Tigers on winning side vs Eagles
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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- In Hollidaysburg's three losses this season, the Lady Tigers have allowed only seven combined runs and dropped each contest by just one run.
Tuesday, Hollidaysburg turned the tables and won a low-scoring close game, 4-2, at home over Mountain League rival Tyrone in less than ideal conditions.
"I'm just really proud of the girls, especially to come out and play well on a cold day like this where the weather isn't ideal," Hollidaysburg softball coach Heather Perry said. "They overcame the weather. They all had great attitudes, and their energy was up the whole game. I couldn't ask for anything more."
Temperatures were up from a morning that saw flurries in the area, but the wind made it much colder than it has been for most of the season.
Hollidaysburg's junior catcher, Sydney Shay, had one of the better offensive days with a pair of doubles that both nearly left the park. She credited her catching equipment for helping to keep her warm.
"Days like this are hard on my arm, but the gear definitely helps," Shay said. "The one (double) the wind definitely killed, but the other one, the wind possibly helped it."
Shay's first double of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning was the first of four straight hits for Hollidaysburg that included RBI singles by Maria Malone and Rachel Musselman that put the Lady Tigers ahead, 3-0.
"We have a strong hitting team," Perry said. "Once we get the timing of the pitchers down, great things can happen. If we can keep our hitting up, we'll see a different outcome for our games in the future."
Tyrone got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by Sam Shaw that scored Maddy Rockwell from second, but Olivia Vincent got that run back for Hollidaysburg in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run.
Vincent was also excellent in the pitching circle, allowing only two runs on five hits in a complete-game victory. She also finished with two hits and scored a pair of runs.
Layna Dibert drove home Amariah Sprankle in the top of the sixth inning for the Lady Eagles, but with the tying run at the plate, Vincent retired the next two batters to get out of the inning and put Tyrone down in order in the top of the seventh inning.
"We're getting better every game," Tyrone coach Hilary Soellner said. "They are learning to fight. There's no give up in them. They have competed every game regardless of the score."
Tyrone, which got a first-inning double from Beth Pearson, fell to 2-5 and has also been the victim of some close losses.
"We have played really good competition, some of the best in the state in my opinion," Soellner said. "There's not a better conference out there that I can see. I want to see some of these close games start to fall our way. We played good enough today to win, but so did they. It fell their way and not ours. I want them to keep the intensity up, just bringing everything we have and some of these close games are going to start falling our way too."
Perry agreed the Mountain League is preparing her team for the postseason.
"We're really lucky in softball, because there's a lot of great competition," Perry said. "Every game we play in the Mountain League, we know we have to bring our 'A' game and can't take a game off. Literally any team could pull off a win on any day in the Mountain League, so it's a great league to be part of."
Hollidaysburg, which improved to 3-3, will briefly step out of the Mountain League competition to play Altoona on Saturday, May 6 in a 7 p.m. game at home that will benefit Sideline Cancer.
"We like the hometown rivalry of Altoona and Hollidaysburg, and Sideline Cancer is a cause that's really close to our heart here at Hollidaysburg," Perry said. "Football has really taken off with it the last couple years, and it's neat we can expand it to softball. You will see at the game, we will be honoring people who have lost their lives to cancer and people who are currently fighting. We'll have a lot of personal stories, even among our own players. It will be really nice to honor everyone that has had an experience with cancer."
There will also be luminaries, hanging lantern memorials and signs of support.
"I'd love to see a crowd," Perry said. "We're trying to get the word out. We'll have a basket raffle, 50-50 drawing and hopefully everyone will be decked out in our Sideline Cancer T-shirts we have been selling. We're hoping to get a huge crowd, especially since it's a rivalry game."
TYRONE (2): Brodzina 2b 400, Sa. Shaw lf 401, Pearson c 301, Sprankle 3b-ss 311, Beeman cf 301, L. Dibert dp 201, Su. Shaw p 000, McNelis rf 000, Lingenfelter rf-3b 200, E. Dibert 1b 300, Rockwell ss-p 310, Sklenar rf 000. Totals -- 27-2-5.
HOLLIDAYSBURG (4): Peacock 3b 300, O. Vincent p 322, Steiner 2b 301, Shay c 302, Morris cr 010, Malone dp 311, M. Vincent cf 000, Musselman 1b 302, Dawson ss 301, Knab lf 200, Hall ph 100, Alexy rf 200. Totals -- 26-4-9.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Tyrone 000 011 0--2 5 1
Hollidaysburg 100 210 X--4 9 2
E--Lingenfelter, Dawson, O. Vincent. 2B--Pearson, Shay 2. HR--O. Vincent. RBI--Sa. Shaw, L. Dibert, O. Vincent, Shay, Malone, Musselman. WP--O. Vincent. LP--Su. Shaw. SO--Su. Shaw 5, Rockwell 2, O. Vincent 4. BB--O. Vincent 1.
Records: Tyrone (2-5); Hollidaysburg (3-3).