The softball game between Bald Eagle Area and Philipsburg-Osceola was not played at high noon on April 23, but maybe it should have been.
The two local heavyweights matched up in a Mountain League clash, and any fan looking for drama, comebacks and last-minute heroics would certainly not have been disappointed.
Tied at five runs each after regulation, the two teams went into extras before Bald Eagle’s Morgan Lucas drove in pitcher Madison Peters with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Lady Eagles a 6-5 win.
Peters reached on an error, moved up on a single by Tobi Yarrison, and then scored on Lucas’ single. Peters also got the win on the mound after she struck out 10 and held the Lady Mounties scoreless over the last seven innings.
P-O jumped ahead early when the Mounties batted around and put up five runs in the top of the second inning. Kylie Adams and Lacey Potter each drove in two runs in the inning, but Peters settled down and the Mounties were unable to build on their lead.
BEA then began to chip away, scoring two in the fourth, two more in the sixth and finally the tying run in the bottom of the seventh.
The win was the fourth of the season for BEA, against two losses, and it avenged an earlier loss to P-O on April 18.
For the Mounties, the loss was their first of the season after seven straight wins. Since their win over BEA on the 18th, they beat Clearfield 8-2 on April 19 and smothered Tyrone 11-0 on April 20.
P-O played DuBois on April 25, and next have two big local showdowns against Penns Valley on Thursday, April 26, and against Bellefonte on Tuesday, May 1.
BEA will be at Central on Thursday, April 26, at home against Clearfield on Saturday, April 28, and then travel to Punxsutawney on Monday, April 30.
BELLEFONTE VS. PENNS VALLEY
The P-O-BEA game was not the only local clash April 23. Bellefonte also hosted Penns Valley in another Mountain League affair, and the Lady Red Raiders ran their record to 9-1 with an 11-5 win over the Lady Rams.
Bellefonte scored in every inning in the game and finally broke things open on Abby Manning’s pinch-hit, three-run homer in the fifth inning. It was Manning’s first career home run, and it gave the Raiders a solid 9-5 lead that they would not surrender.
The teams were tied at 4-4 going into the fourth, but Bellefonte went ahead with two in that inning, three more on Manning’s shot, and finally another two in the sixth to sew things up.
For PV, freshman Allison O’Brien had two hits and an RBI, and Lydia Collison hit a homerun.
The win was the seventh in a row for Bellefonte since a its April 6 loss to P-O, but things will not get any easier for the Raiders. Two games with Clearfield are on the horizon, along with a visit to PV on Monday, April 30. On Tuesday, May 1, the Raiders will host P-O in what looks to be another iconic local battle.
For Penns Valley, the loss dropped it record to 3-7 and was its fifth in a row. Upcoming games for the young Lady Rams include games at P-O on Thursday, April 26, at East Juniata on Friday, April 27, and another matchup against Bellefonte on Monday, April 30, this time at home.
STATE COLLEGE
The State College Lady Little Lions have had rough goes in their last two Mid-Penn Conference games.
First, on April 19, SC fell to Central Dauphin 9-2 at home.
The Lady Rams pushed across five first-inning runs and never looked back. Sam Gress went 3-for-4 with and home run and three RBIs to lead CD, while State College’s Morgan Arnold also had three hits in the game. Sarah Bowman added two hits for SC, and McKenzie Shannon hit a home run.
Then, on April 20, the Cedar Cliff Lady Colts roped 18 hits — including four home runs — in a 20-2, five-inning victory over the Lions.
Cedar Cliff took a 3-1 lead after the first inning and poured it on from there. The Colts scored five in the second, seven in the third and then five more in the fourth. Freshmen McKenzie Hoffer, Olivia Wagner, Avery Winchell and Karson Hastings all hit home runs for CC, while Hoffer, Hastings and Maddie Sitter all had three hits. Hoffer, Winchell and Hastings combined to knock in 11 runs.
State College will now get Red Land at home before playing in the Big Spring Tournament on Saturday, April 28.
