Makenna Dunbar, who belted a double, gets thrown out at third in an exciting game with defending state champion Dubois. Photo courtesy Chris Wechtenhiser, Courier Express.
Stories by Chris Brooks, sports editor, wellsvillesports.com, softball story parts written by Chris Wechtenhiser of the Courier Express
DUBOIS, PA — It wouldn’t be a road trip filled with incredible competition without one last challenge that was presented before the Lady Lions of Wellsville on Thursday upon heading home. But this particular challenge might perhaps be the most difficult of the bunch — a defending Pennsylvania State champion in the shape of Dubois Central Catholic.
Straight out of the gate, the Lady Lions were tested, as Dubois Central Catholic posted four of their six runs in the first three innings of play. Ultimately, it would prove to be enough of a tone-setter to keep the lead intact, as they went on to maximize their advantage down the homestretch to deal Wellsville their first loss of the season in a 6-3 decision at Heindl Stadium in downtown Dubois.
“Dubois Central Catholic was in the State Finals last year, so we knew they were going to be a strong team,” said Lady Lions coach Matt Burke. “We came out with good energy, but we just couldn’t play well. Dubois has a lot of great softball players, and they’re well-coached. We’ll learn from this, and get back to work on Monday so we can keep getting better. Overall, I’m very happy with how our trip went. We have a great bunch of young ladies, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”
DCC coach George Heigel told Chris Wechtenhiser of the Courier Express even though the teams are in different states, he knew Wellsville and saw them at tournaments.
“Our base running was a key I think,” said Heigel. “I’ve said from the start of the season, we don’t need home runs and extra base hits,. We just need bases, and what I mean by that is we need to be real aggressive on the base paths.
“We just did some things today that we have been working on. So. it’s fun when it happens they way you plan it too. We were outhit (11-5) but we did sting some balls right at people.
“It’s a very good win, and their pitcher (Cowburn) was really good. It was a good game to play and a good game to get. We saw them in a travel tournament last year, and of course they like this facility, so they came down here to play.
“Our pitchers did an awesome job. Melia Mitskavich did everything we could ask for. You make that switch (to Kulbatksy) and wonder, is this the right thing to do. I think it’s the right thing to do (split innings), but I’m still not 100 percent convinced it is. But, it’s working.”
Despite their first defeat of the young season, the Lady Lions (6-1) provided one more strong showing on offense to keep the pressure on Dubois Central Catholic, especially down the final stretch, as they accounted for three runs off 11 total hits at the plate. Among them, Natalie Adams, Emma Dunaway and Makenna Dunbar, who all combined to belt five doubles to power the bats. Adams and Dunbar each recorded a pair, with Adams finishing with three hits in the contest.
Dunaway would also finish with three hits, including a double of her own.
The Lady Lions would have to quickly gain ground after falling behind by a 4-0 deficit through the first three innings, cutting the lead down to as little as three with their first run in the top of the fourth. But Dubois Central Catholic would provide a big response in the bottom of the fifth to essentially put the game away for good, scoring their last two runs to push the advantage out to five.
In the circle, Makenzie Cowburn went all seven innings, striking out two and walking two.
Wellsville is back home to Tullar Field on Tuesday, where they will host the Allegany-Limestone Lady Gators in a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Wellsville 000 101 1 – 3 11 3
Dubois Catholic 013 020 X – 6 6 0
PLAYER AB R H RBI
Emma Dunaway ss 4 0 3 0
Brazen Beckweth c 3 0 1 0
Ayla Faulkner cr 0 1 0 0
Makenzie Cowburn p 4 0 0 0
Makenna Dunbar lf 4 1 2 1
Lindsay Stuck 3b 3 0 1 0
Brynn Hallock pr 0 1 0 0
Marrisa Ordway 1b 3 0 0 0
Natalie Adams 2b 3 0 3 1
Avaree Palmatier rf 3 0 1 1
Hailey Lanpher dp 3 0 0 0
Teegan Burke cf (flex) 0 0 0 0
Totals: 30 3 11 3
DCC—6
Kali Franklin ss 3100, Jessy Frank c 3200, Kayley Risser cf 2111, Melia Mitskavich p-3b 3021, Rose Whipple 1b 3000, Lydia Morgan lf 3110, Marina Hanes rf 2000, Lauren Davidson 2b 3110, Lexi Berta dp 3000, Rylee Kulbatsky 3b-p (flex) 0000.Totals: 25-6-5-2.
Errors: Wellsville 4, DCC 0. LOB: Wellsville 7, DCC 5. DP: Wellsville 0, DCC 1. 2B: Dunaway, Dunbar, Adams 2. 3B: Davidson. HBP: Frank (by Cowburn). SB: Franklin, Frank 2.
Pitching
Wellsville: Makenzie Cowburn 6 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1 HB.
DCC: Melia Mitskavich 3 IP, 4 H,0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
Rylee Kulbatsky-4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO.
Winfield (WV) 6, Friendship/Scio 1
MYRTLE BEACH, SC — The Friendship/Scio softball squad finished off their trip to Myrtle Beach with one last battle, this time in store against a Winfield High School team from West Virginia. An opposition that fought tooth and nail right alongside them through the opening stages of Thursday afternoon’s finale.
But for Winfield, their chance to break the floodgates open came down the stretch, as they went on to score six straight runs to break the door down with a massive lead that they never looked back on, holding Friendship/Scio in check every step of the way to lay claim on a 6-1 victory.
“I’m pretty proud of the girls. Playing bigger schools and teams halfway through their season, while us back up north can barely get outside for practice, this helped provide a challenge,” said Friendship/Scio coach Deb Warner. “We started out this game tough, but we couldn’t get our bats going. Their hits were little bloopers that just managed to find some holes in the field.”
Between the two teams, just six combined hits were recorded by the offenses, with Friendship/Scio (2-2) being limited to just a pair — both coming in back-to-back fashion with one out in the seventh, as Nevaeh Ross foiled Winfield’s opportunity at a no-hit bid with a single. She would ultimately score the team’s lone run later on after Morghyn Ross followed with a single of her own on the very next at-bat.
Friendship/Scio presented a threat to close out the day with two on and two out, but Winfield managed to hang on to capture the victory.
Nevaeh Ross was outstanding to finish off her southern trip in the circle, handing out 12 chairs to Winfield while walking just one across her four-hit performance.
Friendship/Scio is back home on Tuesday, as they host their official home opener in Scio with a 5 p.m. first pitch against Campbell-Savona.
Friendship/Scio 000 000 1 – 1 2 0
Winfield 000 204 X – 6 4 0
BASEBALL
Palmyra-Macedon 3, Wellsville 0
MYRTLE BEACH, SC — To wrap up their Myrtle Beach trip on Thursday, the Lions of Wellsville were tasked with familiarizing themselves with another Section V foe that also made the trip down south over the break: Palmyra-Macedon, in a fierce battle of Class B powers on the diamond.
At the end of the night, the battle would belong to the Raiders, as they held the Wellsville offense scoreless from start to finish, posting three big runs along the way to further distance themselves away from their grasp, en route towards a 3-0 shutout to force a South Carolina split over the Spring Break for the Lions.
Despite the defeat, the Lions (2-2) were able to grab a magnificent performance from Logan Dunbar on both sides of the frontlines, garnering an incredible six-inning start that consisted of 10 strikeouts while on the attack, he blasted a triple. More in-depth statistics and a complete box score on the game were not made available to report upon publication.
Wellsville will now break for the next week away until their official home opener rings in next Thursday, hosting the Olean Huskies in a 5 p.m. first pitch inside the Den.
