In two losses to the Punxsutawney pitcher this season, the Lady Bisons managed a total of nine hits and three runs. The third, and most important, meeting proved to be no different as Burke held Clearfield to three hits and one run and the Lady Chucks defeated the Lady Bisons, 3-1, in the District 9 Class AAA final on Wednesday to take the district crown.

"(Burke) threw a good game," Clearfield head coach Bob Dixon said. "We scored three runs in three games off of her. She kept us off balance. We couldn't hit her at all. When you don't hit, you have to make sure you field 100-percent."

Unfortunately for Clearfield, its fielding wasn't perfect and two errors proved costly in a pitching duel where runs were a valuable commodity.

A dropped fly ball in the fifth inning led to a run as Punxsy tied the game at 1-1, and a misplayed ball in the outfield in the seventh turned a single into two bases and a run, and indirectly led to a second run later in the inning.

Meanwhile, Burke worked quickly and efficiently, striking out seven and walking none. When she wasn't throwing the ball by the Lady Bisons, Burke was doing some offensive damage, going 3-of-4 with two RBIs from the leadoff slot.

Clearfield junior Mandy Rowles put together a nice effort of her own from the pitching circle, as the southpaw scattered eight hits - none of which were hit hard - striking out seven and walking no batters. She stranded a runner on third in the second, fourth and fifth innings.

"I thought Mandy threw a really good ballgame," Dixon said. "She definitely didn't deserve this outcome. ... We make the plays, and we probably win this game 1-0."

The Lady Bisons scored their only run of the game in the fourth inning, after Meghan Butler led off with a single through the middle of the infield for Clearfield's first hit of the game. Ashley Lias laid down a successful sacrifice bunt to move Butler to second, and two wild pitches later Butler crossed home plate to give Clearfield a 1-0 lead.

After a quick first four innings in which the two familiar foes - meeting for the fourth consecutive time in the D-9 final - swapped outs, it looked like the one run advantage might hold.

Rowles boosted her pitching effort with some nice defensive play, assisting on five putouts through the first four innings, including a big second out in the fourth with a runner only 60 feet from home. But even with the fine defensive work the 1-0 lead proved to be too thin a margin.

Punxsy immediately answered Clearfield's run with a score of its own in the fifth. Leadoff hitter Amber Lellock hit what looked like a routine fly ball to right field, but Suzie Colesar had trouble with it and Lellock ended up standing on second base. An infield single by Angie Laska moved Lellock's pinch runner Ashley Barenchik to third, and Burke helped her own cause by dropping a bloop single down the line into shallow left field, driving in the run to tie things up.

Laska was 2-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base on the afternoon.

The Lady Bisons threatened to go back on top in the bottom of the sixth, as Alanna Luzier knocked one of only two hard-hit balls on the day over the center fielder's head for a stand-up double. The one-out hit seemed to give Clearfield some life, and Lias came up with a two-out infield single to keep the inning alive and move Luzier to third.

Rowles - batting .392 with seven home runs - came to the plate looking to cause some damage, but she smashed the ball to a waiting right fielder for the third out of the inning.

The stranded runners would haunt Clearfield as a defensive mishap in the top of the seventh broke open a lead for Punxsutawney. Lellock led off the inning with a single to center and a grounder moved her to second. Laska hit a one-out single through the left side of the infield, but that single turned into more as the ball skipped by left fielder Sarah Kovalick, allowing Lellock to score and Laska to head to second base. With a 2-1 lead, Burke came through again with a two-out single to left that scored Laska and gave the Lady Chucks a 3-1 advantage.

The game was the last in a Lady Bison uniform for some important cogs in the Clearfield (11-7) lineup.

"My seniors did a great job," Dixon said. "They played well all year. I couldn't ask for more from them - (Kenzie) McGovern, Lias, (Alyssa) Anderson and Luzier. They're going to be really missed. But ... I expect us to be here again with what we've got coming back and what we've got coming up.

"Our program is at the point where I think we've got some good kids coming up. I hope I'll be back here again next year, probably playing (Punxsy) again. It's like a record that keeps skipping."

Punxsutawney-3
Burke p 4032, McFarland 2b 4010, Miller cf 3000, Elgin 1b 3010, Ruehle c 3000, Lellock rf 3110, Barenchik pr 0100, Spack dp 2000, Neal ph 1000, Laska ss 3120, Reitz ph 1000, Depp (flex) 3b 0000. Total: 29-3-8-2.

Clearfield-1
Luzier 2b 3010, Butler 3b 3110, Lias ss 2010, Rowles p 3000, J. Colesar 1b 3000, Anderson cf 3000, McGovern c 3000, S. Colesar rf 3000, Harbold dp 2000, Kovalick (flex) lf 0000. Total: 25-1-3-0.

Score by Innings
Punxsutawney               000   010   2-3   8   1
Clearfield                      000   100   0-1   3   2

Errors-Laska; S. Colesar, Kovalick. LOB-Punxsutawney 5, Clearfield 4. 2B-Luzier. SAC-Lias. SB-Laska, Burke. CS-Burke (by McGovern). WP-Burke 3; Rowles 2. PB-McGovern.

Pitching
Punxsutawney: Burke-7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO.
Clearfield: Rowles-7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO.

WP-Burke (5-0). LP-Rowles (11-7).

Time-1:24.