DELPHOS — The Jefferson softball team has shown steady progress during the 2008 campaign.
Tuesday night was no different, hammering out 10 hits and backing senior starter Brooke Apple in an 11-0 victory over Ottoville (2-9) at Lady Wildcat Field.
The game lasted less than an hour and was called after 4 1/2 innings due to the “mercy” rule.
“We’re just getting more comfortable at the plate. Ever since Thursday, we’ve been making good contact at the plate,” Jefferson coach Brad Rostorfer observed. “We have basically sophomores out there. What I notice is we are getting good swings; the bat speed is good.”
The offense gave Apple (2-3; 5 innings, 2 hits, 2 Ks, 2 walks; 60 pitches, 35 strikes) a lot to work with.
The Green and Gold tried to score early. With two down in the opening frame, Sami Modica blooped a hit to right and Jill Hohlbein walked. However, Adria Wannemacher forced Modica at third to end the threat.
It started for the Jeffcats in the bottom of the first against Lady Green starter Modica (2-8; 4 IP, 10 hits, 11 runs, 9 earned, 1 hit batter, 3 bases-on-balls, 2 strikeouts). Megan Moreo led off with a slicing triple to the right-field corner. Two outs later, Jenna Miller followed with a run-scoring triple that hit off the top of the fence in right field; she scored on an error on the sequence. Alexis Ricker was plunked and advanced on a passed ball. Brittney Garza walked. Tiffany Culp rapped a single up the middle to plate Ricker for a 3-0 lead; Garza tried to get to third on the throw home but catcher Hohlbein nailed her at third.
The Red and Black batted around in the third. Apple led off with a free pass and scored on a Shauna Bowers double to the fence in left. A wild pitch moved her up. Miller walked. Ricker bounced one off the plate; a throwing error to second on the play allowed Bowers to score and put runners on the corners. Ricker swiped second. An out later, Culp lashed a 2-run knock to center. Hope Bowman forced her at second but she scored on a Courtnie Rostorfer triple to the fence in center for an 8-0 advantage.
Modica led off the top of the fourth with a base-on-balls but was doubled up on Hohlbein’s hard liner back to Apple.
The hosts (6-7) put the finishing touches on in the bottom half. With one out, Bowers bounced a single to left and an error put her at second. A wild pitch put her at third, from whence she scored on a bloop single down the left-field line by Miller. Ricker lined a hit to left. Garza forced Miller at third. Culp then knocked in her fourth and fifth RBI of the game with a double to the fence in left and accounted for the final run.
“We’ve struggled most of the year putting hits together and scoring runs, outside of a couple of games. We knew coming in with all of our young girls and first-year seniors it would be a struggle,” Lady Green coach Joe Modica explained. “We only had two errors, so that was an improvement; we’ve had a lot of games with a lot more than that. We fielded the balls hit to us. We just caught Jefferson on their good night; I talked with Brad and he told me that was the best his team has hit all year. For us, we just have to keep working.”
Ottoville got a 1-out infield single by Misty Justice; she got to second on a wild pitch and third on a groundout by Brooke Moore. However, Brooke Koesters bounced out to end the game.
“It’s such a luxury to have a good pitcher like Brooke (Apple) to go to and give Shauna a rest. You really need a second pitcher now if you’re going to have consistent success,” coach Rostorfer added. “Defensively, outside of one game against Perry — where we had girls out of position — we have been solid. We’ve been confident and that came from last summer.”
Both teams hit the road Thursday: Jefferson at Columbus Grove and Ottoville at Van Wert.