Ohio Locker Room - Batavia remains unbeaten in Blanchester Summer League

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Batavia remains unbeaten in Blanchester Summer League

Thursday, 25 June 2009

On a beautiful night for softball at Blanchester’s Legion Field, three teams picked up doubleheader sweeps in week 3 of the Blanchester Summer League.

The league’s lone remaining unbeaten team is Batavia. The Clermont County squad defeated East Clinton 9-1 in the opener Tuesday night. They had to withstand a furious Astro rally in Game 2 to post a 9-6 victory and remain unbeaten at 6-0.

The only other unbeaten team entering Tuesday’s play was Eastern Brown, but they now find themselves with two losses after two close defeats at the hands of Wilmington.

The Lady Hurricane scored twice in the first and fourth, and one in the fifth and made it stand up in a 5-2 victory in Game 1. In Game 2, Wilmington again grabbed the early lead, 2-0 after an inning and a half. Eastern Brown answered with one in the bottom of the inning. Both teams would add a single marker in the sixth. That would conclude the scoring as Wilmington held on for a 3-2 victory.

The wins improve Wilmington to a 5-1 record, currently good enough for second in the league. Eastern Brown falls into third place at 4-2.

Also in third place in the league is Blanchester after sweeping a pair of games from Springboro.

In the opener, it was another strong pitching performance by Sam Morrow, coupled with outstanding hitting that led the Wildcats to a 12-4 victory. Blan came up with a pair of two-RBI hits in the opening frame leading to a five-run first inning. Stevie Stanforth started the hitting with a two-run double. After a Sam Morrow RBI double, Lindsay Watkins would come through with her own two-run double scoring Morrow and Jenna Weisflock.

The tablesetters got the job done for Blanchester in Game 1. Leadoff batter Jordann Long was 3-3 with a walk and three runs scored. She also drove in three runs. Second spot hitter Laura Morrow was 4-4 with two runs scored. Stanforth had three RBIs, Sam Morrow had a pair of RBIs, and Watkins had three total RBIs.

This was coupled with Sam Morrow’s pitching performance, which was outstanding again. In four innings of work, she allowed three earned runs, walked one and struck out seven, including the last three in the fourth inning, all looking.

Blanchester’s pitching would be strong throughout the night, as Shelbie Smith and Joey Jones would come on the rest of the night and allow only two earned runs the rest of the way.

In Game 2, Smith and Jones did the work in the circle, and Blanchester broke the game open with six in the fourth for an 8-4 victory. Lindsay Watkins had two more RBIs, making five for the night. Jennifer Rineair added a two-RBI single in the six-run fourth. Smith, Sam Morrow and Cassidy Jennett added RBIs for the Wildcats in Game 2.

The only doubleheader on the night to end up a split was on Field 4. Fayetteville picked up its first victory on the season in dramatic fashion. After rallying to take a 6-4 lead into the final inning, Fayetteville allowed two runs in the top of that inning to tie the game at six. Fayetteville would answer, scoring one in the bottom of the fifth for the 7-6 victory.

Game two also was a tight game. Whiteoak took an early lead thanks to four runs in the second and three in the fourth inning. They lead 9-3 in the fifth and final inning. Fayetteville loaded the bases and got one run home before a line drive caught in the infield finished the game and gave Whiteoak a 9-4 victory.

Leading the way for Fayetteville was Brianna Plapp, who was 2-5 with two runs scored. Tori Huber was 1-2 with three walks, two runs scored and two RBIs. Brittany Snider was 1-5. Marisa Vearil reached base four times and had a stolen base. Rachel Gauche reached base three times and scored twice.

They were led defensively by pitcher Brittany Snider, outfielders Gauche and Olivia Mullins, shortstop Plapp and catcher Emily South.

Summer league play resumes Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. Blanchester will play Fayetteville on Field 1, Batavia will play Wilmington on Field 2, East Clinton will take on Whiteoak on Field 3 and Eastern Brown and Springboro will face off on Field 4.