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Lady Chucks win third-straight title, Pifer claims 100th coaching victory |
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Written by Dan Walk
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Thursday, 27 May 2010 |
Pitcher Amber Lellock (left) high-fives first baseman Kristen Fedder after recording a crucial, inning-ending strikeout during the sixth inning of the Lady Chucks' district championship-winning victory over Clearfield Wednesday. (Photo by Dan Walk/The Punxsutawney Spirit)
DUBOIS — Amber Lellock didn't let nervousness affect her when she stepped to the mound for the first time Wednesday with the tying run on first base during the sixth inning of the District IX Class AAA softball championship.
"I'm not going to lie — I was a little nervous," Lellock said. "But I knew I had good defense behind me, and I was pretty sure my girls could (get the job done)."
Lellock, not needing an assist from her defense at this particular moment, composed herself long enough to record what wound up being a game-changing out that led the Lady Chucks to their third-straight district championship.
In what was a high-pressure situation on a balmy day in DuBois, Lellock looped a nasty change-up that left Clearfield's McKenzie Moore window shopping for an inning-ending called strike three. An inning later, Lellock induced a groundout to first baseman Kristen Fedder, who touched the bag to seal the deal.
Punxsy scored all four runs during the first two innings, beating the Lady Bisons in the title game for the second time in three years, 4-2.
Considering Clearfield couldn't get a runner on base in the final inning, Lellock's punch-out in the sixth ended up being the Lady Bisons' last hope at tying the game.
"I get nervous throwing change-ups because there's always a chance that they're going to drive it really far," Lellock said. "It was a great strikeout. It was a big out, and we needed that out."
Not only did Punxsy win another district crown Wednesday, but the team helped manager Alan Pifer claim the 100th victory of his six-year coaching career with the Lady Chucks.
"That was like icing on the cake. It felt real good," Pifer said about getting No. 100 and another district title in the same day. "After 100 wins, I would just like to thank my team this year as well as those who helped get me that milestone — my coaches, not just this year, but the one's I've had in the past, and my past players.
"They all contributed to help get that," he said. "It's really nice, but they're the ones who deserve the credit. They're the ones who got me there."
Punxsy (16-3) will have an opportunity at winning No. 101 for Pifer next Wednesday at a time and venue to be determined against the winner of today's District VI championship. Bellefonte and Lewistown face off at 5:30 p.m. today at Penns Valley Field for the right to play Punxsy in the District 6/9 State Qualifier.
Wednesday, Punxsy's bats were quiet, especially after the first inning. But thanks to four Clearfield errors, the Lady Chucks were able to mount enough offense to win.
During the first inning, Taylor Powell's two-out triple down the third-base line was a huge rally starter. After Jenna Reitz was hit by a pitch, Shawnna Crago's pop-up to Clearfield second baseman Tristan Lewis was dropped, allowing both Powell and Reitz to score.
Once Crago stole both second and third, Lellock's RBI single tallied Punxsy's third unearned run of the inning.
"We were fortunate that they made a couple miscues, and it hurt them," Pifer said. "The bottom line is we got the win. It wasn't the prettiest."
In the second inning, a Megan Kauffman grounder was hit right to shortstop Melinda Owens, who couldn't field the ball. Once Kauffman reached first base on the error, she stole second, tagged to third on Ashley Barenchik's fly out to right field and scored on Hannah Neal's sacrifice fly.
Punxsy managed just two hits — singles by Reitz and Angela Laska, who was 2-for-3 — after the first inning.
"We weren't hitting the ball with as much authority as we were. Some of the balls were hit hard, and some weren't," Pifer said. "We just have to try to be more consistent, because it's just going to get tougher down the road."
Punxsy starting pitcher Kelsey Cook didn't run into much trouble during the first five innings of her win. She wound up throwing 5 2/3-innings, allowing just two runs on five hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.
The only time during the first five innings that Clearfield had two runners on base at once came in the third, when runners on first and third were stranded once the Lady Bisons' B.J. Bowman popped out to first base. The out was big for Cook, who gave up a home run to Bowman in April.
A walk and single put two runners on for Clearfield in the sixth before a wild pitch allowed Janell Zalno to score. Mia Keener was walked before Lewis' RBI single scored Bowman to make it a 4-2 game.
In came Lellock, with Pifer second-guessing his decision, considering Lellock didn't have time to warm up between innings. Until she received her warm-up pitches prior to facing Moore, she hadn't thrown the ball since the pre-game.
But after a few balls, Lellock recorded a strikeout of Moore with a tricky change-up.
"I had to bring her in cold, which I really didn't want to do. But she came in and did a great job," Pifer said. "She was throwing a littler harder (than Cook) because she was a little fresher. To have Amber come in and close the door was good. She kept them off-balance a little bit with the change-up."
With the district title in hand, Punxsy will be sure to improve at the plate after Wednesday's five-hit performance. Pifer, after all, knows things won't get any easier now that the state playoffs are soon to be underway.
"It certainly makes us know that we have to work hard. The competition is more than likely going to get tougher as we go," he said. "Whether it's Bellefonte or Lewistown, it's for sure going to be a very worthy opponent."
The Lady Chucks will savor the win, but soon enough, it'll be back to the field in preparation for the District VI champ.
"I'm so excited. I'm proud of the whole team. We all did a really good job, and it's a great feeling," Lellock said. "We have to keep practicing hard, and I'm confident that we can go far this year."
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Last Updated ( Friday, 28 May 2010 )
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