Lady Bucks, Lady Indians suspended after nine at 1-1

By Bees O’Brien

MUNCY, PA- The build-up and hype surrounding the first meeting between Bucktail and Muncy’s Mid Penn Conference clash on Monday lived up to the billing. The two rivals would complete 9 innings of play before the game was called due to darkness with the score 1-1.

The game will be continued when the Lady Indians travel to Farwell on May 12 prior to the two teams meeting for their second regular season meeting. The game will be played under the International Tiebreaker Rule, a rule implemented by the PIAA in 2009 when a game goes beyond 9 full innings of play.

Each inning will begin with the at bat team starting their  inning with a runner on second base. That runner is chosen by being the player that made the last out in the previous at bat. Bucktail will play as the visitors during the finish of this game, while Muncy will act as the home team. The second full game will see the Lady Bucks back as the home team.

This particular game saw two contrasts of style on the pitching side of things. Muncy’s Nolah Moyer was simply dominant. Moyer overpowered Bucktail from the start. She would go 9 innings and mow down 20 Lady Bucks by way of strikeout, while Bucktail pitcher Emma Poorman fanned just 7 Lady Indians. Poorman relied on her great control and Bucktail’s experienced lockdown defense to keep Muncy from scoring.

Muncy would strike first in the third inning when Moyer would help her own cause with a sacrifice fly out to Bucktail’s Kayla Probert that would score Casey Fry from third base to take the 1-0 lead.

Moyer continued to dominate the bottom half of the Lady Bucks batting order, but leadoff hitter Haley Burrows continued her hot streak at the plate. Burrows, who was filling in at leadoff for an injured Jordan Burrows would stick a dagger in Muncy’s hearts in the top of the fifth inning.

Burrows would rocket a shot to the outfield and the Bucktail junior would not hesitate. She would round the bases and head coach Mike Poorman would give her the green light to keep going. Burrows would then have a nasty collusion with Muncy catcher Taylor Shannon. When the smoke cleared, Burrows was called safe and the score was now tied 1-1.

Burrows had two hits for the Lady Bucks in the contest.

Neither Bucktail nor Muncy could find a way to get anymore runs the rest of the way. Muncy threatened multiple times in their bottom halves of the seventh, eighth and in the ninth.

Sophomore Mak Wagner had come on in the ninth to relieve Poorman and once again the Lady Bucks defense would stop a Muncy rally. Muncy had a runner on third base and a delayed attempt at a steal would catch the Lady Indian in a rundown and the third out of the inning would be recorded. Then the game was suspended.

Bucktail, still 3-0 will have already traveled to winless Benton on Wednesday and are scheduled to meet West Branch (2-4) on Thursday.