(April 21st, 2015) – PIONEER: The Lady Eagles used an explosive offensive showing in the first two innings of play to best the girls of Stryker in Buckeye Border Conference play.
North Central defeated the Lady Panthers 16-6.
Stryker got things started with a 4 run effort to begin the first inning. The Lady Eagles weren’t deterred, however, putting up 10 runs in the bottom half of the inning. Holding the Panther girls scoreless in the top of the second, North Central tacked on 4 more runs before the start of the third. With just 2 innings in the books, Stryker found themselves in an early 10 run deficit, 14-4.
The Panthers added a run in the top of the third, and prevented their hosts from contributing to their lead in the bottom half of the inning. They couldn’t keep the Eagles from racking up more runs in the fourth, however, as the girls of Pioneer put up 2 more scores to extend their lead to 11 runs. Stryker attempted to rally, scoring another run in the top of the fifth. It wasn’t enough to extend the contest, however, as the game was called because of the 10 run differential between the two squads.
Sabrina Pickford gave the Lady Eagles a huge boost with her bat against the Panthers. Just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, the senior standout racked up a single, double, and even a grand slam, earning 4 RBIs from the big knock. Makayla Knapp, a freshman for North Central, drove in 2 RBIs off of 3 singles as well.
For Stryker, Emma Shindledecker hit for a single and a triple. The sophomore brought in an RBI thanks to her efforts. Kaitlin Wonders contributed a 2 RBI single along the way as well.
The combination of Reese Cogswell and Makayla Hayes handled things on the mound for the Eagle girls, with the former claiming the win. Cogswell pitched for 3 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 5 hits. She also struck out 2 Lady Panther batters. Hayes managed the final inning, giving up an earned run off of 1 hit, also striking out 2.
Miranda Maynard lasted all 4 innings for Stryker, taking the loss for the team. The sophomore allowed 15 earned runs off of 16 hits. She also earned 3 strikeouts.