Lady Dawgs’ softball suffered two losses last week, falling 2-12 in five innings to host 4A Central Linn on March 28 and to host 5A Springfield, 5-6, in the opener of a March 30 doubleheader, before taking the second game, 15-4.
At Central Linn, Creswell took a 1-0 lead in the first. After Hallie Drago and Aubrie Hatch singled and Morgan Janshen was hit by pitch to load the bases, Destiney Black’s grounder was thrown home for the force but was dropped, scoring Drago.
But after two Creswell was down 1-6, ”and it was a deficit we never rebounded from,” said Coach Brett Giles. ”Our inexperience really showed in this game – but it was also a game where the breaks did not flow our way. When we hit the ball hard it was right at someone, and they had a number of hits just out of our reach. It was just one of those games.”
Drago went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run. Lexi McCrory was 2-for-2 and scored; Jansen was 1-for-1 with a double; Hatch was 1-for-3; and Izzy Ramirez was 1-for-1.
Pitching, Black gave up 12 runs (seven earned) on 13 hits and struck out four.
”Central Linn fielded the ball cleanly and made quality throws all around, while we made a significant number of errors, giving them extra outs and bases, and made a number of baserunning mistakes that proved costly,” Giles said.
Down 0-4 after two innings in Game 1 at Springfield, Creswell had a strong fourth, sparked by Hatch’s shot down the left field line that scored Amanda O’Reilly and Drago. But after ending the inning with a 5-4 advantage, Bulldog bats fell silent.
”We were a little loose with our defense and it cost us some early runs, and our offense went to sleep after (the fourth),” Giles said. ”In a tight ballgame, you cannot afford to give anything away for free. We did a lot of good things in the game – just not enough to overcome our mistakes. We’re also stranding way too many runners on base; we need some timely hitting.”
Hatch went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run; Drago went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run; Janshen was 1-for-4 with an RBI; and Ramirez went 2-for-4.
Black gave up six runs (two earned) on five hits, struck out four and walked two.
In Game 2, the Lady Dawgs opened with four runs in the first but gave Springfield back four in the bottom of the inning. Creswell’s bats came alive in the fourth and the sixth, adding five runs in each.
Gracelyn Ehrich went 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs; McCrory went 1-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs; Kelsey Kuhnhausen went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run; and Jenessa Mallory went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run.
Solid defense helped secure the win: ”Kelsey threw out a speedy runner at second in the final inning to help preserve the score; Hallie did a nice job stopping some tough shots through short; Lexi made some nice plays at first; and Jenessa made a nice catch in the final inning on a shot to center field,” Giles said.
Black gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits – including three doubles – struck out three and walked one.
”Destiney pitched a very solid second game, and overall it was a better-played ballgame on offense and defense,” Giles said. ”We were more patient at the plate, receiving multiple walks. I think our biggest improvement has been swiping bases; we are trying to be more aggressive.”
