The Tyrone Lady Eagles didn\’t let a constant drizzle and the Bellwood-Antis Lady Blue Devils stand in their way of a senior night victory Friday evening.
Stephanie Catich, the lone Tyrone senior, was honored before the game.
Hilary McNelis set the tone for the game in the first inning with a 1-2-3 inning in which no ball left the infield.
Katie Whitby got the Lady Eagles started on offense with a leadoff single that was mishandled by the right fielder allowing Whitby to take second. Meghan McAllister followed up with a single to put runners at the corners with no outs. Missy Stager hit a ground out to third which scored Whitby and got McAllister to third. After McNelis drew a walk, Kim Cherry knocked in the first of three RBIs on the day with a fielder\’s choice grounder. With one inning in the books, Tyrone led 2-0.
After Bellwood-Antis was held scoreless in the top of the second, Tyrone got back to work. Catich led off with a single, but was retired on a fielder\’s choice grounder by Ashley Pennabaker. A throwing error allowed Pennabaker to move to second, and a wild pitch sent her to third. On the next pitch, Whitby knocked Pennabaker in with her second hit of the game. After Whitby stole second, McAllister drew a walk. A passed ball allowed both base runners to move up, and Whitby scored on a Cherry infield single to stretch the lead to 4-0 after two innings.
Both teams went quietly in the third inning, but with the fourth inning came Bellwood-Antis’ first scoring threat. Heather Detwiler led off with a double and moved to third on a ground out by Christina Pfahler. With a runner on third and one out, McNelis refused to cave in and got a strike out. Heather Stanton preserved the shutout by making a nice play on a grounder to first which ended the threat.
“Hilary uses off speed and the whole plate better than any pitcher we face,” explained Bellwood-Antis coach Alex Sitman in admiration of McNelis, Tyrone coach Loncher and the entire Tyrone lineup. “Hilary is a great pitcher, a great athlete and a force to be reckoned with. We always enjoy playing Tyrone. They are at the point in their program where we want to be. They have good athletes and a great coach in Lois Loncher. They take advantage of every little mistake and turn it against you. You have to play your best ball Tyrone, because of the caliber of their team.”
The Lady Eagles broke out the bats again in the bottom of the fifth. Cherry led off with a walk and moved to second on a Stanton single. Stefani Bryan followed with a double to center that scored Cherry. Catich knocked Stanton in with a ground out, and Pennabaker scored Bryan with another grounder to make the score 7-0.
Tyrone used a McAllister single, two Bellwood-Antis errors, and a Cherry RBI triple to tack on two more runs in the sixth.
“For a freshman she\’s done a great job and come a long way this season,” said head coach Lois Loncher about Cherry.
Bellwood-Antis managed a leadoff single in the seventh inning, but could do nothing else against McNelis who struck out two batters in the inning to make her total for the game nine.
“The last two games she\’s been firing the ball and using the change very effectively. When she is pitching on a few days rest good things happen,” said Loncher of her pitcher.
Bellwood-Antis committed six errors in the game while Tyrone was able to play error-free.
“When you are playing with a lead and there is room for error, you play much more confident and you can be aggressive,” said Loncher.
Catich, a four year starter at shortstop, went 1-for-3 with a RBI in the game.
“Stephanie is a super kid, she\’s in a lot of activities in school, and she\’s a good student,” Loncher said of the team\’s only senior.
Heather Detwiler pitched well for us to keep us in the ballgame,” said Sitman. “The first four or five innings, she gave up only two earned runs. We had some balls get through that really hurt. The girls were able to make some good contact against McNelis. That is a confidence builder for us for the teams that are still on the schedule.”
Tyrone (8-9) hosts Philipsburg-Osceola on Monday at 4:30 p.m., then completes their season on Wednesday at Mount Union at 4 p.m.
Bellwood-Antis (1-14) plays at Claysburg-Kimmel at 4 p.m. on Monday then closes the season with three straight home contests-Bishop Guilfoyle on Wednesday, Williamsburg on Friday and West Branch on Monday, May 17. All three start at 4:30 p.m.
Tyrone 9 Bellwood-Antis 0
BELLWOOD-ANTIS – Forney, ss, 3-0-0; Detwiler, p, 3-0-2; Pfahler, 1b, 3-0-0; Burns, c, 3-0-1; Narehood, 2b, 3-0-0; Kephart, 3b, 3-0-1; Cresswell, rf, 1-0-0; Myers, rf, 2-0-0; Riley, cf, 2-0-0; Weyant, lf, 2-0-0; Helsel, cr, 0-0-0. TOTALS 25-0-4.
TYRONE AREA – Whitby, cf, 4-2-2; McAllister, dh, 3-2-2; Stager, 2b, 4-0-0; McNelis, p, 2-0-0; Cherry, c, 3-2-2; Stanton, 1b, 4-1-1; Bryan, 3b, 3-1-1; Catich, ss, 3-0-1; Pennabaker, rf, 3-1-1; Schreckengost, lf, 0-0-0. TOTALS 29-9-10.
Bellwood-Antis 000 000 0 0-4-6.
Tyrone Area 220 03 X 9-10-0.
Multiple Hits: Detwiler 2, Whitby 2, McAllister 2, Cherry 2.
2B: Detwiler 1, Bryan 1.
3 B: Cherry 1.
RBI: Cherry 3, Bryan 1, Catich 1, Pennabaker 1, Stager 1, Whitby 1.
SO: McNelis 9.
BB: Detwiler 4.
WP: McNelis LP: Detwiler.
