CURWENSVILLE – By winning the Moshannon Valley League and District 9 Class A championships, the Curwensville Area High School softball team have attained two of coach Allen Leigey\’s pre-season goals.
One more remains, getting deeper into the state playoffs than last year, when the 9-A runner-up Lady Tide knocked off District 6 titlist Southern Huntingdon 6-3 before losing 4-1 to Smethport, District 9\’s third place team, in the quarterfinals.
To accomplish that feat, Leigey\’s 21-2 Lady Tide first will have to get past an opponent that also has lost only two games and boasts similarly impressive pitching and hitting statistics for Monday\’s PIAA Class A first-round duel at 4 p.m. at the Brockway Area High School Field.
Leechburg, which had a 14-game winning streak halted by Vincentian 3-2 in the District 7 semifinals, rebounded to thump Neshannock 12-1 in six innings in the third-place game Wednesday for a 17-2 record.
The WPIAL Class A Section 4 champs\’ only other loss was 3-1 to St. Francis College recruit Bethany Nealer and District 7 Class AA champion Valley (18-1) on March 28.
The Lady Blue Devils then went on their long streak that included 10 consecutive shutouts. They have scored 169 runs, just under nine a game, and allowed only 11.
In comparison, the Lady Tide have averaged 8.2 runs in outscoring the opposition 189-17.
Like almost every team still playing, Curwensville and Leechburg have ace pitchers with glittering credentials.
Lady Tide sophomore righthander Holly Lansberry is 19-2 with a 0.45 earned run average. She has posted 14 shutouts, one a no-hitter, and struck out 226 in 124 innings.
Lady Blue Devil senior Emily Batiz has racked up six no-hitters and already has committed to pitch for Division III Thiel College. She\’s a lefthander, which Leigey says poses a bit of a problem for the Lady Tide.
\”We haven\’t faced a lefthander all year, but I\’m not make a big deal out of it,\” he said. \”I don\’t want them to be too concerned. Underhand is underhand. We\’re used to seeing it come from the right side, but, fortunately, we have a lefthander (sophomore Erin Bressler) on our staff, and that helps.\”
Leechburg has three sets of sisters, including power-hitting sophomore twins Keli and Keri Barnes. Keli is the first baseman and Keri the leftfielder.
Olivia and Victoria Oberdorf are granddaughters of coach Jim Oberdorf. Olivia, a sophomore, plays shortstop, and Victoria, freshman who was hitting .515 after Leechburg\’s first WPIAL tourney game, plays second base.
Junior Kelsey Antonino is the rightfielder while sophomore sister Tony has been relegated to the role of courtesy runner because of an arm injury.
Sophomore Trisha Klingensmith and freshman Kaysie Young have flip-flopped as the starters and third base and left field.
Coach Oberdorf has done an outstanding job in his 27th season, as cleanup hitter Batiz and catcher Karlee Fisher are the only returning starters.
With seven starters back from a 20-4 team, Leigey had high expectations for his Curwensville squad, and he hasn\’t been disappointed.
The hard-hitting lineup features five regulars at .372 or higher and three others well above .300.
Senior shortstop Dani Struble is hitting .411 with a team-high 30 hits and 19 runs batted in and sophomore rightfielder Shannon McDonald is right at .400 with 21 RBI, while senior catcher Dana Johnson is close behind at .397 and a team-high 24 RBI.
Freshman centerfielder Tess Bloom has been a very pleasant surprise at .388 and Lansberry is hitting .372 with a team-high 31 runs scored from the leadoff spot. Junior leftfielder Samantha Haney is next at .357, followed by senior first baseman Ronna Knepp at .341 and sophomore third baseman Ashley Demchak at .328 with 19 RBI and senior second baseman Kristi Newpher at .246 with 12 RBI.
Struble, Johnson, Knepp, Demchak and Newpher also have hit home runs.
Curwensville\’s only losses came on the road against Brockway 5-4 and Class AAA Punxsutawney 2-0. One of the Lady Tide\’s wins was 3-2 over District 9 Class AAA champion Clearfield.
\”I think it will be a good game,\” Leigey said. \”I was really concerned until I saw the records of some of the teams they beat. It makes me feel we can at least compete with them. I think they\’ll be as good as Smethport. I think, either way, it\’s going to be low scoring if both pitchers are on.\”
Smethport was undefeated until Curwensville ended their playoff hopes with a 4-3 win in the 9-A semifinals. Last year, the Lady Hubbers also to the Lady Tide in the district semis but advanced as the third-place team and shocked District 7 champion Chartiers-Houston 1-0 before eliminating Curwensville to reach the Western Final, where they lost to District 10 titlist Iroquois 1-0 in extra innings.
Next up for the Curwensville-Leechburg winner will District 6 champ Homer-Center (16-1) or District 7 runner-up Vincentian (20-3) in the quarterfinals Thursday.