Lady Bulldogs open season at 1-1
Batesville softball, starting five underclassmen, earned a 12-8 victory over South Ripley March 27 before getting dropped 19-4 at Rising Sun in whipping winds Saturday.
“With it being the first game of the year, jitters, nerves, whatever, I thought they did a great job, especially with bouncing back from an error or not hitting like they wanted and to learn from it and move on to the next play,” said coach Gene Cooney after the Monday tilt.
BHS led the Raiders 6-2 after two innings, 8-5 after four and 10-6 at the end of five. Good defense, including a sweet grab by Ava Hilbert in right field, kept SR off the board in the top of seven.
Junior third baseman Renee Lecher went 2-of-2 with a double and solo homer, scoring four times while reaching base four times. Freshman Addy Froehling doubled, drove in two and scored once. Classmate Lexiyne Harris had a run batted in, walk and steal.
Freshman Libby Stephens made her varsity debut in the circle, hurling a complete game; she allowed 11 hits, five earned runs, just two walks while striking out two. Junior Natasha Fowler had her first varsity start behind the dish; Cooney said she set up well all night and kept the ball in front of her.
Other defensive highlights were sophomore Marlee Obermeyer moving in from left field to fill in at first base, shortstop Calli Fletcher and Harris turning an inning-ending double play, Froehling, Hilbert and Kennedy Westrick hitting their cutoffs from the outfield and steady play by Lecher at third.
“Proud of them for competing each inning, even when it was going back and forth, they never lost confidence,” Cooney added.
At Rising Sun
Very uncomfortable conditions on April Fool’s Day didn’t take the sting off a 15-run loss to the Lady Shiners.
The hosts sent 14 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first against Stephens, with nine of those coming around to score. Batesville responded with four runs in the second off starter Alyssa Simpson, but RS added three in the bottom of two and seven more in the third, leading to a 4 ½-inning win.
The Bulldogs put two runners on to start the game before Simpson struck out Obermeyer to end the threat.
The Shiners’ big stanza started with a two-base fielding error in the outfield. An out later, Stephens issued a walk and the first run came home on Ryan Works’ single to left. Tamryn Miller did the same for another RS run. Simpson doubled, followed by an RBI single for Elaina Titkemeyer and two-run double by Sidney Halloran. Hannah Kremer singled to turn the lineup over.
Leadoff Nora Powell then doubled in a run. A BHS throwing error preceded an RBI single by Lily Courtney. Stephens then got back-to-back popups to first base to keep the rally in single digits.
Harris started the Dogs’ reply with a base on balls, then stole second. One out later, a fielder’s choice put runners at the corners. With two down, leadoff hitter Westrick drew a walk to load the bases. Fletcher drove in two on a single to left. Lecher was hit by a pitch to reload the bases. Fowler plated two more with a single just beyond the shortstop’s glove.
Simpson doubled to start the RS second and Titkemeyer singled. Kremer chased home two runs with a single to center and Powell doubled in Kremer.
Titkemeyer and Miller pitched the final three frames for RS, posting nine strikeouts and permitting just a single and stolen base to Lecher.
Three errors assisted the Shiners in putting the game out of reach in the third. In the frame, Miller doubled and Titkemeyer and Kremer singled to turn things over to leadoff. Emma Russell and Courtney singled and Works had an RBI double. Stephens worked out of two bases-loaded jams in the bottom of four.
BHS faced Rushville Monday and Jac-Cen-Del Tuesday. Next is Thursday’s home duel with Greensburg.
