HYDE – Brockway is not just another opponent on the Clearfield Area High School softball schedule for junior Ashley Lias.
Her grandfather, Gary Lias, was a longtime coach at the Jefferson County school, and her mother, Denise, and her aunt, Sherri, played for the Lady Rovers.
If they were rooting for a good game by Ashley and a win by Brockway Thursday at the Bison Sports Complex, they were one for two.
Lias had a monster game with a trio of two-out singles that drove in five runs, and Mandy Rowles pitched a three-hitter as the Lady Bisons silenced the Lady Rovers 8-1 for their sixth win in 11 games. Lias had only three RBIs going into the makeup contest.
\”This is a big game for her (Ashley), and she did a nice job at the plate, in the clutch,\” said Dixon, who kept a pre-season promise to his two-year letterwinner by penciling her in as the catcher, adding she will return to center field for today\’s home game against DuBois.
\”She loves to play Brockway, and she wanted to catch,\” Dixon continued. \”She looks forward to this game more than any of them. When we lost to them the last two years, she was in tears.\”
The only time Lias wasn\’t smiling yesterday was after the Lady Rovers scored their run in the third inning. LeeAnn Holt, who walked and stole second, headed for third. Lias\’ throw was a little off target, and Courtney Morgan was unable to make the catch as she stretched for the ball while Holt was sliding into the base. The ball glanced off her glove and rolled toward the outfield, allowing the Lady Rover to score and trim Clearfield\’s lead to 2-1.
Lias didn\’t allow that play to affect her hitting. She ripped a grounder past losing pitcher Callie Lyle to make it 4-1 in the bottom of the third, cracked a base-loaded single to right center to cap a three-run rally in the fourth and then legged out a slow roller to second base to drive in the final Lady Bison run in the sixth.
Alyssa Anderson had put the Lady Bisons ahead in the first inning by lining a single down the right field line after a walk to Brittany Pataky, a hard single through the right side by Nikki Collins and a pop-fly single to short right by Rowles loaded the bases.
Rowles, who also had three hits, struck out seven and walked three, one in each of the first three innings, to level her record at 4-4.
\”It wasn\’t that she was bad, she just was all over the place at the beginning,\” Dixon said. \”But she was solid. She doesn\’t give up. Toward the end of the game, she got better. The last two or three innings you could see the Ks start popping up there. She was hitting the glove.\”
Pataky and Anderson each had two of Clearfield\’s 12 singles.
That\’s an uncharacteristic total against Lyle, but the talented righthander and her teammates might not have totally recovered from Wednesday\’s tough 4-3 loss to DuBois Central. Lyle stepped into the circle for the seventh inning with a perfect game and a 3-0 lead, only to see the Lady Cardinals rally, scoring their last three runs with two outs.
Though Brockway is 6-6, Dixon was quite happy to finally beat the Lady Rovers.
\”They beat us 2-1 in eight innings last year,\” he said. \”They\’re very well coached and always a good ball team.
\”Overall, I think that was, other than the Punxsy game (a 2-0 victory), the best game we played this year.
\”Last night, before practice, we talked about intensity, because I think we\’re very talented, but sometimes we don\’t have that intensity. We told them if we want to go anywhere, we\’re gonna have to turn that up and play every game like that. And tonight, I think they came out to play.\”
Morgan, a sophomore, made two key defensive plays at third, lunging to grab Brittany Lindemuth\’s pop fly in foul territory to end the second inning with two Lady Rovers in scoring position and leaping to snare Christina Shannon\’s pop-up with a runner at third in the fourth.
\”She’s a good ball player and gives you 100 percent every night,\” Dixon said. \”She can fill in at second, in the outfield and at third base. She does a good job.\”
Dixon also was happy to see Pataky, who has been struggling at the plate, hit the ball hard twice.
\”She really ripped that one out to right field,\” he said. \”She tore the cover off the ball. We had a runner on second and couldn\’t even send her in.\”
But the happiest person leaving the Clearfield dugout after this victory was Lias.
BROCKWAY — 1
Julie Genevro 2b 3000, LeeAnn Holt 3b 2110, Brittany Liddle ss 3010, Cinnamon Monteville rf 3000, Callie Lyle p 3000, Brielle Bartlett lf 0000, Shawna Burkett lf 1000, Christina Shannon 1b 3010, Emily Ruff dp 1000, Sara Anderson ph 1000, Brittany Lindemuth cf 3010, Brittany Castiglione (flex) c 0000. TOTALS 23 1 3 0.
CLEARFIELD — 8
Alanna Luzier 2b 3100, Brittany Pataky 1b 3320, Nikkie Collins ss 4210, Mandy Rowles p 4130, Alyssa Anderson cf 3122, Ashley Lias c 4035, Julie Colesar rf 3010, Mallory Janocko rf 1000, Sara Kovalick lf 3000, Courtney Morgan 3b 3000. TOTALS: 31 8 12 7.
Score by Innings
Brockway 001 000 0 – 1 3 1
Clearfield 202 301 x – 8 12 2
Errors – Lyle; Collins, Morgan. LOB – Brockway 7; Clearfield 8. Sac – Holt, Bartlett, Ruff. SB – Holt 2, Liddle, Lyle, Lindemuth; Luzier, Pataky, Collins, Ashley Condon, Anderson.
Pitching
Brockway – Lyle 6 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 7 K.
Clearfield – Rowles 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K.
W – Rowles (4-4). Lyle (6-5).