‘We’ll be back.’ Bald Eagle Area softball loses heartbreaker Class 2A state championship
Bald Eagle Area softball played in the program’s seventh PIAA championship game on Thursday morning but were unable to come away with a win.
The Lady Eagles lost to Everett High School 12-1 for the PIAA Class 2A title.
“We didn’t play defensively as solid as we had,” longtime head coach Don Lucas said after the game. “At the end of the day, you expect growing pains — you just don’t want ’em in the state finals.”
Still, Bald Eagle has much to be proud of this season, ending with a 23-3 record. With no seniors on the roster, the entire team is also set to return next season.
“We have all sophomore outfielders, we’re sophomore up the middle — a freshman shortstop played the end of the game,” Lucas said. “We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to. But we’ll be back.”
The game got off to a slow start, with a double each by Everett’s Marissa Hillegas and the BEA’s Kailey Eckert in the first inning but no other hits. A lone single by Makenna Richards of Everett broke up the second inning.
There were also no hits in the third — though Cloe Price of Everett and Kendra Uberti of BEA both walked, Price after she was hit by a pitch. Everett hit two singles in the top of the fourth inning but couldn’t convert.
The game picked up in the top of the fifth inning, when Everett picked up five runs on four hits to make the game 5–0. The Eagles had three errors in the inning, and Everett took every chance it was given to get on base.
In the bottom of the fifth, Rachel Bryan, the shortstop for BEA, hit an explosive home run to make the score 5–1.
The Eagles were not able to hold back Everett, however, who made the score 12-1 on seven hits, including a home run by senior Makenna Richards. Sydney Thompson, sophomore outfielder for the Eagles, hit an impressive double in the bottom of the sixth inning, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide in her team’s favor.
“They’re a very good hitting team; props to them,” Eagles pitcher Sierra Albright said after the game. “They’re the best we’ve faced so far.”
It was an off-day for Albright, who had more than 250 strikeouts on the season as a sophomore.
The girls didn’t seem shaken walking off the field, with their newly awarded silver medals hanging around their necks.
“I think the season went fantastic, we couldn’t ask for much more,” Bryan said.
Before Thursday, the team had already helped make Centre County history, with BEA becoming the first school to send both its baseball and softball teams to their respective state title games in the same season.
“We’re not gonna let one game deteriorate the season,” said Lucas.
BEA baseball is slated to play District 6 runner-up Mount Union (25-2) — its only losses coming to BEA — at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Bellefonte baseball will also play for the Class 4A title at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Medlar Field.
This story was originally published June 15, 2023 at 2:58 PM.