STRATTANVILLE, Pa. (EYT/D9) – After having so many teams rally against them this season, on Saturday afternoon it was Clarion-Limestone that rallied for six runs after two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to turn a 6-2 deficit into an 8-6 victory over Cranberry.
(Photo by Diane Lutz)
After a pop-out to second base started the inning, Abby Himes singled to right field, but was thrown out after straying too far off first base.
That out seemed to energize the rest of the team because the Lions’ bats came to life after that.
C-L (4-5) came up with five straight hits with Abby Knapp, Jenna Dunn and Jocalyn Henry each driving in a run. After Sam Simpson reached on an error, Kendall Dunn drove in a pair of runs with a single for the 8-6 lead.
“It feels good to have us rally for once to get a win,” said C-L head coach Jason Craig. “We seemed a bit sluggish early in the game and we really couldn’t get much done on offense and our defense was a bit off today as well. For whatever reason we seemed to finally wake up in that sixth inning and put together some hits and some runs.”
Cranberry attempted to make a comeback in the top of the seventh as Jenna Biltz began the inning with a single and Cassie Scarbrough reached base on an error. Both runners moved up on a ground out back to pitcher Jenna Dunn. Alisha Beggs then hit a soft line drive to Frances Milliron at third who was standing on the base when she caught the ball, thus retiring Biltz who had wandered off the base upon contact.
After the Cranberry coaches argued the call for several minutes, the call stood and the game ended.
Cranberry took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first as Olivia Plummer, Biltz, and Scarbrough each drove in a run.
C-L answered with one of their own in the bottom of the first as Kendall Dunn reached on a bunt single and stole second base. One out later, she scored on an RBI single by Abby Himes.
Cranberry added a run in the third as Biltz singled with two outs before later scoring on an error. The Berries added two more in the top of the fourth for a 6-1 lead. Plummer hit an RBI single while Keelie Schneider roped a run scoring double.
The Lions added their second run of the game in the bottom of the frame as Himes reached base when her pop up was dropped near the third base foul line by the pitcher. She stole second and scored on a single by Alyssa Wiant.
Kendall Dunn, Himes, and Wiant each had two hits for C-L. Kendall Dunn drove in two runs while Himes and Wiant each added one RBI. Regan Husted, Knapp, Jenna Dunn, and Henry each added one hit.
Olivia Plummer and Scarbrough paced Cranberry with three hits each with Plummer driving in a pair of runs. Reyna Watson added two hits.
Jenna Dunn picked up the win in relief for C-L, allowing no runs on four hits in 3 1/3 innings. She didn’t walk a batter while striking out one.
Regan Husted started and allowed six runs, five earned in 3 2/3 innings. She allowed nine hits, no walks, and no strikeouts.
Biltz suffered the loss.
“We’ve been using Jenna more and more lately and it seems she’s been gaining some confidence,” said Craig. “We know at some point we’ll probably have to give her a start or two along the way because she’s a freshman and she’ll probably be our pitcher moving forward as Regan Husted is a senior.”
Fall Sports
Rocky Grove and Lakeview Team Up for Mason
