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Bellefonte dominates their way to repeat championship

Yesterday at Penn State University, Bellefonte High School won the district championship for the second season in a row. (The Express/Tim Weight)

UNIVERSITY PARK – For the second straight season, Bellefonte has bragging rights as the district champions.

At PSU’s Nittany Lion Softball park, the Red Raiders whitewashed the Somerset Eagles in five innings, 10-0, en route to its second consecutive district championship.

“I think we did very well in all phases of the game,” Bellefonte head coach Fred Caldwell said. “We talked about coming out strong and scoring early in the game, as opposed to waiting to the fourth or fifth inning, and we did that today which is nice to see.”

Senior Tara Baney also had an enthusiastic response to her team’s sensational day on offense.

“It felt amazing to get those ten runs on the board,” Baney said. “We’ve been working hard since the fall to get this, and it’s just amazing. No words can describe it.”

Led by Emma DeHass’ game-high three hits and one RBI, the Raiders out-hit the Eagles, 14-4, in one of its finest performances of the season. Bellefonte has been dominant at the plate during these last few games, and coach Caldwell believes his Raider team is getting streaky at just the right time.

“I thought our hitting was very good,” Caldwell said. “We’ve actually been peaking the last five or six games, and I think we’re peaking at just the right time. Everyone had solid swings, and I was real happy with our hitting.”

The highlight-reel play of the evening was Mallorie Smith’s third inning inside-the-park home run to extend Bellefonte’s lead 9-0. The two-run homer capped off a seven-run explosion for Bellefonte in the inning.

“That was a lot of fun,” Bellefonte head coach Fred Caldwell said of Smith’s home run. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an inside-the-park home run. Mallorie has the speed and some pop in her bat, and we usually think of her as a lefty slapper but she does have a lot of pop for her size.”

After the game, Mallorie Smith explained how her pinpoint focus on the pitch allowed her to smack it to the warning tracks and hustle around the bases for the score.

“The pitch just came right in, I took a hack at it and it went right up the middle where I wanted it to,” Smith said. “I saw [the outfielder] was diving and I didn’t know if she was going to get it, so i just used my speed, followed coach Caldwell and he told me to keep going.”

Bellefonte secured the victory in the fifth inning with Alexis Wetzler’s RBI single to give the Raiders a ten run mercy-rule win.

“I was so happy that I was able to help my team with the win and everything,” Wetzler said.

The Raiders earned its seventh shutout of the season through a strong performance by pitcher Tara Baney, who coach Caldwell described as the biggest difference maker of the game. Baney recorded three strikeouts and allowed just one hit after the first inning.

In addition to Baney, the surrounding defense was strong and played error-free softball.

Baney escaped a bit of jam in the opening inning when she was able to turn a double play when Somerset had runners on third and second. The double play was the first of three for Bellefonte on the day.

“I don’t know if I ever coached a team that had three double plays in three innings, and that was amazing,” coach Caldwell said. “I think we were very dominant defensively, and those first three innings kind of took the wind out of Somerset’s sails, I think. It allowed us to score a few runs and get a little comfortable”

Tara Baney attributed the three double plays to her team mastering the basics of softball.

“We always practice the fundamentals, and this was a game that came down to fundamentals,” Baney said. “I trust my defense and they had my back through the entire thing. I’m so glad that they’re behind me.”

Bellefonte opens the state playoffs on June 5 against a team and a location soon-to-be determined. And with the team’s impressive win in the district championship, coach Caldwell hopes the momentum carries over and that the win sends a warning to future opponents.

“You always want to make a statement,” he said after the dominant victory. “You want to let the teams know that you’re going to play that you’re a team to be reckoned with.”

“I think we’re excited that we were able to do that and make a statement, and just not squeak out a win,” he added. “We were actually able to make a statement, for at least down the road, for other teams to at least be aware of us and know that we’re coming”

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

SS 0 0 0 0 0 x x 0 4 2

BF 2 0 7 0 1 x x 10 14 0

WP: Tara Baney (BF)

Top Hitters

Bellefonte: Rianna Trexler (2-for-2 with 2 RBI’s), Taylor Kerr (2-for-3 with 1 RBI), and Emma DeHaas (3-for-3 with 1 RBI)

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