Bucktail Softball Ends Home Stand With 11-0 Win, Muncy Showdown Looming
By Bees O’Brien
FARWELL, PA- Bucktail softball has been dominant thus far in 2022, but on Friday night visiting St. John Neumann would give them a solid effort. The Lady Knights gave Bucktail the warmup they needed with high powered Muncy looming on Monday.
Bucktail would manage 9 hits, ride the arms of Mak Wagner and Emma Poorman and pick up the 11-0 win over St. John Neumann.
The Lady Bucks pitching has been dominant this season with Poorman and Wagner each tossing no hitters in their first two games. Lizzy Weller would change all of that in the top of the first inning. The Neumann starting pitcher would rope a base hit and Gigi Parlante would follow that up with a single of her own. Wagner would settle in and get Bucktail out of the jam.
Bucktail (3-0, 3-0) came up to bat in the bottom of the first inning and quickly put any doubts away. Haley Burrows, Mak Wagner, Emma Poorman and Matti Mason would all score runs behind a single from Wagner and just like that it was 4-0 in favor of the home team.
St. John Neumann (0-2, 0-2) failed to cross the plate in the second inning against Wagner.
Jordan Burrows ignited a big second inning rally by Bucktail when she reached on an error and her niece Haley Burrows would slam her in on a stand up double. Haley would then score on Wagner’s second single of the game to put Bucktail up 6-0.
An Emma Poorman single would score Wagner. Poorman would eventually be called out on an attempt to steal home, but a Matti Mason single would keep the inning alive. Mason would eventually score on a home steal to put the Lady Bucks up 8-0.
Wagner eased through her third inning of work. She would finish the game with 7 strike outs in three innings of work.
Neumann’s Weller pitched very well against a Bucktail team that’s been pounding out hits through their first two games. The Lady Bucks had 17 hits Monday night against Benton, but the Lady Knights hurler held Bucktail to just 9 hits total through 4 innings, including a scoreless third inning.
Bucktail would get back in the offensive groove in the fourth inning. Matti Mason’s two-out single would start the rally. She would score on a Lily Francis triple. Francis would eventually score on a past ball, as would Alexis Lowery. Lowery reached base on a walk. This would set the 11-0 final.
Wagner, Poorman and Mason led Bucktail with 2 hits each. Jordan Burrows, Haley Burrows, and Lily Francis each added hits as well.
Gigi Parlante’s pair of singles led Neumann’s offense, with Weller collecting their only other hit.
Now coach Mike Poorman’s undefeated Lady Bucks will hit the road hard next week with three contests, including a monster showdown with Mid Penn Conference divisional rivals Muncy (3-0, 2-0). That game in Muncy will have already taken place on Monday. Bucktail split with the Lady Indians a season ago. Losing the first meeting on the road 5-2, before beating Muncy 7-6 at home.
They are then set for a road trip in a rematch with Benton (0-3, 0-3) on Wednesday and an interesting road trip into District 6 territory to face West Branch (1-4) in Allport on Thursday.
