Poorman no-hits Neumann; big two days here for Lady Bucks
By Bees O’Brien
WILLIAMSPORT, PA – When Mak Wagner, Emma Poorman, Raileigh Isaacs and Kayla Probert walked off the court after the final buzzer at the Catholic Community Center in late February, they couldn’t help but feel disappointed and a bit dejected. Their 65-50 loss to the Lady Knights in the District 4 1A quarterfinals wasn’t surely the end for this group of girls. They knew that the basketball ride was fun, but in less than a month their redemption would play out in the dirt and grass of the softball field.
Bucktail rode the strong arm of Emma Poorman and exploded for a 10- run third inning and completed their retribution with 15-0 win at St. John Neumann and completed the sweep over the Lady Knights. Bucktail had already downed the Lady Knights 12-0 earlier this season in Farwell.
Poorman was as tough in the circle on Tuesday afternoon as she was commanding the Lady Bucks defense in the paint. Poorman dominated the Neumann bats by throwing a no-hitter while striking out 11 batters in five innings of work to give her team an outside shot at a share of the Mid Penn Conference divisional championship.
The Lady Bucks scored 2 first inning runs and equaled that total in the second inning to take an early 4-0 lead. Bucktail had shown they recovered well following their slow start at Millville and the top of the third was proof of that.
The Lady Bucks unleashed their dangerous offensive barrage on Neumann by crossing 10 runs, which included a home run from Lily Francis.
Bucktail (13-1) has gone 4-0 since suffering their only loss of the season to Montgomery, outscoring those opponents 61-3.
Neumann (6-9) is fighting for their playoff lives, but the Lady Bucks would have none of that. They would cross run 15 in the top of the fifth to set the final at 15-0.
Poorman was just as dangerous at the plate on Tuesday night. She would go 2 for 2 with 2 runs batted in and 3 runs scored. Haley Burrows added 2 hits and a pair of RBI’s. Lily Francis made her only hit count with an inside the park home run in that huge 10-run inning for Bucktail. Alexis Lowery, Matti Mason, Raileigh Isaacs and Giada Demarte all collected hits on the day.
Now the true test stands in from of the Lady Bucks over the course of the next two days. It all starts with a home rematch with Montgomery (12-2) Wednesday and a visit from Muncy (11-2) on Thursday. The Muncy game will see the conclusion of their epic 1-1 tie game that will start in the top of the tenth inning. Their regularly scheduled game will follow the conclusion of that game. The Montgomery contest will begin in Farwell at 4:30 p,m, and will be livestreamed on The Record Online. The first pitch for the Muncy game is slated for 4 p.m. and will also be streamed on The Record Online.
