Moniteau Softball Slugs Way to Win Over C-L

STRATTANVILLE, Pa. – Moniteau pounded out 12 hits with five going for doubles while also getting a solid pitching performance from Courtney Stewart as the Lady Warriors defeated Clarion-Limestone 6-3 on Thursday afternoon at the C-L Sports Complex.

Emma Covert led the Moniteau offense with a 4-for-4 effort with three of the five doubles while driving in two runs. Riley Hoffman added a two-run double with Abby Rottman also hitting a two-bagger. Taylor Schultz collected three singles while Courtney Stewart, Emma Staab, and Autumn Stewart each had one hit.

In the circle, Courtney Stewart went the distance allowing three runs, two earned on five hits. She walked five, struck out nine, and hit one batter.

“She’s probably the best pitcher we’ve faced so far this season,” said C-L head coach Jason Craig. “She has a great change-up that we were swinging and missing on because we were so prepared for her fastball, we couldn’t adjust to her taking so much speed off her pitch. We had trouble squaring the ball up overall today.”

Kendall Dunn collected two of the C-L (4-3 overall) five hits including a double. Frances Milliron, Cassidy Makray, and Alyssa Wiant added one hit each with Milliron hitting a double.

After a scoreless first inning, Moniteau scored two runs in the second. Covert began the inning with her first double of the game. She moved to third on an infield single by Staab. Staab stole second before both runners scored on a double by Hoffman for a 2-0 lead.

The Lady Warriors added a pair of runs in the third as Taylor Schultz singled, but was erased on a caught stealing. Courtney Stewart walked and moved to third on a two-base error off the bat of Rottman hit to right field. Covert then hit her second double to drive in two runs for a 4-0 lead.

C-L then scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Regan Husted drew a one-out walk ahead of a single by Makray. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Wiant grounded out to drive in Husted. Jocelyn Henry then drew a walk, but an errant throw to third following the walk allowed Makray to score to cut the lead to 4-2 after four.

Some solid defense by the Lady Lions kept the score 4-2 in the fifth. Rottman led off with a double but was thrown out at third trying to stretch it into a triple on a solid relay from center fielder Abby Knapp to shortstop Kendall Dunn to third baseman Frances Milliron. Covert added her third double but was erased when she tried to move to third on a ground out by Staab.

“That was a big inning for us because it kept them from possibly breaking the game open,” said Craig. “That was a real nice play by Abby to come over and get that ball and fire it back into the infield to get the out at third. The other one was a nice relay throw to third from Alyssa Wiant to Frances to get the girl at third to end the inning.”

However, Moniteau did score two runs in the sixth as Hoffman walked and Autumn Stewart singled. An infield fly out and then a ground out moved the runners to second and third. Schultz then singled to drive in two runs but was thrown out at second after the outfield throw went toward the plate, but catcher Abby Himes threw a strike to Dunn to get Schultz for the final out of the inning to keep the score 6-2.

C-L managed a run in the bottom of the seventh as Milliron hit a one-out double before scoring on a pair of wild pitches to set the final score.

“I think we have a lot to be proud of today,” said Craig. “We had a good effort and that’s how the coaches look at it. The girls are a bit down because they want and have that desire to win. We gave ourselves a chance and didn’t give up. We got a run in the seventh and had a chance for more, but it just didn’t work out.”

Husted suffered the loss allowing six runs, five earned on 12 hits. She walked two and struck out four.

“Regan did a great job for us today,” said Craig. “She did a nice job keeping things close and giving us a chance. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t score enough runs to support her today.”