Softball Splits With Dragons In Home Twinbill

There was no need to remind Ashland University head softball coach Emlyn Knerem of how long it had been since her Eagles had won a game.
 
A win in Game 2 of AU's doubleheader against Tiffin on Tuesday (April 6) at Brookside Park snapped a 10-game losing streak – one that stretched back to Feb. 21 due to a pair of lengthy layoffs. The Dragons won Game 1 on Tuesday, 6-5, leaving the Eagles at 3-11 and Tiffin at 10-12.
 
"This team is capable of so much," Knerem said. "I think we're finally starting to see that. It was nice to see different people come up and have quality at-bats and produce."
 
Ashland, like everyone else in 2020, missed almost the entire season due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eagles also didn't get to go to Florida this spring, and recently missed more than two weeks due to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference COVID-19 protocols. All of this is significant time missed for development for such a young squad.
 
"I think it's the lack of experience," Knerem said. "Working through those adverse games, working through those tough innings, we haven't quite learned that yet. The great thing is, a lot of these young girls are getting a lot of experience this year, and that's hopefully going to benefit us down the line."
 
Game 2 saw Ashland break the scoreless tie with three runs in the bottom of the third. Sophomore pitcher Kayla Ruperto helped her own cause with a sacrifice fly, then a Dragon error on the play allowed another run to score. Sophomore left fielder Kaitlyn Carney finished the frame with an RBI single.
 
The Dragons scored a run in the top of the fourth to make it a 3-1 contest, but the Eagles wasted no time getting that run back, as, in the bottom of the fourth, sophomore right fielder Haylee Frost drove in one with a single.
 
Tiffin came back with another run in the top of the fifth, but the Eagles put the game away in the bottom of the sixth with a five-spot, highlighted by a two-run single from sophomore pitcher Jillian Middleton and a Dragon error on the same play which brought home a third run.
 
Freshman designated player Hailey Krinn was 2-for-3 and scored twice in the win. Ruperto (2-3) earned the win after going the first five innings, striking out two and allowing six hits, two runs (one earned) and one walk. Middleton got her first save of 2021 with two innings of relief, including two whiffs.
 
"We're still trying to figure out who our go-to (pitcher) is," said Knerem. "We said from the beginning that all three pitchers were going to get time. Jillian did a great job. She came out throwing hard and coming right at batters. I think this is a good restart for us."
 
In the opener, after the Dragons scored twice in the top of the first inning, the Eagles took the lead in the bottom of the second on one swing – a three-run home run by junior first baseman Alexis Lavdis, her first of 2021.
 
Freshman pitcher Josie Duncan danced out of a bases-loaded spot in the top of the fourth, then the Eagles extended their lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth when senior second baseman Emma Lawson brought in a run with a groundout.
 
Tiffin, however, responded with four unearned runs in the top of the sixth to take a 6-4 lead. Freshman catcher Jordyn Severns got one run back in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single up the middle, but the Eagles couldn't get the tying run across.
 
Duncan (1-3) went the distance and allowed nine hits, six runs (two earned) and two walks and struck out four. Lavdis drove in three runs and drove in two.
 
Ashland is slated to return to GLIAC play on Saturday (April 10) at noon at Saginaw Valley State.