By Jonathan Matthes/For the Times Sentinel
April 23, 2008 02:42 pm
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The Zionsville Eagles’ defense lapsed early and the Eagle bats, outside of freshman, Erin Dixon were silent as the visiting Frontier Lady Falcons defeated the host Eagles, 3-0 on Friday, April 18.
All three runs Frontier scored were in the first two innings of the game, where the Eagles suffered a slow start. Zionsville committed two errors and had a botched fielder’s choice play at second, which led to a pair of unearned runs. The Eagle pitcher got off to a rough start. In the first two innings, sophomore Jenna Swain walked three, gave up two hits, and had one earned run.
The toughest inning for the Eagles was the second. Frontier scored two and had the bases loaded with two outs when the Eagles and Swain clicked defensively.
Swain retired 16 of the next 18 Lady Falcon batters she faced.
“It seems like we were just unfocused in the first few innings and then we realized that we have the ability to play and it kicks in,” Zionsville Head Coach Amy Beers said.
Swain finished with nine strikeouts, three walks, four hits and one earned run.
Frontier’s defense did not suffer a lapse defensively. The Lady Falcons’ pitcher, junior Kelsey Mullen, pitched a two-hitter and struck out 11 in the contest. She retired the first eight batters she faced, and the ninth batter of the game, Swain, reached on an error.
Zionsville’s bats stayed dormant for most of the game, as the only exception was Dixon who went 2-for-3 in the game.
“Erin (Dixon) did have a really good game,” Beers said. “She steps up to the plate and just does what she does — there isn’t a lot of thought (involved), she just plays the game.”
She reached scoring position once after a Lindsey Westrick sacrifice bunt. No other Eagle got past second base.
The Eagles will try to rebound at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, when they host Carmel.
April 16 vs. New Palestine
The Zionsville softball team took on a powerhouse in New Palestine, Wednesday, April 16, falling to the Lady Dragons 11-2.
New Palestine scored four runs in the first inning and another run in the second inning to grab a quick advantage.
Senior Jessica Huey went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and four runs scored.
They struck again in the fourth inning, tacking on another three runs for an 8-0 advantage. Sophomore Taylor Roach went 3-for-4 on the day, and freshman Katie Prosser went 3-for-5 with two runs.
“(New Palestine) is a great team, and they’re well-coached,” Zionsville head coach Amy Beers said.”They’ve always had a good program, so playing teams like this is only going to make us better.”
The Lady Eagles tried to work back into the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, as junior Shelby Day batted in junior Bailee Newton with one of her two base hits on the day. Newton also went 2-for-3 at the plate.
Before the inning ended, junior Sarah Thacker knocked in junior Lindsay Westrick with a base hit of her own. Thacker batted 2-for-3, and Westrick went 1-for-3.
The Lady Dragons weren’t done, scoring another three runs on junior pitcher Sarah Seward, who pitched the complete game for Zionsville.
“I think (Seward) did a great job pitching, I don’t think the score reflects how she pitched at all,” Beers said. “She did a wonderful job of changing her speed and location. We had some errors we don’t normally make, and that affected the score a little bit.”
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