Nerves don’t get the best of Bloom
BLOOMSBURG — Bloomsburg showed that one can’t predict how a game will go based on pregame warm-ups.
The Panthers, showing nerves before a District 4 Class 3A quarterfinal softball game didn’t look as sharp as it would have liked.
The anxiousness carried over into the start of the game, but quickly subsided in the Panthers’ 12-1 blowout win over Wellsboro.
The Panthers (14-7) will face Loyalsock in the semifinals on Friday at the Moser Complex. The Lancers have won both regular-season matchups, outscoring the Panthers 26-4.
Nobody was experiencing the pregame jitters more than starting pitcher Ellen Hull.
“I definitely had some nerves,” she said. “I told the girls ‘my heart kind of feels at my feet right now.’ Those went away after the first couple of batters, and I was fine.”
The Hornets did scratch across a run on Hull in the first inning. It was unearned as the Panthers committed an error on an infield blooper to start the game.
Hull put that all behind her, retiring the next seven batters. For the game, she allowed two hits, walked two and hit one batter. She also struck out eight.
Both walks and one of those hits loaded the bases for the Hornets in the fifth, but Hull worked out of that jam with a popup to end the game.
Calming Hull down early was the run support her teammates provided.
Having already batted around and taken a 4-1 lead in the first, Bloomsburg took another turn through its lineup in the second. It struck for six runs — five of them coming with two outs.
Rita Nuss got the scoring going with a bang, crushing an 0-2 pitch to right for her second home run in as many games. Her approach at the plate has been what Bloomsburg coach Joe Devine wants from the entire team: swing at strikes, regardless of the count.
“I just go up there and like to get on the first strike,” Nuss said. “I like to swing at the first pitch if it’s there, but the last two games, I’ve been taking my time. If the pitch isn’t really there, I’m not going to swing and waste a good at-bat. I’ve been taking my at-bats a lot more seriously.”
Olivia Hull then flexed her muscles, taking a full-count pitch the other way to right for a two-run home run. The round-tripper scored Maddie Roberts, who reached on an infield error.
For all the offensive success the Panthers had, including striking out just once, Devine was most proud of that outcome.
“She’s the one girl at the beginning of the year that really bought into our approach,” he said of Hull. “She might have hit.150 her freshman year, and she’s a big part of our offense now.
“She puts in the hard work, we see her working on her mechanics. Hard work pays off, and she’s starting to see some of that.”
The Panthers showed they can be patient and let Hornets pitcher Kerren Clymer pitch herself into tough situations. They loaded the bases with back-to-back walks and a hit by pitch. Leadoff hitter Rylee Klinger drove in two of them — Maddie Morris and Kelly Scherer — on a single the other way to left. Ellen Hull later scored on a wild pitch as the Panthers’ 10th run.
Nuss and Klinger were the only batters to collect multiple hits. Nuss went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and three runs scored while Klinger finished 2-for-4 with a stolen base and two RBIs. She also scored once.
The first inning wasn’t as patient or powerful. The first four hitters all singled, with Nuss and Yablonski picking up RBIs in the process, on seven pitches. The Panthers also capitalized on a two-out infield error in the opening frame. A throw well over the first baseman allowed Roberts to score. Roberts reached on a fielder’s choice to score Yablonski for an RBI.
“I saw girls that were aggressive, hunting for strikes, staying in their zone and putting good swings on the ball,” Devine said. “When that happens, it makes our job super easy. They came out with a purpose today.”
The Panthers tacked on two more in the third inning. Nuss worked a leadoff walk and, in the ensuing at-bat, scored all the way from first after an infielder’s throw got away. Instead of stopping at third, she took the Hornets by surprise, taking off for the plate with no play.
Maddie Morris drove in Yablonski on a single to right for the contest’s final score.
Hull, Nuss and Devine are all in agreement that the offense can’t take its foot off the pedal in hopes the third time against Loyalsock will be the charm.
“I hope we hit the ball like we did today,” Devine said. “It’ll make it a heck of a lot easier. We’ve seen them twice already, but we’ll be hoping to bring this version of Bloomsburg up to Friday night’s game.”
Wellsboro 100 00 — 1 2 3
Bloomsburg 462 0x — 12 8 1
Kerran Clymer, Rylie Boyce and Chelsie English. Ellen Hull and Maddie Devine.
W —. L —.
Top hitters: Wellsboro — English, 1-2, RBI. Bloomsburg — Rylee Klinger, 2-4, SB, 2 RBIs, run; Rita Nuss, 2-2, home run, 2 RBIs, 3 runs; Olivia Hull, 1-3, home run, 2 RBIs, run.
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