Lady Cats Fall To Hubbers In District Nine Class-A Softball Playoffs (05/23/15)

(By Clarion Manager, Dan Shofestall)

The Clarion Bobcat Softball Team traveled to Smethport with high hopes of upsetting the number 2 seeded Hubbers, in a District 9 quarterfinal match up, on Wednesday, May 20th. But things didn’t go their way as they lost 10-0, in six innings.

Maya Thornton and Aliya Reed had the two hits for Clarion.

Thornton’s hit was a double down the left field line and came with one out in the first but that was as far as she would advance, as Smethport junior pitcher Brooke Kane Walker was able to record a strikeout and a come backer to herself to prevent the Bobcat offense from scoring.

Reed’s single came in the fifth inning.

Alexis Constantino pitched well in the circle and recorded a strike out.

Unfortunately, we didn’t play as well as we had hoped. Obviously a lot of the credit goes to the Smethport coaches and players, as they came out ready to go and played a good game against us. But we also hurt ourselves in many situations. Against a good pitcher like they had, we have to make the most of our opportunities when we get the chance. Other than our two hits we never got another ball to the outfield. That’s tough against a good team like Smethport.

Although the season ended on a down note, I saw a lot of good things from the team this year to build on in the future. I saw a lot of positives from our girls this year. Team Growth is always important and I believe we did grow a lot as a team and the good news there is still a lot of room to keep growing.

We improved our record by seven more wins this year and that is a number we know we can improve on even more next season. Everyone on the team contributed to the effort this year and thats always important. We have a good group of kids here and if we continue to work on the little things, then big things will happen for us.

We lose two seniors but we have a good core of players returning. The key is understanding that much work has to be put in if we if we are to achieve the rewards we are looking for.

I also want to thank our two seniors Stephanie Kahle and Aliya Reed for the contributions they have made to Clarion Softball these past two years. They will be missed but we are happy and excited for them as they move on to the next chapter of their life.

Clarion finished the Season with a 10-10 record.