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After slow start, softball swings into action
(by Tony Lange - April 25, 2011)
After slow start, softball swings into action
By TONY LANGE
With the girls' fast-pitch softball season finally starting to develop, weather permitting, Perry and Aurora led the Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division through last weekend with 4-0 records. West Geauga was in the early race at 3-1, while Kenston at 1-2, Chagrin Falls at 0-4 and Orange at 0-4 were out to slow starts in the early conference race.
In Division I ball, Solon started its season at 3-3 and remained winless at 0-2 in the Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division.
Meanwhile, Gilmour Academy started at 3-1 in independent action, and Hawken School started 0-1 in the CVC Metro.
Wolverines on rise
The Lady Wolverines batted right into conference action starting off 3-1 in the Chagrin Division. They beat Harvey, 15-4, lost to Kenston, 5-1, and beat Chagrin Falls twice, 7-1 and 13-2.
"Every game is a learning experience, because we're a young team," said head coach Jeff Morganti, who starts two freshman and two sophomores in the lineup. "We talk about character, because character is one of our mottoes. Character, passion and togetherness, they're qualities of good teams."
At Chagrin Falls. during the 7-1 victory last week, freshman Allie DeLooze pitched the win and went to 2-0 as the team improved to 2-1. She pitched all seven innings, with nine strikeouts and giving up seven hits. Freshman Brianne Sexton helped lead the Wolverines' offense with two hits and three runs batted in.
During the 13-2 victory against Chagrin Falls, junior Erica DiNallo pitched five innings for the win, with seven strikeouts and no walks. The Wolverines' 10-run bottom of the fifth ended the game early. West Geauga's offense was led by Val Vidal, who had two hits and drove in three runs. Sexton contributed a home run, and sophomore Kayli Doll added two RBIs. Sophomore catcher Marley Praprost turned a double play in the game with a diving catch in front of the plate before picking a runner off at first.
"Our younger kids are starting to play better, which is important," Morganti said. "We need to see growth from them. Having good pitching, playing good defense and batting good situational hitting is the key for winning."
Coming up, the Wolverines travel to Riverside April 21 at 4:30 p.m. They host TRI at 11 a.m. April 23. Next week, West Geauga hosts Orange on April 25 and travels to Orange April 26. Both games are at 4:30 p.m.
Kenston starts at 4-3
The Lady Bombers went 2-2 last week as their overall record teeter-tottered to 4-3 before seeing their scheduled double-header against Riverside postponed Saturday.
During those four games, Kenston beat West Geauga, 5-1, lost to Perry, 16-5, beat Fairport Harding, 15-5, and lost to Shaker Heights, 7-3.
Against West Geauga, Stephanie Gorup pitched the win and improved her record to 3-0 and the team's record to 3-1. West Geauga's only run came in the seventh inning as the host Bombers only needed six at-bats to win it. Lauren Dakters led the offense, hitting two for three with two doubles and two RBI.
In the 15-5 Harding victory, Brittany Pike pitched the win, improving her record to 1-0 and the team's to 4-2. With a three-run bottom of the fifth, the game ended with a 10-run-advantage rule. Kenston's Ally McLean and Courtney Herman led the offense. McLean batted three for four with three RBI, while Herman hit two for four with five RBI.
Coming up, Kenston travels to Chagrin Falls at 4:30 p.m. April 25 and then hosts the Tigers at 4:30 p.m. April 26.
Gilmour starts at 3-1
After starting their season with a loss, the Lady Lancers delivered three victories for Gilmour Academy last week and improved their overall record to 3-1.
They beat Hathaway Brown, 15-0, Our Lady of Elms, 8-7, and Grand Valley, 17-6.
Hosting Hathaway Brown, an 11-run third inning allowed the Lancers to take the win with only four at-bats as they had more than the necessary 10-run advantage after the top of the fifth. Patricia Colella pitched the win, while Rachel Staton led the Lancer offense as she hit three for four with a double, triple and three RBI.
Against Our Lady of the Elms, the Lancers took a 6-5 lead after scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth. The Panthers then reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth with two runs crossing the plate. With their final at-bat in the bottom of the seventh, the Lancers scored two runs for the one-run win. Payton Wright pitched the win to improve her record to 1-1. Marissa Cangelosi led the offense for Gilmour hitting three for four with three RBI.
Coming up, the Lancers travel to Lutheran West at 4:30 p.m. April 26.
Solon is looking up
The Lady Comets lost two games and won one last week as their overall record settled at 3-3. They lost to Twinsburg, 5-1, and fell to 0-2 in the Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division. They also lost to Nordonia, 1-0, before beating Medina, 1-0.
Against Twinsburg, the Comets scored first in the bottom of the third, before the Tigers gained the advantage with a three-run fourth and a two-run fifth.
At Nordonia, the game remained scoreless until the bottom of the seventh, when the Knights scored the only run of the game for the victory. Neither team committed an error.
Hosting Medina, Solon only had two hits during the game, but that was enough to win it with Sharon Wong's triple and Kristen Confroy's RBI in the fourth inning. Dani Zysek pitched a three-hit shutout and improved her record to 3-3. She has been the Comets' go-to pitcher in every game.
Coming up, the Comets travel to the Akron for the Rock N Fire Classic, where they are scheduled to play games Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Tigers suffer losses
The Chagrin Falls fast-pitch softball team finally got its season under way last week, losing two games to Aurora and two games to West Geauga in four days to fall to 0-4.
The Greenmen beat the Tigers, 10-0 and 13-0, while the Wolverines beat them, 7-1 and 13-2.
During the 13-2 loss, the Tigers trailed, 3-2, after four innings before the Wolverines finished the game with a 10-run bottom of the fifth.
Coming up, the Tigers host Revere at 4:30 p.m. April 21. They host Kenston April 25 and travel to Kenston April 26. Both game are at 4:30 p.m.
Lions lose four games
Orange's fast-pitch team started its season with four conference games and four loses, two to Aurora and two to Perry.
The Greenmen beat the Lions, 17-2 and 12-0, while the Pirates beat them, 4-1 and 16-0.
During the four games, Lions didn't help themselves as their errors outnumbered their hits, 19 to 11.
Coming up, the Lions will step away from conference action as they host Richmond Heights at 4:30 p.m. April 21. Next week, Orange travels to West Geauga April 25 and hosts the Wolverines April 26. Both games are at 4:30 p.m.
Hawken gets shut out
With seven games either canceled or postponed, the Hawken School fast-pitch team finally got a game in against Cuyahoga Heights last week. It wasn't the opener the Hawks hoped for.
The Redskins beat the Hawks, 14-0, in the CVC Metro Division match-up. Hawken tallied three hits and six errors in five innings.
Coming up, Hawken will look to rebound in conference action next week as they host Independence April 26 and travel to Independence April 27. Both games are scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
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