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‘This is special.’ Bald Eagle Area softball wins District 6 2A title game against Penns Valley

Andy Stine
·4 min read

Chalk another one up for the Bald Eagle Area softball dynasty.

The Lady Eagles went back-to-back in District 6 championships, finishing off the 2A title game with a 5-1 victory over Penns Valley on Thursday afternoon at Saint Francis University.

BEA won the Class 3A title last year over Westmont Hilltop. They dropped down to 2A this season.

“I hadn’t thought about (going back-to-back), but this is special,” Bald Eagle Area coach Don Lucas said. “We lost some valuable leaders last year. These girls just filled in and kept going. We lost a player first game of the season that broke her hand, and we had a girl step right up. The little things like that are so important to win.”

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But Lucas still had a few very valuable leaders this season, including pitcher Sierra Albright, who was brilliant on Thursday. Albright allowed just five hits in her complete game effort, didn’t walk anyone and struck out 11 Lady Rams on the day.

Bald Eagle’s Sierra Albright pitches during the District 6 2A championship game against Penns Valley at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.
Bald Eagle’s Sierra Albright pitches during the District 6 2A championship game against Penns Valley at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.

“I felt like I was throwing harder today,” Albright said. “This feels really good.”

Penns Valley will also move on to the PIAA Tournament, which starts on Monday, but Penns Valley coach Terry Bumgardner admitted it hurt to fall in the district championship.

“Honestly, I thought Taylor (Bumgardner) threw three bad pitches the whole game, and they made us pay,” said Terry Bumgardner. “And we didn’t make a couple plays. But we only scored one run, and it’s tough to win a softball game like that. We just didn’t have enough offense.”

Penns Valley’s Taylor Bumgardner pitches during the District 6 2A championship game against Bald Eagle at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.
Penns Valley’s Taylor Bumgardner pitches during the District 6 2A championship game against Bald Eagle at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.

Bald Eagle Area got on the board in the bottom of the second as Shae Housel ripped a 2-run homer to center field. The homer also scored Ava Stere, who singled to lead off the inning.

With two outs in the bottom of the third, BEA’s Sydney Thompson doubled and moved over to third base on the play on an error. Stere rocketed a single into center field to give the Lady Eagles a 3-0 lead, along with a little room for error.

Bald Eagle’s Ava Stere gets a hit that scores a run during the District 6 2A championship game against Penns Valley at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.
Bald Eagle’s Ava Stere gets a hit that scores a run during the District 6 2A championship game against Penns Valley at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.

“With a team like Penns Valley, they’ve really played well coming from behind,” Lucas said. “I was never really comfortable until the last out. With Sierra throwing, it helps. She pitched the ball very well today.”

Penns Valley had just one baserunner reach second base in the first five innings. Albright sat down nine of her first 10 batters.

Bald Eagle Area added on a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, Kailey Eckert scored on a wild pitch before a Housel groundout plated Alexa Baney.

Bald Eagle’s Kailey Eckert tags out Penns Valley’s Taylor Bumgardner at the plate during the District 6 2A championship at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.
Bald Eagle’s Kailey Eckert tags out Penns Valley’s Taylor Bumgardner at the plate during the District 6 2A championship at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.

The Lady Rams’ biggest threat came in the top of the sixth. With one out, Noelle Webb got a base hit before Taylor Bumgardner doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Avery Dinges followed with a base hit into right field that scored Webb, but Bumgardner was thrown out at the plate to keep it 5-1.

Coach Bumgardner, who was coaching at third base, jumped in disagreement with the call at home plate and was injured on the jump. He coached the rest of the game from the dugout and said after the game he believed he tore his Achilles’ tendon.

Albright got out of the sixth inning with a strikeout, and also sat Penns Valley down in order in the top of the seventh for the win.

“Penns Valley is absolutely a great team. We beat a very good pitcher today,” Lucas said.

Penns Valley will be on the road on Monday for the first round of the PIAA Tournament as they will be at District 7 champion Neshannock. The Lady Lancers are the defending PIAA 2A state champions.

“We battled all year, and it’s the character of this team. I don’t think we’ll have any problems coming back next week,” said Coach Bumgardner. “We’ll have a couple good practices this weekend and be ready to play on Monday.”

Bald Eagle Area will have a home game on Monday in the first round against District 4 runner-up Muncy. All times are to be announced.

Bald Eagle’s Shae Housel yells to her teammates who congratulate her at home plate from her out of the park hit that scored two runs in the District 6 2A championship game against Penns Valley at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.
Bald Eagle’s Shae Housel yells to her teammates who congratulate her at home plate from her out of the park hit that scored two runs in the District 6 2A championship game against Penns Valley at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.

Bald Eagle Area 5, Penns Valley 1

Penns Valley – 1

S. Dinges cf 3000, Webb 1b 2110, Bumgardner p 3020, A. Dinges ss 3011, Stover 3b 3000, E. Dinges 2b 3000, Coursen c 3010, Bowen dp 2000, Brooks rf 2000, Riddle (flex) lf 0000. Totals: 24-1-5-1.

Bald Eagle Area – 5

Eckert c 2100, Baney rf 3110, Thompson lf 3110, Stere 1b 2121, Housel 2b 3113, King 3b 3010, Perry pr 0000, Bryan ss 2000, Burns ph 1000, Uberti dp 2000, Habovick cf 3000, Albright (flex) p 0000. Totals: 24-5-6-4.

Score by Innings

Penns Valley 000 001 0 – 1 5 2

Bald Eagle Area 021 020 x – 5 6 0

Errors - Stover, A. Dinges. LOB - Penns Valley 4, Bald Eagle Area 4. 2B – Bumgardner; Thompson. HR – Housel (1 on, 2nd inning). Sac – Bowen. SB – Stere 2, Uberti 2. HBP – Webb (by Albright); Eckert (by Bumgardner). CS – Perry (by Coursen).

Pitching

Penns Valley: Bumgardner – 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO.

Bald Eagle Area: Albright – 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 SO.

Winning pitcher – Albright. Losing pitcher – Bumgardner.

Time of game – 1:35.

Bald Eagle’s Ava Stere gets a hit that scores a run during the District 6 2A championship game against Penns Valley at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.
Bald Eagle’s Ava Stere gets a hit that scores a run during the District 6 2A championship game against Penns Valley at Saint Francis on Thursday, June 1, 2023.