GREENVILLE – The Greenville Lady Wave wasted no time getting the 2021 season off to a blistering start with a run rule win over the DI Wayne Lady Warriors while giving veteran Lady Wave softball coach, Jerrod Newland his 450th career win at the helm of the Greenville softball program.
The season opened with a home double header with the Lady Wave taking on the Wayne Lady Warriors in game one followed by Wayne and the West Liberty-Salem Lady Tigers in game two and Greenville and WL-S in game three.
“Just a good day for Lady Wave softball,” said Greenville coach, Jerrod Newland. “Really excited, great atmosphere out here at the park and the stadium. Three good teams and boy…just fun. It gets contagious and everybody running around playing, smiling,”
Greenville took an early 2-0 lead over Wayne after one inning of play and plated 10 second inning runs highlighted by an Alaina Baughn grand slam home run – the sophomore’s first hit in a varsity uniform. Skylar Fletcher (2), Bre Fellers and Nyesha Wright also contributed RBI’s to the Lady Wave’s second inning outburst.
Baughn would pick up her fifth RBI of the second inning driving home Brianna Fellers with a single, her second hit of the inning as Greenville would send 16 batters to the plate in inning No 2.
Greenville senior and starting pitcher, Grace Shaffer’s work was done on the mound having faced the minimum nine batters in three innings of work. After coaxing a ground out to short to start the game, Shaffer struck out the next eight hitters before retiring to the dugout.
“Great outing by Grace,” noted Newland. “First game – nine up, nine down.”
The Lady Warriors plated three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Greenville answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning by way of a Susie Blocher double and an Ashlyn Zimmer 2-run homer over the centerfield fence. Wayne battled back in the top of the fifth putting two runs on the board to trail 14-5.
“Baughn nails one there in the second and then Zim (Zimmerman) knocks one,” Coach Newland said of the team’s long ball play.
Greenville earned the run rule win with an error on a Kierah Beavis fly ball to right and scoring on a RBI double to center off the bat of Kenna Jenkison to give the Lady Wave a 1-0 record to start the season.
Baughn paced the Lady Wave with 2-hits, 5-RBI and a run scored. Skylar Fletcher went 2-3 with a single, a double and a walk, 4-RBI and a run scored.
Zimmer was 2-4 with 2-RBI and 3-runs scored. Jenkinson went 1-1 with 2-walks, a hit batsman, a RBI and 2-runs scored. Blocher was 2-4 with a single and double and 2-runs. Bre Fellers went 1-2 with a walk and 2-runs, Beavins went 1-4 with 2-runs scored, Nyesha Wright was 0-1 with 3-walks and a run scored, Sheyenne Slade scored a run and Braci Swisshelm had a walk.
The Lady Wave played error free ball.
BOX SCORE:
1 2 3 456 7 R H E
0 0 0 32x x 5 5 3
2 10 0 21XX 15 11 0
