Lady Panthers Beat Clarion, Advance to Championship Game

| May 30, 2013

STRATTANVILLE, Pa. (EYT) – The Keystone softball team had been waiting for a rematch with Clarion since early April, and when it got it Wednesday afternoon in the District 9 Class A semifinals it took full advantage.

Sixth-seeded Keystone took advantage of seven Clarion errors to topple the second-seeded Bobcats 7-5 and advance to Friday’s District 9 title game vs. Elk County Catholic. That was a far cry from Clarion’s 13-2 win over the Lady Panthers April 4.

“It’s a special win,” Keystone head coach John Stiglitz said. “The first game of the year, we lost to this team and the girls asked if there was a rematch. They wanted to know if we played them again. I said not until the playoffs. We were hoping to get them in the playoffs. We thought for some time that we were coming around at the right time here. That is a quality team there (that we beat).”

Keystone never had a breakout inning, scoring more than one run just once, a two-run second. But the Lady Panthers scored in six of the seven innings including four unearned runs, to defeat a Clarion team that has owned the KSAC for the last few years.

“Against a well-coached, good team like Clarion, that is how you have to beat them,” Stiglitz said. It’s hard to get a big innings against a team like that. Most of the time that is the way you beat them.”

After the teams traded a run in the first inning, Keystone plated the next five runs to grab a 6-1 lead after 4 ½ innings, and those runs came the hard way with none of them scoring directly because of a hit.

In the second, Erica Reddinger reached on an error that plated courtesy runner Sammi Burke to break the 1-all tie, and then McKenna Shick had an RBI groundout to score Shayla Chapman, who had doubled.

Then in the third, Marina Bowser’s RBI groundout scored courtesy runner Lexi Callender, who was running for pitcher Jenna Hall who had a one-out single to start the rally.

In the fourth, Reddinger scored all the way from first when Shick singled and the ball got past right fielder Lexi Reed for a two-base error.

And in the fifth, Courtney Greathouse, who finished the day 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, scored on an error when catcher Lauren Wiser couldn’t handle a good throw home from third baseman Jessica Funk that would have erased Greathouse at the plate.

Meanwhile, Clarion’s offense squandered a couple of opportunities early to get back in the game.

In the first inning, Audrey Hummell and Maci Thornton led off the inning with back-to-back singles, but Clarion managed only one run – Audrey Hummell scored when her twin sister, Ashley, reached on an error by Greathouse.

The Lady Cats had two runners thrown out at the plate in the inning, as Thornton was gunned down at home by third baseman Shick and Ashley Hummell was caught off third when Jessica Funk was trying to steal second.

“We ran ourselves out of an inning,” Clarion head coach Dan Shofestall said. “We had Maci going on contact there. That happens. That’s my mistake. You don’t like to see any negative plays, but it happens. They are high-school kids under a lot of pressure. I do think that inning set the tone for the rest of the game, though. I think it gave (Keystone) some spunk and confidence. They were playing for the same thing we were playing for. They are working hard for it. We just needed to play a little bit of a cleaner game.”

Clarion also had a chance in the third inning when Audrey Hummell walked and Maci Thornton singled with one out putting runners at first and second for the middle of the order.

But Hall, who was solid all day long allowing five runs, only two earned, on nine hits and a walk while striking out seven, got Ashley Hummell to fly out and Funk to ground out on a great diving stop by freshman second baseman Amber Hess.

“Jenna just keeps getting stronger every game,” Stiglitz said. “She is one of those special pitchers. She can refocus at any time.”

Clarion finally broke through again against Hall in the bottom of the fifth when Ashley Hummell’s one-out double scored Matti Thornton and Maci Thornton to cut the Keystone lead to 6-3.

But the Lady Panther tacked on an insurance run in the seventh when Marina Bowser doubled home Greathouse, who had led off the inning with a single to make it 7-3.

That run made things a little more comfortable for Keystone when Clarion scored twice in the bottom of the seventh and had the tying run at the plate twice.

Jessica Funk had an RBI single that scored Audrey Hummell, and Lauren Wiser’s sacrifice fly platted Ashley Hummell.

“We came up short today,” Shofestall said. “I am proud of our team. We didn’t quite. Not everything worked out for us today.”

KEYSTONE 7, CLARION 5

Score by Innings

Keystone 121 110 1 – 7

Clarion 100 020 2 – 5

Keystone – 7

McKenna Shick 3b 5011, Mallory Reed rf 3000, Amber Hess 2b 4100, Jenna Hall p 4021, Lexi Callender cr 0100, Courtney Greathouse ss 4230, Marina Bowser c 4022, Sammi Burke cr 0100, Kari McQuiston lf 3000, Erica Reddinger dh 4101, Sam Beal 1b 0000. Totals 33-7-9-5.

Clarion – 5

Audrey Hummell 1b 3220, Maci Thornton ss 4130, Ashley Hummell cf 4122, Jessica Funk 3b 4011, Lauren Wiser c 3001, Keanna Over cr 0000, Lexi Reed rf 4000, Anna Reed 2b 3000, Olivia Bartley lf 2000, Johnna Rapp ph 1010, Matti Thornton p 3100. Totals 31-5-9-4.

Errors: Keystone 4, Clarion 7. LOB: Keystone 9, Clarion 7. 2B: Bowser, Chapman, Ashley Hummell. SF: Wiser. SB: McQuiston, Chapman, Reddinger, Ashley Hummell. CS: McQuiston, Ashley Hummell.

Pitching

Keystone: Jenna Hall 7 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO.

Clarion: Matti Thorton 7 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO.

Winning pitcher: Hall. Losing pitcher: Matti Thornton.

 

 

 

 


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