TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2000
Softball
Tornadoes blank Willard
Columbian pitched Erin Rupp struck out six and fired a two-hitter, and Nicki Kuhn's two-run single would be all the offense the Tornadoes would need to avenge a loss from earlier in the Northern Ohio League this season by beating Willard, 2-0.
Columbian is 6-2 overall and 5-2 in the NOL, just half a game behind Willard (7-2, 6-2) in the league standings. Rupp improved to 4-1 and walked just one batter. Losing pitcher Valerie Tipton equaled Rupp's numbers by striking out six and walking one, and there were only seven hits total in the game.
Third inning hits by Katie Fazekas and Kristin Seitz helped set the table for Kuhn, whose single to right field drove in both runners.
"We happy to get this one, and it's nice to see us play that well defensively and continue to get solid pitching," Columbian coach Mike Hampp said. "Their pitcher threw the ball well, too, and it was a good defensive game."
Kaila Dunn and Jessica Sharp chipped in singles for Columbian, which is at Ashland Wednesday.
Quick start for Calvert in rout of Danbury
LAKESIDE -- Calvert got out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning, then fended off a Danbury rally with two runs in the fifth inning and five more in the sixth inning of a 13-5 win over the Lakers.
Calvert outhit Danbury 15-4 to improve to 8-5 while dropping the Lakers to 3-9. The Senecas host North Baltimore in an MAL clash Wednesday.
Natasha Carpenter had three singles, two runs and two RBIs for Calvert, and Hillary Hepp doubled on her way to three hits and an RBI. Audra Lewis (run), Sara Stover (two RBIs, run) and Anita Casillas (run, RBI) had two hits each.
Megan Marinis had two runs and an RBI to go with her single, as did Ashley Hepp, and Erika Kastner had a base hit. Amanda Margraf scored three runs and drove in one.
Stover improved to 7-3 on the mound with her four-hitter, striking out 11 and walking three.
"We took advantage of some of their errors, and we had some real solid hits today," Calvert coach Bob Grothaus said. "We kind of helped them to five runs in an inning with some errors of our own, but it was nice to see our girls shake it off and bounce back. We hadn't played since the Seneca East game (Wednesday), so we were a bit rusty and we looked like it. We'll have to play better than this to beat North Baltimore."
Pitchers duel goes to Stockaders
OLD FORT -- Cassanda Frankart scored the go-ahead run for Old Fort on a Heather Webb bunt in the sixth inning, and the Stockaders held off Hopewell-Loudon in the seventh for a 2-1 Midland Athletic League win over the Chieftains.
Old Fort improved to 7-3 overall and 5-1 in the MAL, despite being limited to two hits by HL's Kerstin Reinhart, who struck out six and walked one. Erin Rau (7-2) was the winning pitcher, fanning 13 and not walking a batter in a three-hitter.
The only two doubles of the game played a big part in the other runs. Hopewell-Loudon (5-7, 2-3) scored first in the top of the fourth when Holly Thom singled and came around on Elizabeth Hoover's double. In the bottom of that inning, the Stockaders equalized when a pair of errors put Jenny Seigley on second base and a Rosy Ortiz two-bagger brought Seigley home.
"Both teams played pretty good defense, and the pitching was outstanding on both sides," Old Fort coach Ron Rau said. "We're just not hitting the ball as a team right now. Two hits shows you that we're not even making much contact at all."
Thom finished with two of H-L's three hits, and Ortiz had both of Old Fort's.
The Stockaders are at Eastwood today, while the Chieftains take a trip to Liberty-Benton.
ATTICA -- Laurie Kochel was one of four Seneca East players with multiple hits, finishing 4-for-5 with three runs, two RBIs, a triple and a two-run homer in a 12-7 SE win over Buckeye Central.
It was the home run that was of particular importance, coming in a four-run fourth inning after a Buckeye Central rally tied the game at 3-3. The Tigers improve to 7-2.
"We did a pretty good job defensively today, and we hit the ball hard," Seneca East coach Rick Bumb said. "Overall, it was a pretty decent game for us."
April Hafner got the pitching win to improve to 5-1, and Joleen Williams threw the last three innings to earn her third save. Hafner struck out four and walked two, and Williams had one strikeout.
Cassie Holmer had a double as one of her two hits, scoring twice and driving in four for the Tigers. Kristy Rucker had three singles and two RBIs, and Kelly King added two base hits and an RBI. Karen King had a hit and three runs, and Julie Bumb had a hit, a run and two RBIs. Charissa Thompson (two runs, RBI) and Melissa Green (run) also contributed.
Seneca East is at Colonel Crawford today.
GIBSONBURG -- Lakota fell to 8-4 overall and 2-4 in the Suburban Lakes League with a 4-0 loss to Gibsonburg (10-1, 5-1).
Jamie Wonderly stood out for the Golden Bears, striking out 10 and not walking a batter in her four-hitter in addition to getting two hits and scoring two runs. Angie Ruiz had a big hit for the winners, smacking a two-run double.
Amber Ginnever doubled for Lakota. Maria Lowery singled twice for the Raiders, and Crystal Miller also had a hit.
Ashley Lockmiller struck out eight and did not walk a batter, but took the loss for Lakota, which hosts Lake in another SLL game Wednesday.
Big innings push Whitmer past FHS
FOSTORIA -- Whitmer scored three runs in the first and three runs in the fifth en route to a 7-5 win over Fostoria.
The Redmen outhit Whitmer, 10-9, but committed five errors. Late attempts at a rally were snuffed as Fostoria (8-4, 0-4 Great Lakes League) had a runner thrown out at the plate in the fifth and sixth innings. Whitmer improves to 4-5 and 3-2.
Ashley Correll took the pitching loss, striking out seven and walking two. Only three of Whitmer's runs were earned. Correll fell to 3-2. Becky Gehring was the winning pitcher, fanning five and walking two.
Offensively for FHS, Heather Harman singled three times, and Darci Correll and Tracy Lee had two hits apiece. Harman drove in two runs.
The Panthers got two singles each from Gehring and Brittany Roberts.
Fostoria is at Sandusky in a GLL test Wednesday.