It was a rough week of softball for the Creswell Lady Bulldogs, who fell 4-18 in six innings to visiting Colton on March 18 and 1-6 to visiting 4A Elmira on March 19.
Errors plagued the Lady Dawgs against Colton. ”Our fielding and decision-making were showing signs of improvement until this game; we committed 12 errors and most of them were mental,” said Creswell Head Coach Brett Giles.
Of the 18 runs Creswell pitcher Destiney Black gave up on 10 hits – including a triple and a double – only six were earned. Black also struck out three and walked one in six innings.
Aubrie Hatch led the offensive effort from the plate, going 2-for-4 with a triple and a run. Hallie Drago was 2-for-4; Jenessa Mallory was 2-for-3; Izzy Ramirez was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs; Black was 1-for-3 with a double and a run; and Gracelyn Ehrich was 1-for-3 and scored.
”Our hitting has been slow out of the gate this year but is showing signs of improvement,” Giles said. ”Unfortunately, some of our harder hits have been right at the opposing fielders.”
Bulldog fieldwork was smoother against Elmira. ”We were not perfect on defense, but we were much better,” Giles said. ”We made some mistakes in the first and second innings, but we were able to limit the damage to a run in each inning.”
Elmira maintained that 2-0 advantage until the bottom of the fourth, when Drago, who led off with a single, came around and scored. ”Unfortunately, it would be our only run of the game,” Giles said. ”Like we have been doing all year, we just kept hitting balls to the defenders.”
The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the sixth when Elmira scored three, including a lead-off home run powered by shortstop Ashley Feltz. The Falcons added their final run in the top of the seventh.
Drago went 1-for-3 with a run for the Lady Dawgs. Mallory went 1-for-2 and Hatch was 1-for-3. Ehrich had Creswell’s lone RBI.
”Their pitcher was a bit faster than what we have seen this year and threw in some effective off-speed pitches to keep us off-balance,” Giles said.
Black gave up six runs – four of them earned – on seven hits, including the home run and a double, struck out six and walked three in seven innings.
”Destiney pitched well,” Giles said. ”We just need to start providing some run support.”
Currently off for spring break, the Lady Dawgs will be back in action next week against Santiam Christian, Cottage Grove and Umatilla.
