Lady Lions earn first victory since 2019 campaign
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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
With just one out standing between Altoona and its first varsity softball victory since 2019, Bellwood-Antis mounted a six-run, seventh-inning rally and brought the tying run to the on-deck circle.
Lady Lions coach Jessica Stiffler came out of the dugout in the middle of an at-bat and made a pitching change. Her demeanor had remained positive throughout the game, even when Altoona fell behind by six runs early in the contest, but things were getting a little tense as the Lady Blue Devils tacked on run after run.
The feeling of being underwater and struggling to get back to the surface for some needed oxygen began to materialize until Haley Wible sparked a celebration four years in the making with a strikeout that sealed Altoona's 20-17 victory at Logan Elementary on Monday afternoon.
"I didn't know whether to breathe normal or hold my breath or what," Stiffler said. "When we practice, we try and put our girls in these situations. We came out and stayed humble. Things got kind of rough there. I think we wanted to get the win today and thought we were going to get the win, but then we saw it was going to be a dog fight. But all in all, I'm so glad the way it turned out, because now I can breathe a little bit. I definitely felt some tension and some knots welling up in my shoulders."
It was Stiffler's first win as Altoona's coach after an 0-20 season last year, but for the seniors on this year's team, the wait has been even longer. Gracie Wilt, who has been a bright spot in the Lady Lions' lineup her entire career, didn't get the chance to play as a freshman when her season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Playing against very good competition in the Mid-Penn Conference, Altoona has failed to get a win in either of the past two years following the COVID season.
"It feels amazing that we came together as a team today," said Wilt after her first win as a member of the Altoona varsity team. "Even though we still had some errors, we came back and overcame them and really won as a team today. I think this helps incredibly. I think this can jump-start us. Maybe we won't go undefeated the rest of our season, but a couple more wins would be amazing."
Wilt and teammate Kaya Sprankle each had three hits. Wilt's single in the fifth inning loaded the bases for Skyler Reed, who hit a go-ahead two-run single for the Lady Lions as part of a 13-run inning that turned an 11-7 deficit into a 20-11 lead.
"I am actually really impressed with their confidence," Stiffler said. "Even with the losses that we have had, we have focused on the mentality aspect of it and staying positive. We encourage the girls, and we wanted them to see what it's like to get a win instead of always seeing a zero. We wanted them to see a one or more than that in the winning column, because once they see they can accomplish that, they know they can do it again and what it takes."
Four batters after Reed's single, Altoona freshman Kendall Cogan hit her first career home run, a two-run shot. It sent the Lady Lions' dugout into a frenzy as they spilled out of it and rushed to congratulate their teammate. Stiffler, with a big smile on her face, was trying to remind an excited Cogan to touch home plate.
"It's such a breath of fresh air," Stiffler said. "Just like any other team, we deal with our drama that you deal with when you have high school girls, but seeing the girls coming together and just loving each other is amazing. We have been really pushing that hard. If you don't have team chemistry in the dugout and off the field, it's almost impossible to have it on the field."
Cogan finished 2-for-4, scored twice and drove in three runs.
"It's amazing for her confidence," Stiffler said. "Kendall Cogan is a freshman who probably didn't even think she would make varsity, so I think this will be a huge confidence booster for her where she can know if she just can relax and do what we have been telling her all along that she can hit the way she does in practice, she will just keep getting better."
Bellwood-Antis fell to 0-7 and has not won a game since the 2021 season, but the Lady Blue Devils showed Monday afternoon they are close to breaking through.
"They are putting a lot of time in," Bellwood-Antis coach Heather Quick said. "They didn't have school today, so they hit prior to coming here. They want to work hard, and they want to win. It's just a slow process. It will come together for us. We're just young. I think we're going to come through and win a few games. We have just one senior, and we need players to step up and be leaders. It's about finding the captain or the quarterback of the team."
Amyre Snyder had three hits and Ashlyn Snyder had a pair of hits and three RBIs for B-A, which led 11-5 going into the bottom of the fourth inning.
"Historically with Bellwood softball from the time I have been an assistant to now being the head coach, we give up that one bad inning," Quick said. "We gave up some walks, and then when you give up a hit or an error, it hurts a lot worse."
Parker Martin, London McKee and Rowan Kyle also each had two hits for the Lady Blue Devils, who had another close call earlier this season in a 6-4 loss to Curwensville.
"I'm kind of glad today's game turned out like it did," Stiffler said. "We didn't just come out and slaughter them. The girls had to work for it, and that's what I want them to do. Playing in the Mid-Penn, we play all amazing teams. It's going to be a fight for any wins."
Though the road ahead could be tough, Monday's win was sweet for Altoona. Especially after Stiffler announced she was taking the team out to The Meadows.
"I'm so excited to go get ice cream," Wilt said. "My favorite flavor is mint chocolate chip!"
BELLWOOD-ANTIS (17): Martin ss 532, McKee 2b 332, Quick lf 241, Am. Snyder c 513, Hinish cr 010, Kyle 3b 322, As. Snyder p 412, Garman 1b 410, Focht rf 300, Bardell lf 100, Waite lf 310. Totals -- 33-17-12.
ALTOONA (20): Sprankle c 423, Wilt ss 423, Reed p-cf 512, Kelley 3b 320, Glasgow 1b 331, Wible cf-lf-2b-p 332, Cogan lf-rf 422, Hartman 2b-lf 422, Hicks dp 121, Yost rf 000, L. Snyder p-1b 110. Totals -- 32-20-16.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Bellwood-Antis 402 500 6--17 12 3
Altoona 050 2(13)0 X--20 16 6
2B--Quick, Kyle, As. Snyder, Sprankle. 3B--Sprankle. HR--Cogan. RBI--As. Snyder 3, Kyle 2, McKee, Quick, Am. Snyder, Cogan 3, Reed 3, Sprankle 2, Wilt, Wible, Hartman. WP--L. Snyder. LP--As. Snyder. SO--As. Snyder 1, Reed 4, Wible 1. BB--As. Snyder 11, Reed 6, L. Snyder 5.
Records: Bellwood-Antis (0-7); Altoona (1-2).