ava Olosky and a double by Addison Warren put two more runners in scoring position in the first, but Lady Panther pitcher Williammee got out of the inning with no further damage done.
A base on balls and a single paired with a wild pitch and passed ball produced two more Lady Tide runs in the second.
Addyson Neiswender led off with a walk and advanced to third on a Kylah Wos base hit. Wos stole second and then took third on a passed ball, which allowed Neiswender to score. A wild pitch from Williammee produced another Lady Tide run as Wos raced home on the play.
Siple, who was at bat during all the scoring, singled and stole second and third base, but Williammee got out of the inning with a popout and two strikeouts. Williammee collected six strikeouts in the game, while also issuing four walks.
Curwensville tacked on a run in the fourth when Siple walked, stole second and third again and scored on a wild pitch.
Neiswender upped the Lady Tide lead to 7-0 in the fifth with an RBI single. She knocked in Witherite, who hit a one-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch before Neiswender’s hit.
Curwensville looked to add more in the sixth, but the Lady Panthers turned a double play after Wischuck and Hainsey had opened the inning by reaching on an error and walking, respectively.
Hainsey and Siple led the Lady Tide offense with two hits apiece.
Curwensville improved to 14-6 this season with Northern Potter finishing with a 13-5 mark.
The Lady Tide, who have won five straight games via shutout (outscoring their opponents 58-0 in that span), advanced to the D-9 Class A finals.
Curwensville tangles with DuBois Central Catholic at 3 p.m. Monday, May 26, back at Heindl Field.
“I think it means a lot to these girls to get to the D-9 championship,” Wos said. “Our goal at the beginning of the year was to get better every day with every rep we take and the wins will take care of themselves. Our girls will be ready Monday.”
Northern Potter—0
Lillian Steele c 3000, Serenity Risser ss 3000, Jaylyn Williammee p 3000, Kayla Hyde rf 3010, Myah Libbe cf 2000, Brooke Lane ph 1000, Zoe White 1b 3000, Miranda Jacoby 2b 3000, Riley Knowles lf 2000, Izzy Prince 3b 2000. Totals: 25-0-1-0.
Curwensville—7
Kylah Wos 2b 4110, Addison Siple p 3220, Natalie Wischuck rf 4111, Ava Hainsey 3b 3121, Briah Peoples ss 4010, Ava Olosky cf 3010, Addison Warren c 3010, Sylvia Witherite 1b 2110, Addyson Nieswender dp 2111, Brooklynne Brown (flex) lf 0000. Totals: 28-7-11-3.
Score by Innings
Northern Potter 000 000 0—0 1 2
Curwensville 320 110 x—7 11 1
Errors—Jacoby, Knowles; Hainsey. LOB—Northern Potter 2, Curwensville 8. DP—Northern Potter. 2B—Siple, Wischuck, Warren. SAC—Witherite. SB—Siple 4, Wischuck, Wos. WP—Williammee 3; Siple. PB—Warren; Steele.
Pitching
Northern Potter: Williammee—6 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO.
Curwensville: Siple—7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 17 SO.
WP—Siple. LP—Williammee.
LADY TIDE SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
3/18 @ Brockway 9 – 1 1 – 0
3/20 @ Juniata Valley 4 – 12 1 – 1
3/22 vs. Brookville @ DuBois 11 – 8 2 – 1
3/25 MO VALLEY 10 – 0 3 – 1
3/27 CENTRAL CLARION 12 – 0 4 – 1
3/31 @ Redbank Valley 8 – 0 5 – 1
4/03 WEST BRANCH ppd. 5 – 1
4/04 WEST BRANCH 0 – 3 5 – 2
4/08 @ Williamsburg ppd. 5 – 2
4/09 ST. MARYS 2 – 9 5 – 3
4/11 PURCHASE LINE ppd. 5 – 3
4/14 CRANBERRY 4 – 14 5 – 4
4/16 GLENDALE ppd. 5 – 4
4/17 CLAYSBURG-KIMMEL 0 – 14 5 – 5
4/21 MT. UNION ppd. 5 – 5
4/22 JUNIATA VALLEY 6 – 4 6 – 5
4/28 @ Purchase Line 9 – 0 7 – 5
4/29 @ Mo Valley 15 – 0 8 – 5
4/30 @ Mt. Union 13 – 3 9 – 5
5/01 @ West Branch 1 – 9 9 – 6
5/05 @ Glendale ppd. 9 – 6
5/05 @ Glendale ppd. 9 – 6
5/06 WILLIAMSBURG 18 – 0 10 – 6
5/08 @ Glendale 1 – 0 11 – 6
5/08 @ Glendale 12 – 0 12 – 6
5/12 @ Williamsburg 19 – 0 13 – 6
5/23 D9 A Semis vs. Northern Potter 7 – 0 14 – 6
5/26 D9 A Finals vs. DCC
