Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Bellwood-Antis' Parker Martin advances to score as Northern Bedford shortstop Emilee Beach tracks an RBI single by London McKee.

LOYSBURG — After years of struggling, Bellwood-Antis softball took the first steps toward reestablishing itself as a playoff threat last season by finishing .500.

Now, with a mix of experienced players and impressive freshmen, the Lady Blue Devils are hoping to take the next leap.

One of those freshmen, Lainey Stinson, made a big splash Monday with a three-hit day that included a grand slam in a 12-2 non-conference win over Northern Bedford.

“That was my first ever grand slam,” Stinson said. “As soon as I hit that ball, I thought — ‘oh my gosh, that’s gone.’ I was so excited.”

Stinson also doubled and struck out five batters in two innings of relief pitching in the circle after Palynn Gregg threw the first four innings to pick up the win and struck out six.

“We have a solid group of returning players,” Bellwood-Antis coach Heather Quick said. “We have a couple freshmen that have moved up and contributed with hitting, pitching and fielding. We have the luxury of having two pitchers this season, which is not something we have had in quite a few years. That’s very helpful.”

Bellwood-Antis improved to 4-1 and already has wins over Philipsburg-Osceola, Bald Eagle Area and Bellefonte — which have dominated the area softball scene over the past decade.

“I’m so glad I can be part of this,” Stinson said. “I’m so thankful I can be part of this group of girls and that we can find success together.”

The Lady Blue Devils took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when Parker Martin singled, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a London McKee two-out single.

Northern Bedford tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Myha Dixon scored after Mackenzie Dick’s RBI single. Dick’s single loaded the bases for the Lady Panthers with no outs, but Gregg got a strikeout and then Bellwood-Antis pulled off a double play on a sharply hit ball to escape the jam.

With the score tied at 1-1, Northern Bedford coach Shane Shuter opted to take out star pitcher Mylee Mitchell, who had struck out 18 batters each in her last two starts, after just three innings. Mitchell had already struck out seven B-A batters.

“We have Tussey Mountain (Tuesday) which is an (Inter-County Conference) game and a rivalry game, so we’re saving up for that,” Suter said. “We just wanted to get her some work. If we had kept it close, we might have ridden her a little bit more, but the biggest play was that double play in the bottom of the third inning. If that goes through, we have a 3-1 lead and might have kept her going a little more, but we needed to save her for (Tuesday).”

Stinson’s double gave Bellwood-Antis runners at second and third and no outs in the top of the fourth inning, but Northern Bedford worked out of the jam and got its leadoff hitter, Lyla Mitchell, on base to start the bottom of the inning.

But Gregg retired the next three batters, and Bellwood-Antis got a go-ahead two-run double from Abby Clabaugh in the fifth inning. Gregg followed with an RBI double and eventually scored on an error that made it 5-1.

“We had an idea that we would have a good season this year,” Quick said. “We weren’t going to put all our eggs in one basket by any means, but they have worked very hard in the offseason. They showed up for optional workouts when obviously they didn’t have to. They put in a lot of time.”

Mylee Mitchell homered in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the B-A lead back to three, but the Lady Blue Devils exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning — highlighted by Stinson’s grand slam.

Gregg finished with three hits, and both Martin and Karlie Sweigert each had two hits.

“We had a couple girls that came into this game in a slump,” Quick said. “It’s good some of the girls got that hit they were looking for to get the monkey off their back and start hitting again. I was glad to see that today.”

Northern Bedford fell to 3-2 with the setback.

“I thought our swings were competitive, and we played hard all the way to the end,” Suter said. “We knew we were running into a pretty good team today. We saw some of their impressive wins last week and knew today would be a challenge. They have two really good arms, and they have a really good team.”

Despite the loss, Suter said Northern Bedford can compete with anyone on its schedule.

“Having Mylee, we know we have a chance in every game,” Suter said. “We don’t have to play a whole lot of defense with her pitching because of how many people she strikes out. She’s a luxury to have.”

Bellwood-Antis returns to the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference portion of its schedule on Wednesday against Clearfield with high hopes for the rest of the season.

“For the seniors and our junior pitcher, they have taken a lot of losses,” Quick said. “Their payoff is this season.”

BELLWOOD-ANTIS (12): Sweigert 2b 512, Martin ss 422, McKee 3b-1b 221, Clabaugh dp 421, Gregg p-cf 413, Stinson 1b-p 413, Snyder lf 411, Moore rf 300, Johnsonbaugh 3b 101, Taylor c 401, Conlon cf-rf 000. Totals — 35-12-15.

NORTHERN BEDFORD (2): Beach ss 301, M. Mitchell p-cf 311, Dick c 201, Miller 2b 301, Poteat cf 301, L. Mitchell dp 201, McElgin 3b 100, Thomas 1b 200, Stepisianos rf 100, Barton p 100, Kensinger ph 100, Dixon lf 210. Totals — 24-2-6.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Bellwood-Antis 001 047 X–12 15 2

Northern Bedford 001 010 X– 2 6 4

E–Beach 2, Miller, McElgin, Moore, Martin. 2B–Clabaugh, Sweigert, Gregg, Stinson. HR–Stinson, M. Mitchell. RBI–M. Mitchell, Dick, Stinson 4, Clabaugh 2, Gregg 2, McKee, Sweigert. WP–Gregg. LP–Barton. SO–M. Mitchell 7, Barton 2, Gregg 6, Stinson 5. BB–Gregg 1, Barton 2, M. Mitchell 1.

Records: Bellwood-Antis (4-1); Northern Bedford (3-2).