By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Here are the scores and stats from the high school softball games from March 29 – 31.

Tri-Village 9 (1-1, 1-0) vs Versailles 10 (3-0)

VERSAILLES — The Lady Tigers won in walk-off fashion against the Lady Patriots on March 29. Senior Reagan Brown came through with the game-winning hit scoring two runs.

Versailles head coach Tatyana Cotrell said she told her team before the final inning to make contact and just put the ball in play.

“I told my girls coming into that final inning we need to be productive. Continue to get contact, that’s all we needed. I don’t care if you swing for the fences, just on the ground. That’s all we needed,” Cotrell said.

Versailles led 4-3 going into the top of the fifth inning. In an already back and forth game, Tri-Village got their bats going again.

Freshman Emma Greer drove in her second run of the game to tie it, 4-4. Senior Kiersten Wilcox followed it up with a two-run home run to take a 6-4 lead.

Tri-Village head coach Emily Osborne said the team is constantly making adjustments throughout a game. After the team had a slow start at the plate, everyone started to make better contact with the ball and started to find gaps in the defense.

“They’re always checking in, ‘What can I do different?’ That’s the team we want to have. Somebody that’s willing to work hard at making adjustments in the middle of a game that need to happen,” Osborne said. “Kiersten is one of those. She’s a senior. She’s a leader. She’s always been solid at the plate. We’re thankful to have her for another year, healthy.”

Versailles added in a run in the bottom of the fifth off an error. Then in the seventh inning, sophomores Camryn Osborne and Tai Mize along with Wilcox each drove in a run to make it a 9-5 game going into the final half inning.

Senior Colleen Hiestand started the inning with a hit. Senior Kailey Jenkinson drove her in on a sacrifice groundout. Senior Jenna Dirksen then drove in a run. With two outs, senior Cassie Leach hit a double to make it a 9-8 game with Brown coming up to bat.

Osborne said she talked to the team about momentum swings and how they need to swing momentum in their favor when their opponent seems to have it. Overall they played well and were able to swing the momentum the other way, they couldn’t play a complete game as a team.

“We talked before we came into this game that if the momentum swings, we need to be able to swing it back in our favor. It is a young team that needs to learn how to do that and fight until the end. We haven’t had to do that yet,” Osborne said.

For Tri-Village, Wilcox finished with three RBI. Osborne drove in two runs and Greer finished with three hits. On the mound, sophomore Elizabeth Poling pitched five innings and had five strikeouts.

For Versailles, Brown had three RBI and Dirksen had two RBI. Dirksen also had three hits. On the mound, Hiestand pitched 6.2 innings and had six strikeouts. Senior Lydia Hecht finished out the game.

Cotrell said winning a game like this could give the team a shot in the arm for their next few games. From there, they would have the chance to keep this momentum rolling through the season.

“It keeps us up on a high, especially going into tomorrow’s game against Benjamin Logan. Hopefully with this adrenaline rush, we’ll pick it up,” Cotrell said.

After a road game at Miami East, Versailles will play at New Bremen on April 4 at 5 p.m. They will then host Russia on April 5 at 5 p.m. To finish out the weekend, they will host Fort Loramie for a double header on April 6 starting at 11 a.m.

After a game against Brookville and at Tri-County North, the Lady Patriots will host Newton on April 4 and then head to Randolph Southern on April 5. Both games are set for a 5 p.m. first pitch.

A full game recap can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Around the county:

Ansonia (2-2, 0-1)

The Lady Tigers split their two games over the weekend. They won 5-3 at Houston on March 29. Seniors Maddie Buckingham and Brenna Schmit and sophomore Abby Klingshirn each drove in a run. Senior Kelsey Muhlenkamp had three hits. Senior Abby Kramer pitched all seven innings and had eight strikeouts. They then lost 3-0 at Coldwater the next day. Buckingham and Schmit each had a hit. Kramer had seven strikeouts in six innings of work. Ansonia will be at Bradford on April 4 and then host Twin Valley South on April 5. Both games are set for a 5 p.m. first pitch. They will then be at Union City on April 6 for a double header starting at 11 a.m.

Arcanum (3-3, 1-0)

The Lady Trojans get a road win at Mechanicsburg, 7-6. Freshman Jordyn Garbig had four RBI and two hits. Senior Belle Harleman pitched all seven innings and had three strikeouts. Arcanum will be at Dixie on April 4 and then at Eaton on April 5. Both games are set for a 5 p.m. first pitch.

Greenville (4-1, 2-0)

The Lady Wave started the weekend with a 17-9 at Covington on March 29. Senior Mahayla Cook had three home runs and six RBI in the game. Junior Zoey Burns had four RBI. Burns, junior Morgan Thompson and freshman Lizzie Shaffer all pitched in the game. In the first game of a double header on March 30, Greenville lost 10-0 to Lebanon. Senior Addie Burke had the team’s only hit. Only two runs for Lebanon were earned. The Lady Wave bounced back with a 13-3 run-rule win over West Jefferson in the next game. Cook had another home run. Thompson had three RBI in the game. Burns pitched four innings and had five strikeouts. The team will be at Butler on April 4 for a 5 p.m. first pitch. They will then head to Stebbins on April 5 for a 5 p.m. first pitch. Greenville will then host Centerville at 11:45 a.m. on April 6 for their first game of a double header. They will then play Portsmouth Notre Dame on the same day at 3:30 p.m.

Mississinawa Valley (1-2, 0-1)

The Lady Blackhawks split a home double header against Houston on March 30. They won 2-1 in the first game. Senior Makenna Guillozet had a home run in the game. Freshman Ella Godfrey pitched all seven innings allowing one hit and had 14 strikeouts. They then lost 14-6 in the second game. Houston scored eight runs in the last two innings. Senior MacKenzea Townsend and freshman Gentry Newbauer each had two RBI. Godfrey and Townsend each had three hits. Godfrey struck out 13 in the second game in seven innings of work. The Lady Blackhawks will host National Trail on April 4 at 5 p.m. and then host Fort Recovery on April 6 at 11 a.m.

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