Cass Kings wallop Squires

by Rick Conrad
For the Pharos-Tribune

May 20, 2008 12:27 am

— In softball, coaches often say that hitting is contagious.
That theory proved to be true on Monday evening as the Lewis Cass Lady Kings easily handled the Lady Squires of Manchester in their first round match up of the 2008 Wabash sectional. Midway through the game the Cass bats came alive and disposed of Manchester by a score of 14-5.
Thanks to a solid defensive effort by the Lady Kings, the Manchester hitters were only able to scatter six hits throughout the game. Amie Sites started on the rubber for Cass and finished the game with six strikeouts to only one walk. Her adversary for the Squires, Jama Runkel, completed the contest with one strikeout to one walk.
The game was up for grabs during the early innings as each team plated two runs in the first. The visiting Cass Kings got things started when their leadoff hitter Jennifer Berlet was hit by a pitch. Taylor DeHaven then came to the plate for Cass and moved Berlet to second on a nice sacrifice bunt. That brought Molly Naphew to bat and she quickly belted a single that scored Berlet giving Cass an early 1-0 lead.
Heads-up baserunning by Naphew allowed her to advance to second when the attempt on Berlet failed. Following a passed ball she then found herself at third base with one out. Ellie Cain then connected on her first hit of the game scoring Naphew from third giving Cass a 2-0 lead.
Although Manchester equaled Cass’ hit total in the first inning it was a passed ball that allowed them on the board. The Squires Brittany Watson delivered her first hit of the game and was moved to third when the next hitter in the lineup Katie Bowers belted a double putting runners on second and third with only one out. It was then that Sites sent an offering that hit off the backstop and followed the fence ending up near the opponents’ dugout. This allowed both Manchester runners to make it safely home to even the score at 2-2 after one inning of play.
Cass again got on the board in the second when Mallory Cummings smacked an 0-1 pitch for a base hit. Lady King Emily Watkins came to the plate and laid down a sacrifice bunt allowing Cummings to move to second. The next hitter in the lineup, Krista Weber, added to the cause when she stroked a base hit scoring Cummings. Cass wasn’t finished yet as leadoff hitter Berlet then came to the plate again and reached safely on a fielders’ choice.
The No. 2-hole hitter in the lineup, DeHaven, then safely reached first on an error by the shortstop giving Cass runners on first and second. Naphew followed it up by getting on base when Manchester committed their second error of the inning allowing Berlet to score giving Cass a 4-2 lead.
Manchester came to bat in the bottom half of the inning and Amber Fratus quickly smacked a double and moved to third when Kobie Marks grounded out to Sites. The lone run for Manchester in the second then came when Noelle Patrick grounded out to the shortstop scoring Fratus giving Cass a 4-3 lead after two.
After a scoreless third inning the Lady Kings’ bats began to come to life in the fourth. Weber reached safely on another Manchester error. Berlet then singled to move Weber to second. DeHaven then made it to first on a throwing error allowing Weber to score and putting Berlet on third. DeHaven then stole second while Naphew was at the plate. Naphew then smacked a two-RBI single scoring both Berlet and DeHaven. Cain continued her hitting streak when she wrapped yet another base hit in her third at bat allowing Naphew to advance on the bases. Naphew then scored when Aly Small reached on a fielders’ choice giving Cass an 8-3 lead after four innings of play.
The Lady Kings picked up where they left off in the fifth when Watkins reached on another Manchester error. Weber then bunted safely putting Cass runners on first and second. Berlet was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for Lewis Cass. DeHaven then delivered again with a two-RBI single scoring Watkins and Weber. Naphew kept the hits coming when she plated two with a base hit. Cain then kept the inning going when she hit her third base hit of the game scoring Naphew. The Kings finished their scoring for the game when Leandra Baber delivered a pinch-hit RBI single scoring Cain. Manchester then pushed across two runs in the bottom of the fifth to complete the scoring.
Cass coach Scott Rouch was pleased with the way his team came out and played.
“I thought we hit the ball really well tonight,” he said. “I was pleased with the way we waited on the ball. We had a lot of hard hits tonight.”
Commenting on his defense Rouch said, “We weren’t as sharp as I’d like for us to be, but it was nice to come out and out hit a team like this.”
Lewis Cass advances to the next round of the Wabash Sectional and will begin play at 5 p.m. tonight.
In looking at other opponents in the tournament, Rouch said, “These girls are capable of beating anybody in 2A. They’ve proven it with a couple quality wins, but we can’t afford mistakes. We have to be mentally sharp and not make the mistakes.”