BY TIM TAYLORTioga County Sports Report
SPENCER — Madison Sousa smacked two extra-base hits while Rhianna Lawrence and Leah Watkins combined to strike out 12 batters as S-VE rolled to a 15-2 IAC Division 2 victory over Trumansburg here Tuesday.
“Maddie hit the ball well,†S-VE head coach Ron Miller said. “Both pitchers threw strikes.â€
The Panthers also took advantage of 13 walks and four hit batters to record their second victory in as many days.
Lawrence set down the first nine batters in order, five by strikeout.
Meanwhile, T-burg starter Savannah Walden struggled to get the ball over the plate in high winds. She allowed just three hits, but issued 15 free passes in two innings and pitched to seven batters in the third, all of whom scored. Reliever Samantha Dawson gave up two hits and two walks and struck out two.
“They’re young pitchers and I’ve got two pitchers who can throw strikes,†Miller said.
S-VE batted through the order in the first and second, and sent 11 batters to the plate in the third.
Sousa started off each of the first three innings with a walk and would score each time, then tack on an RBI double in her second at-bat of the third. Lawrence delivered an RBI double in the second and an RBI single in the third, and scored twice. Abby Kellogg would score three runs also. She would walk, hit an RBI single and get struck by a pitch.
Hannah Harmon contributed a pair of runs following walks and Korah Russell scored twice after walking and getting beaned. Jillian Jackman reached on an error and scored a run, and McKenzie Jones walked and scored. Sam Deppe tacked on an RBI.
It all added up to three runs in the first and four more in the second for a 7-0 cushion, then the Panthers would double their advantage in the third.
Watkins took over in the circle in the fourth and struggled early. The Blue Raiders scored a pair of runs on a lead-off walk to Hannah Brennan, an error off the bat of Walden, singles by Meredith Stilwell and Taylor Bennion, and a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Sarah Wertis.
After that, she retired nine of the final 11 batters, allowing a Makenzie Masters single in the fifth and Bennion double in the sixth. Watkins struck out seven batters over the final four innings.
With the game in hand, Sousa led off the bottom of the sixth with a line drive shot down the left field line for a home run to close out the scoring.
Sousa would go 2-for-2 on the day with two RBI while Lawrence went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Kellogg was 1-for-1 with an RBI.
“It’s good to get the win,†Miller said. “The kids have to learn how to play, so that’s good.â€
S-VE (2-1, 2-1) will visit Tioga (1-2, 1-1) at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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IN PHOTO 1: S-VE’s Madison Sousa (left). … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
