By Roger Gordon

Correspondent

FIELD

Maddie Burge had a good week on the mound.

Shannon Eldreth/Special to Portage Sports

The Field senior pitched two complete games in leading the Falcons to a 10-5 victory April 24 at Springfield and a 10-0 win at home over Coventry in a game that was called after five innings due to the 10-run rule.

In the win over the Spartans, Burge gave up nine hits, but only one of them was earned.

She also had five strikeouts and no walks.

“Maddie showed a lot of heart and determination going against a pretty good lineup,” Field softball head coach Beth Dyer said.

Offensively, senior left fielder Abby Harlin led the way with three singles, a double and two RBI.

Four players had two hits, including senior centerfielder Jessica Pollard, who singled twice and knocked in a run.

“Jessica made the defense work,” said Dyer, “and used her speed to get on base.”

In the win over the Comets that improved Field’s record to 13-4, Burge yielded just one hit while striking out one and walking one.

“Maddie came out with consistency in throwing strikes,” said the coach. “Our defense behind her played well.”

Six players had two hits, including seniors Olivia Dyer, the first baseman, and Mckayla Miller, the second baseman. Dyer had two singles and two RBI, while Miller singled twice and drove home a run.

Said Dyer, “Both Olivia and Mckayla came up big with two outs.”

STREETSBORO

With the score tied 1-1 between visiting Streetsboro and Woodridge in the top of the ninth inning April 28, the Rockets put up a three-spot to take a 4-1 lead in what turned out to be a 4-3 victory. Senior Audriana Wert’s pinch-hit RBI single made the score 2-1; then, sophomore centerfielder Olivia Knepp rapped a two-run double.

The Rockets upped their record to 12-4.

Junior Payton Williams started on the mound and went 6.1 innings, yielding five hits while striking out two and walking one. Sophomore Amy Rein went the rest of the way, giving up four hits while fanning five and walking three.

“Our pitchers did their job by keeping us close,” head coach LeRoy Moore said, “giving us the opportunity to score the runs in the ninth inning and come away with a hard-fought win.”

Four days earlier, on April 24, Streetsboro defeated visiting Norton 9-7. Rein started and went 6.2 innings, giving up seven runs while striking out five and walking one. Williams went the rest of the way and earned the save.

“Amy held her own pretty much most of the game going through the fifth inning,” Moore said. “Then the weather finally got to her because it was 80 degrees that day, and she’d thrown a lot of pitches and started to wear out. When she started giving up some runs, that’s when I replaced her with Payton.”

Offensively, Rein helped her own cause by homering, doubling and singling while driving in three runs and scoring once. Senior first baseman Hailey Miller had two singles and two RBI, and freshman third baseman Mallorie Gierke singled twice and scored a run.

RAVENNA

Freshman Jocelynn Smallwood pitched a gem April 24 in leading Ravenna to a 10-1 home win over Cloverleaf. She fanned eight batters in going the distance.

“Jocelynn pitched really well,” head coach Luke Darrah said. “If you don’t walk anybody, you have a real good chance of winning the game, and she only walked one. She had some timely strikeouts and some timely ground balls, and we played really good defense behind her.”

Pacing the Ravens at the plate were senior second baseman Whitney Holmes and junior catcher Mallory Sterba. Holmes had two singles, two RBI and three runs, while Sterba singled three times, knocked in two runs and scored once.

“Mallory is one of our better hitters,” said Darrah. “As a team we had some timely hits, which is something we haven’t had in a while.”

The coach also praised Sterba for her outstanding play behind the dish. “Mallory is just a wall behind the plate,” he said. “She does a great job catching the pitchers and calling the game herself.”

The day before, on April 23, Ravenna lost 9-2 at home to Springfield. Holmes, pitching in this game, started and went the distance, yielding a dozen hits but only three earned runs while striking out three and walking two.

“Whitney wasn’t feeling well, but I thought she pitched really well,” Darrah said. “We played terrible defense behind her. She pitched well enough to make the score a lot closer.”

Hitting-wise, Holmes singled twice.

Five days later, on April 28, Ravenna fell 2-0 at Springfield to slip to 6-8.

Smallwood started and went the distance, giving up eight hits while striking out two and walking one.

“Jocelynn did a really good job of keeping the batters off balance and making the big pitches when she had to,” said Darrah. “We had another very, very good defensive game behind her.”

With two singles apiece were Holmes, sophomore center fielder Kasey Sterba and freshman shortstop Savanna McKeown.

“We left several runners on base,” said the coach. “We had the bases loaded twice and didn’t score and runners on second and third once and didn’t score.”