NEW WASHINGTON (Crawford County Now) — Getting a 5-0 lead on the road and pounding out 10 hits was all that Bucyrus needed to secure a 9-7 softball win over Buckeye Central in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game Tuesday night.
The contest was moved to BC from Bucyrus following heavy rains to take advantage of the turf infield.
Senior catcher Haylee Stratton had three doubles to lead the Lady Red.
Maci Messerschmidt added a double and Lillyan Butchko a pair of singles for Bucyrus, which evens its record at 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the N10.
Head coach Mike Middleton’s club wasted no time, scoring 5 times in the first inning.
“We started off well. Then we give up 6 in the next two innings. Karlee (Shull) wasn’t hitting some spots. We let them get walks, but after that we settled down. Middle innings until the end, I thought she did well.”
Shull struck out 6 Buckettes and walked 9 to get the complete-game win.
“Defensively, we played pretty well. Addie Weber saved two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and that was huge, catching it off her shoe top. A great catch.”
Stratton and Messerschmidt drove in runs in the first inning off AJ Jury, who gave up only 2 earned runs before giving way to Maya Metzger.
Buckeye Central (1-6, 0-3 N10) answered with 4 runs in the first inning and a pair in the second. The big hit was a three-run triple by Savannah Pace.
Jury, Sophie West, Olivia Bishop, Phoebe Rafferty, Leah Fields, and Cierra Schneider all singled.
Head coach Todd Messmer said his team repeated a familiar trend.
“We’ve had a knack for giving up a lot of runs in the first inning. We seem to get ourselves in a hole, then we settle down and get our heads in the game. Then we battle and we’re all right. We need to clean up a couple of things and we’ll be OK.
“Maya is a senior and she doesn’t show much emotion. She throws strikes and when she does it seems like our defense steps up and makes plays. She’s been a good addition this year to our pitching staff.”
The Buckettes committed four errors, with three in the first inning leading to Bucyrus runs.
“We need to clean up our errors. If we do that we can compete. Our core is senior led. We need to have that leadership, play a little harder and not come out flat,” Messmer said.
“We also need better focus in the box in certain situations. It’s a tough league. Crawford and Bucyrus are improved. We’re a step behind right now.”
Ni’Cia Floyd, Tori Stang and Shull also delivered hits for the Lady Red. Bucyrus added another pair of runs in the sixth as Floyd and Shull scored to put the visitors ahead 9-6.
Buckeye Central put runners on first and second with two outs in the home half of the sixth. West lined a shot to center field that Weber dove for and caught to end the uprising.
The Buckettes added a run in the seventh. But Shull worked out of a bases loaded jam to secure the victory.
Wins in close games often have eluded Bucyrus in recent seasons.
“In the past we definitely don’t know how to win those games. Now we’re getting there,” Middleton said. “They understand how to finish games and are continuing to get better.
“They’re still young, playing freshmen in key spots. The girls play pretty loose, most of them. You wouldn’t know they’re freshmen now.”
Bucyrus didn’t win an N10 game last season.
“I thought we had a pretty good team last year and should have won more games. This year’s is better and it’s really good to get these wins against local teams and get a little bragging rights.
“We’ve beaten Carey and Buckeye — two teams we haven’t beaten in a long time,” Middleton said. “We told the girls, ‘Don’t be satisfied. Keep working.'”
Box score
Bucyrus 511 002 0 9 10 2
Buckeye Central 420 000 1 7 7 4
WP: Karlee Shull (6 SO, 9 W)
LP: Maya Metzger (1 SO, 0 W)
HR: None.
Triples: (BC) Savannah Pace.
Doubles: (B) Haylee Stratton 3, Karlee Shull, Maci Messerschmidt.
Multiple hits: (B) Haylee Stratton 3, Maci Messerschmidt, Lillyan Butchko.
Records: Bucyrus 4-4, 2-1 N10; Buckeye Central 1-6, 0-3 N10.
Next: Buckeye Central at Bucyrus, Wednesday.