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Clearfield can't overcome sluggish start in 10-5 loss to Hollidaysburg
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
By Rich Murawski Assistant Sports Editor
HYDE - The Hollidaysburg softball team rapped out 17 hits, including six in the second inning, on its way to a 10-5 win over host Clearfield Tuesday at the Bison Sports Complex.
While few of the base knocks were hard hit, they were more than effective. The Lady Tigers had four infield singles and several balls drop just in front of Clearfield defenders as the Lady Bisons exhibited lackadaisical defense at times during the game.
The sluggish play as well as five Clearfield errors made things tough on sophomore pitcher Tristan Lewis, who was making her first varsity start of the season.
"We had some shabby play," Clearfield head coach Bob Dixon said. "We looked rather lethargic. Some performances left something to be desired."
Lewis tossed all seven innings, striking out six batters and walking just one. Four of the 10 runs she surrendered were unearned.
"I thought Tristan threw a good game," Dixon said. "She didn't have overpowering stuff, but she located pretty well."
Lewis also had two of the five Lady Bison hits. Her second-inning double produced the first run of the game for Clearfield. But even that ended up being frustrating for Dixon.
"Tristan hit her double, and our bench is asleep," Dixon said. "Some of the girls gave a real good effort, but some of them left something to be desired. You have to play hard and want to win. Winning is a lot more fun than losing."
After a scoreless first inning, Hollidaysburg put six on the board in the top of the second. The Lady Tigers scored all six runs with two outs, and three of the runs were unearned due to three Clearfield errors.
Lewis' double got the Lady Bisons on the board in the bottom of the frame, but Hollidaysburg regained the six-run cushion with a run in the top of the third.
Hollidaysburg added a run in the fifth to take an 8-1 lead before Clearfield responded with three in the bottom of the inning.
B.J. Bowman and Suzie Colesar started the rally by drawing back-to-back walks off Lady Tiger pitcher Kelsey Salyards, who doled out seven free passes in the game.
Mikayla Ebeling ripped a double to score Bowman. Mackenzie Moore and Mia Keener followed with consecutive groundouts that plated Colesar and Ebeling to pull the Lady Bisons to within four of the lead.
But Hollidaysburg got two runs back in the top of the sixth to put a halt to the Clearfield momentum.
Bowman plated Lucy Kovalick in the home half of the sixth with her second single of the game. Kovalick led off the inning with a walk - her second in the contest.
But with two on and just one out, Salyards got a pair of pop-ups to end the threat. She then struck out two of the three batters she faced in the seventh to clinch the win.
Salyards allowed five runs on five hits, while walking seven batters and hitting one. She struck out eight Lady Bisons.
"She did a nice job," Dixon said of Salyards. "She had a real nice drop. She looked tough at times, but other times she was hittable. It was a frustrating game.
"We're probably going to make some changes. Maybe that will wake some of them up."
Hannah Mercer paced Hollidaysburg at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Mackenzie Walter added three hits and Amber Lemus, Jenna Fleck and Ashley Grassmyer each collected a pair of singles.
Clearfield fell to 6-7 with the loss. The Lady Bisons are back in action today at Bradord. Hollidaysburg-10
Lemus cf 5121, Fleck 3b 4120, Mercer ss 5143, Sheehan c 5010, Walter 2b 5230, Salyards p 5000, Grassmyer 1b 4122, Smith rf 4210, Stubbs lf 2210, Brustle lf 1011. Totals: 40-10-17-7.
Clearfield-6
Owens ss 2000, Zalno lf 3000, Bowman cf 3121, Colesar 3b 3100, Ebeling rf 3111, Moore c 4001, Keener 2b 3101, Lewis p 4021, Kovalick 1b 1100. Totals: 26-5-5-5.
Score by Innings
Hollidaysburg 061 012 0-10 17 0
Clearfield 010 031 0-5 5 5
Errors-Bowman, Zalno, Owens 3. LOB-Hollidaysburg 11, Clearfield 9. 2B-Brustle; Lewis, Ebeling. SAC-Fleck. SB-Bowman. HBP-Zalno. WP-Salyards 4.
Pitching
Hollidaysburg: Salyards-7 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 7 BB, 8 SO.
Clearfield: Lewis-7 IP, 17 H, 10 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO.
WP-Salyards. LP-Lewis (0-1).
Time-2:00.
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