MILESBURG — On May 23, third-seeded Bald Eagle Area Softball defeated 11th-seeded Bishop McCort Catholic High School, 9-2, to advance to the semifinals of the District 6 Class AA playoffs under first-year head coach Don Lucas.
Freshman Zoey Surovec started in the circle for the Lady Eagles and earned the win, while Jenna Gaunt was dealt the loss for the Lady Crushers.
First-year pitcher Surovec was absolutely lights out in her playoff debut. She tossed five scoreless innings and allowed only one hit and no earned runs. Not only did she keep the Lady Crusaders at bay with her arm, she had an outstanding glove as well, playing stellar defense to help out her cause. Junior pitcher Moreta Dyke took over in the fifth and kept Bishop McCort to just one hit and one run to seal the win for the Eagles.
After two silent innings of dominant pitching, the Lady Eagles broke through and plated the first two runs of the game behind back-to-back RBI hits from right fielder Brooke Woodward and senior first baseman Sidney Schultz. The Lady Crushers responded in the top of the fourth when sophomore outfielder Tory Sipe hit a single to cut the lead to 2-1 driving in junior Autumn Gossard.
The Lady Eagles did more damage in the following half inning answering with three runs of their own. Bald Eagle was aggressive on the base paths as they tallied three stolen bases to set up their hitters with runners in scoring position.
After junior second baseman Madison Ripka got on base courtesy of an error, sophomore outfielder Megan Kresovich followed with a walk. With both players making their way into scoring position, senior shortstop Mikala Smith stepped into the batter’s box with an excellent chance to add to the lead. Smith laid down a well-executed bunt that resulted in an RBI single. Senior catcher Morgan Nyman drove in two runs with a double to cap off the inning.
After a scoreless fifth inning, the Lady Crusaders attempted to mount a comeback that was cut short by superb defense from the Lady Eagles. Gaunt, who later moved to shortstop, led off the inning with single and stole second, hoping to spark a rally. Their momentum was halted by junior third baseman Olivia Andrews, who had two key defensive plays to takeaway hits from the opponent.
In the bottom of the sixth, Bald Eagle pulled away further by plating four runs. The Lady Crushers allowed five consecutive Lady Eagles on base, two by error. The Lady Eagles took advantage of Bishop McCort’s miscues and earned coach Lucas his first playoff victory as Bald Eagle’s head softball coach.
The Lady Eagles move on to face the No. 2 seeded Central Lady Dragons on Thursday, May 26.
Central defeated Marion Center by a score of 13-0 in the quarterfinals on May 23 to advance, as well. Bald Eagle Area and Central have met twice in the regular season with the Lady Eagles winning both contests by scores of 10-6 and 7-5.
