MILESBURG — Because of a scheduling vagary, new Bald Eagle Area softball coach Don Lucas squared off with his old team, the Penns Valley Rams, in the opening game of 2016 for BEA on March 29 in Milesburg.
If Lucas felt any awkwardness about eventually facing Penns Valley this season, he was able to take care of that right away.
He was also able to take care of notching his first win as the Eagles’ coach. His players provided that when they ran off seven runs in the third inning on the way to a 10-0, six inning victory over the Lady Rams.
Right fielder Megan Kresovich had three hits and three RBI, including a two-run single in the third, to lead the onslaught for the Eagles. Designated hitter Morgan Peters added two hits and two RBIs, while starting pitcher Moreta Dyke and freshman Zoey Surovec combined for a six-hit shutout on the mound.
“I guess I would be remiss to say that it was a little awkward,” Lucas said, “But it was good seeing (Penns Valley coach) Tessa Deardorff leading the charge over there.
“To be against a former team you coached, I guess the pressure was a little more for me. To say I wasn’t a little bit tense about it would be a lie.
“But we put the ball in play, made them make plays, and when you can do that, good things will happen. We have good foot speed that puts pressure on the defense, and that worked out well.”
BEA got on the board in its first at bat of the season. After PV pitcher Emma Kubalak struck out the first two batters, catcher Morgan Nyman reached with a clean single to right. Nyman immediately stole second base, and then came around to score on single by Olivia Andrews.
Neither team threatened until BEA sent up 11 batters and broke the game open with seven runs in its half of the third. Kresovich started the scoring with a two-run single, and then two hitters later, Peters followed with a two-run double that made the score 5-0.
The quick strikes by the Eagles seemed to rattle PV, and the Rams committed three errors that allowed three more runs to cross. Before Kubalak could get the final two outs, BEA held an 8-0 lead.
“I was really excited,” Kresovich said. “I mean we have a lot of confidence in ourselves and I think we’ll do really well this year.
“We just wanted to win this game, and we got that.”
Now down by eight runs, Penns Valley threatened to get back into the game in the sixth. The Rams loaded the bases with one out on singles by Mackenna Lyons and Cassidy Stover and then a walk to Harley Hess. But Surovec got Dayna Brown to ground into a fielder’s choice force out at home, and then ended the threat with a fly out by Elizabeth Lingle-Brooks.
BEA wasted little time in invoking the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth. Andrews was hit by a pitch to lead off, Kresovich drove her in with a long triple in the gap to left-center field, and then Tobi Yarrison finished the win with an RBI double that drove in Kresovich.
“Our gals played a great game,” Lucas said. “Coming in we knew we had good speed, and I like small-ball, so we’re going to put the ball down. Anytime defenses think you are going to do that, it opens up a whole lot of different things.”
