W-S sweeps pair of doubleheaders
By Derick Kelly
The Wauzeka-Steuben Hornets softball team kept their conference record unblemished last week when they earned a pair of Ridge & Valley Conference doubleheader sweeps to improve to 5-0 in league play.
First up for the Hornets was a trip to Cazenovia last Monday, April 14 for two games against the Weston Silver Eagles and the league-leading Hornets came away with two mercy-rule shortened wins.
Game one saw W-S score at least one run in every inning (including seven in the second, two in the third, four in the fourth and three in the fifth) on their way to a 17-0 victory in five innings. Collecting multi-hit games for the Hornets were Kiley Manning (2-for-4 with a double, one run scored and two RBIs), Claudia Walz (2-for-4 with a double and three runs scored) and Violet Mitchell (3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs). Brianna Ray and Devyn Allert hit a double each, while Sophia Walz and Emma Wall both tripled in the win. Ray was the winning pitcher for the Hornets, allowing zero runs on just three hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 3.0 innings pitched. Allert struck out two batters while allowing zero hits and walks in the final two innings to close the game out.
Game two saw the Hornets as the home team and they ended the game early 15-0 thanks to four runs in the first, eight in the second and three in the third inning. Wall (4-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and three RBIs) and Violet Mitchell (2-for-2 with two runs scored and one RBI) each had multiple hits in the win, while Avery Kilburg added a double and Manning, Claudia Walz and Isabella Bunders each tripled. Ray pitched all three innings, allowing zero runs on just two hits while walking none and striking out one to earn the win.
The Hornets traveled to Ithaca last Thursday, April 17 for another doubleheader and W-S came home with another sweep. After a back-and-forth first three three innings in which the teams traded the lead several times (1-1 after one, 4-3 after two and 7-6 after three), the Hornets retook the lead for good with a 10-run fourth inning before finishing the game off via 10-run rule with one final run in the fifth inning for a 16-6 win. The Hornets were led at the plate by Claudia Walz (2-for-4 with one run scored and three RBIs), Allert (2-for-3 with a double, one run scored, one walk and two RBIs) and Kilburg (2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored, one walk and two RBIs).
Ray started the game in the pitcher’s circle, allowing three runs (all earned) on three hits and one walk with one strikeout in two innings pitched before Allert pitched the final three innings, allowing three runs (all earned) on five hits and one walk with two strikeouts to earn the win.
Game two was all pitching as the Hornets claimed a 2-1 victory. W-S scored twice in the top of the second inning to take an early 2-0 lead. Ithaca cut the lead in half with one run in the sixth inning but could not get any closer as the Hornets held on for a 2-1 win. Wall (2-for-4 with one RBI) had the other multi-hit game for Wauzeka, while Bunders, Manning, Claudia Walz and Allert had the other four hits in the game for the Hornets. Ray got the win after allowing one run on four hits and zero walks with seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched while Wall got the save after allowing no runs on zero hits and zero walks in 1.2 innings pitched. The Hornets moved their overall mark to 5-2 and 5-0 in the Ridge & Valley Conference with the two twin-bill sweeps. Wauzeka travels to De Soto this Thursday evening before going to Seneca next Monday evening at 5:00 p.m.
