By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Here are the notable softball games, scores and stats from April 27.

Ansonia 8 (13-6, 8-1) at Franklin Monroe 4 (5-15, 2-6)

The Lady Tigers get a road conference win to keep pace in the WOAC title race.

Ansonia scored two runs in the first inning. Franklin Monroe kept it close until they gained a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. But the Lady Tigers immediately responded with four runs in the sixth to regain the lead.

Ansonia head coach Floyd Jenkins said the team didn’t lose focus after giving up the lead. Instead, they kept their heads in the game and came away with the win.

“I was proud of the girls, Abby pitched good out there. When we did get down, the girls stayed focus and they knew what had to be done,” Jenkins said. “We had to get some runs in and you try to create them the best you can, the girls did it.”

Juniors Abby Kramer and Kelsey Muhlenkamp each drove in a run in the first inning. Franklin Monroe scored a run in the third.

Then when the fifth came around, sophomore Layni Ressler drove in her second run of the game and junior Jocelyn Gray drove in a run. The Lady Jets then scored their fourth run on a wild pitch.

But in the sixth, Ansonia loaded up the bases. Junior Maddie Buckingham drove in one run to make it 4-3. Then senior Kinsey Hartzell cleared the bases with a three-run triple. Jenkins said the gap Hartzell hit was open all night and was hoping someone would hit it there. He also said the outfielder made a great effort on the ball, but it was just out her reach.

The Lady Tigers then scored two more runs in the seventh to end the game. Kramer pitched all seven innings and had nine strikeouts. For Franklin Monroe, junior Keihl Johnson pitched seven innings and had three strikeouts.

Franklin Monroe head coach Jared Morris said the team was playing good softball, but they have moments where they let games get away from them.

“We just continue to self-destruct in certain points of games. We were in it, we were hitting the ball and playing great defense. Then all of a sudden, the switch flipped,” Morris said.

Tournament draw is on April 30. When asked about what improvements he wants to see from his team before postseason play, Morris said we wants the team to come together and play as a team for the home stretch. They can compete with anybody if they can play together.

For Ansonia, it’s going to be a few tough conference games ahead. On May 2, they host Tri-County North at 5 p.m. They will go to St. Henry on April 3 and then play the WOAC leading Arcanum Lady Trojans on April 4 at 5 p.m.

Franklin Monroe will host Preble Shawnee on May 1 at 5 p.m. and then go to National Trail on May 2.

Around Darke County:

Bradford (7-10, 7-2) won 10-0 against Dixie. Senior Shay Swick had four hits in the game. Freshman Nevaeh Jones had two RBI in the game. Senior Izzy Hamilton had two hits and 10 strikeouts on the mound in five innings of work. The team had zero errors in the game.

Greenville (14-4, 11-1) picked up a road 14-3 win at Xenia. The team scored 10 runs in the fifth to grab the run rule win. Sophomore Kylar Arnett had five RBI in the game. Freshman Kendall Cromwell and senior Skylar Fletcher had three RBI and junior Addie Burke had two RBI. Sophomore Zoey Burns also had a RBI. Burns pitched four innings and had four strikeouts.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]