Varsity Softball: Chancellor Chargers vs. Riverbend Bears
By: Greg Wolfe
Monday's rendition of the Route 3 rivalry featured two hot softball teams coming off multiple wins, as the Chancellor Chargers (5-9) looked to continue building momentum. The Riverbend Bears had other plans as they jumped out to early leads in both games to shut down the Chargers.
To start the day, both team's pitchers started with facing the minimum batters. The Bears' Number 10 gave up a single to opposing starter Lindsay Pett, who was later caught stealing and apparently hurt sliding in. When Pett came out to throw the next inning, she shook it off and retired the Bears in order.
The second inning did not come as easily for the Chargers. Kate Schwinn led off with a single, but was cut down quickly trying to steal second base as the Bears' No. 14 collected to early quality throws to second for outs.
When the Chargers took the field, the defense faltered. Part of the winning streak for the Chargers included stellar defense, and today showed some early struggles the Chargers had hoped had been dismissed. With five errors in the inning, the Bears were able to bat around before having the first out recorded. They plated 7 runs, before Pett retired three batters she had previously faced to end the inning.
The game didn't last much longer, as an already shortened game for the doubleheader became even shorter as the Bears offense was back to cause more trouble in the bottom of the third inning after Number 10 cruised through the bottom of the Chargers' batting order.
The Bears took the game early, and held on to it for a 10-0, shortened victory over the Chargers. The Chargers only had three base runners, and looked forward to the next game to try and spark some offense together.
The Bears went with a new pitcher for the second game, Number 6, who Sam Tillman figured out immediately with a quick single The start of the second game started just like the first however, as Tillman fell victim as the third Charger caught stealing on the day. It ended the inning quickly, and the Bears hammered out more runs in the next inning off the Chargers new pitcher Taylor Sullivan.
In the bottom of the first, the Chargers didn't commit any errors, the Bears just seemed to have hot bats against Sullivan. They batted around in an inning for the second time that day, as Sullivan would eventually leave two stranded on the bases after a couple of pop ups by the top of the Bears' lineup.
In the top of the second inning, the Chargers finally found some offense thanks to some luck finally swinging their way. Schwinn was walked to start the inning, and Sarah Tiller would follow later on getting on after an error by the Bears' second baseman. Rachel Arnold knocked a great single into right field to score Schwinn, and Sullivan would help her own cause with a bunt single to score Tiller. When Tillman brought up the top of the order, she knocked in Arnold with a single up the middle and the Chargers showed great resilience during a rough day.
The game would settle down afterwards, as Sullivan put up a zero on the board in the bottom of the second. The Chargers found more hits, but never found the plate again that day despite a heartful effort. The game ended in the same bad luck as it had seemed to be for the Chargers all day, as Noelle Greenwood slammed the ball straight at the pitcher who just barely got a glove on it to block it and retire Greenwood for the final out.
It just wasn't the Chargers day, as timely hitting and well placed hits helped the Bears soar to a sweep. The ball seemed to find all the holes in the outfield, just outside of Sierra Gibson and Greenwood's reach.
In the second inning, the Chargers also tried out different players in different defensive spots to yield wonderful results. Kenzie Coates moved to third base, and found five outs there to hold down the fort. Tessa Dodson also moved to left field, and made some nice grabs to show some reliability.
All in all, it wasn't a total loss for the Chargers who played a very good Bears ball club. The Chargers will look forward to the rest of their long week, as they start some more conference play against the Caroline Cavaliers Tuesday night. The last time the Chargers played the Cavaliers, they came back from down 6 runs in order to seal a huge victory.
Stat Section (Both Games)
Chancellor Chargers
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Riverbend Bears
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