NEW MADISON – Ansonia got all of its players into Thursday’s game as the Tigers beat Tri-Village 10-4 in a Cross County Conference softball game in New Madison.
Ansonia jumped out to an early lead with four runs in the first inning, one in the second and one in the fourth to lead 6-0. After Tri-Village scored its first run in the bottom of the fourth, Ansonia scored its final four runs in the fifth inning. The Patriots then added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth for the 10-4 final score.
“The last week or so we’ve had a lot of ballgames where a lot of the kids hadn’t got to play,” Ansonia coach Floyd Jenkins said. “It was a good chance for us today. The girls did a good job that went in. That’s the team for next year, a lot of freshmen and sophomores. They’re ready. They’ve improved so much over the year, and it’s important that we keep getting them in whenever we can so they can improve for next year.”
Ansonia had 11 hits and no errors in Thursday’s game. Tri-Village had six hits and five errors.
“We’re making improvements in some areas, but like I told the girls just in our huddle, we can’t have errors, and we cannot watch the third strike go by,” Tri-Village coach Tracy Barhorst said. “We have to be aggressive at the plate, and we have to do the simple stuff to win. If we look at everything we did it’s a 4-3 ballgame. It’s a different ballgame.”
One aspect of Thursday’s game that Barhorst was pleased with was the pitching of Taylor Bowles and Bree Wilson.
“Our pitchers are really making improvement,” she said. “We’re just not playing behind them. Both Taylor and Bree, they’re doing what I’ve asked, and I’ve asked them to pitch strikes all year.”
Jenkins also was pleased with Ansonia’s pitchers, Trinity Henderson and Shelby Hartzell.
“Both pitchers pitched good today,” Jenkins said, “no walks again.”
Offensively, Ansonia’s Katelynn Overholser had a home run. Taylor Thwaits had two hits including a double and scored three times. Brooke Neal had a hit and two RBIs.
Tri-Village’s Kloey Murphey went 2-for-4 and scored a run. Shelby Holzapfel was 1-for-2 and scored two runs. Payge Malott and Breeann Lipps both were 1-for-3 with a RBI.
“The difference between them and us, they have nine seniors, and I start seven freshmen,” Barhorst said. “That’s a big maturity difference, and teams are going to play better when they have that many seniors. When they brought their second group in, which was their freshmen and stuff, we played very good with them. You have to take that all in consideration.”
Ansonia has been on a hot streak lately, and Jenkins is hopeful that the Tigers are poised for a strong run in the upcoming Ohio High School Athletic Association tournament.
“I think they’re a more focused ball club now,” he said. “They know what to do, and they expect a lot. Hopefully they’ll be ready, and we’ll have a little run.”
