Elmira 4, Sweet Home 2
The Huskies tied Elmira 2-2 in the seventh inning at home in softball on April 23, but Elmira scored twice in the eighth to win the game 4-2.
The Elmira Falcons scored their first two runs in the third inning on two singles and a double, there of their seven hits.
“We had eight hits,” said Coach Gary Barr. “We just sort of spread them out. It seems like we were hitting some hard ground balls but weren’t finding the gaps.”
In the seventh, Shantel Pitts, who went 2-3, hit a two-run single in the seventh.
She had been struggling with hitting early on this season, but her bats have started connecting, Barr said. “I was really proud of her.”
Sierra Thayer, who went 2-3 scored the winning run colliding with Elmira’s catcher.
“The catcher didn’t give her any part of the plate,” Barr said. It was borderline obstruction, but Thayer was was safe and the run counted.
In the eighth, Elmira scored with two outs on a single following a single, two ground outs and double.
At bat, Caytlin Gillespie, Katie Virtue, Kelli Fanning and Natalie Thore each singled.
Pitching, Emily Marchbanks gave up seven hits and two walks while striking out four batters.
“She kept the ball low in the zone,” Barr said. “And we did get quite a few ground outs.”
“Once again Elmira seems to play well defensively every time they come to play us,” Barr said. Elmira had no errors. The Huskies had there, but none cost a run.
The loss marks the Huskies’ third to Elmira and their only league losses.
“What I told the girls, we’re just really, really close to beating that team,” Barr said. “The score proved it. The hits were close.”
The first game was close, he said. The second game was closer than the score indicates.
In the third game, the Huskies had bases loaded once with two outs and an opportunity to score, he said. “We’re just painfully close to taking this team out. Maybe we’ll see them in playoffs.”
Elmira, 6-2, turned around and lost 17-11 to Junction City on Friday, the Falcons’ second loss in league.
The Huskies are 4-3 in league. If the Huskies win the rest of the season, Elmira would still need to lose two games before the Huskies could claim the league title.
The Huskies’ goal is to win out and let Elmira be their only three losses, Barr said, but Sisters, 6-1, has only one league loss to date, to Sweet Home, and still plays Sweet Home two more times. Sisters has defeated Elmira once.
Sweet Home and Sisters were scheduled to play a doubleheader on Tuesday.
Elmira 002 000 02 – 4 7 0
Sweet Home 000 000 20 – 2 8 3