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Williamsport softball beats Loyalsock to snap three-game skid against the Lancers

By Chris Masse 5 min read

As their senior years speed toward a conclusion, Williamsport pitcher Bailey Livermore and Emily McAnelly are acing chemistry.

Doing so has the softball team looking mighty dangerous these days.

Livermore and McAnelly stayed locked in Thursday at Millionaire Mountain as Livermore continued her run of dominant performances, throwing a five-hit shutout in a 3-0 win against Loyalsock. Livermore added two hits and Williamsport (12-5) snapped a three-game losing streak against the Lancers (11-7) which dated back to 2022.

"Emily has been my catcher since I got to high school and we have a really good friendship," Livermore said after striking out 10. "That helps, too, to know that if I throw it low she will catch it and that we're working together."

"She's always communicating with me and, as a catcher, that makes it a lot easier to frame it and be there for her," McAnelly said. "She's able to work with me and we can put that all together."

They have put it together in emphatic fashion throughout the season's second half. Thursday was the third time in four starts that Livermore threw a shutout. She put on a pitching clinic as well, pounding the zone, mixing her pitches and keeping Loyalsock off-balance.

And, as a testament to the connection, Livermore and McAnelly share, they were never crossed up. It was like a pitching concert and nearly every not was perfect.

"Bailey is a player who is big for our dugout because she is so happy and upbeat. She's a lot of fun. She and Emily are really good friends and Emily knows her," Williamsport coach Scott Stugart said. "She knows how to work with her and keep her on an even keel and keep her up. I think that's a big part of the success."

Livermore retired the first seven Loyalsock batters she faced and took a no-hitter into the fourth inning. She threw 64 of her 88 pitches for strikes as well as first pitch strikes to 18 of 27 batters faced. Loyalsock also had just one runner reach third base and two advance to second.

All this against a team which twice mercy-ruled Williamsport last year. This time, Livermore held all the answers and Loyalsock could not crack the code against the Mansfield-bound pitcher.

"It felt good to kind of redeem myself from that (last year) because that wasn't my best performance," Livermore said. "I feel like our team energy has gotten so much better and that uplifts everybody. It feels good to know that my team is behind me and that if I make a mistake they are there to back me up."

"She's been on a roll. She's gotten into a zone," Stugart said. "We're playing all these good teams and we need that good pitching and she's showing up every day. She gives a good effort every time."

That shined through again in the seventh inning. Williamsport scored three runs in the fifth via a Brenna Beck RBI walk and two wild pitches. Addi Barowy and Alena Barone, however, hit one-out singles in the seventh and Loyalsock suddenly had the tying run at the plate. These situations often are when Livermore is at her best and this time was no different.

As Loyalsock fanned some flames, Livermore quickly doused them. She first produced her 10th strikeout, then induced a liner into the hole between shortstop and third base. Beck, playing shortstop, quickly sprinted into that spot, extended her glove and secured the final out.

"I was kind of just throwing and I knew my team was behind me," Livermore said. "If they hit I could trust that they were backing me up and could get the outs."

"That's when she throws her best, when they are close games," McAnelly said. "She focuses and works harder to get the outs and be there for us."

Five players did produce hits for Loyalsock, the HAC-III co-champs, including Maddie Wertz who opened the fifth inning with a double. Livermore, though, never let the Lancers bunch them together and collected two more strikeouts that inning, while leaving the pinch runner on second with no outs and on third with one out.

Easton Waller and Sophia Miller pitched well for Loyalsock, combining on a six-hitter. Waller and Livermore mowed through both lineups the first four innings as the game remained scoreless. An Emma Vollman one-out single, however, ignited the pivotal three-run, fifth inning rally. Kinsley Cannode followed with a walk to load the bases and Beck's RBI walk brought in Isabella Reddy with the first run before Vollman and Cannode scored on wild pitches and made it, 3-0.

Livermore and the strong defense which made no errors took it from there. Cannode made a nice running catch in deep center field and the Millionaires complemented Livermore's textbook pitching with fundamental play.

Doing so helped Williamsport win for the eighth time in nine games while exceeding last year's win total. It also generated momentum entering a busy weekend which starts tonight under the lights against Jersey Shore and continues Saturday with games against Shamokin and Selinsgrove.

"We had some bumps in the road but you always want to be ascending as the year continues, and I hope that's where we're at," Stugart said. "I'm starting to see a different team out there as far as camaraderie, and that's a really big thing. They're ready."

Williamsport 3, Loyalsock 0

Williamsport 000 030 0--3 6 0

Loyalsock 000 000 0--0 5 0

Bailey Livermore and Emily McAnelly. Easton Waller, Sophia Miller (6) and Shyla Fulp. W--Livermore. L--Waller.

Top Williamsport hitters: Livermore 2-3; Kinsley Cannode 1-3, BB, run; Ashlyn Robinson 1-3; Zaelana Minor 1-3; Emma Vollman 1-4, run, SB. Top Loyalsock hitters: Maddie Wertz 1-3, 2B; Waller 1-3; Sofia Mileto 1-3; Addi Barowy 1-3; Alena Barone 1-3.

Records: Williamsport (12-5), Loyalsock (11-7).

Starting at /week.