By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Here are the scores and stats from the high school softball games from April 8 – 10.

Arcanum 2 (5-5, 2-1) vs Tri-Village 5 (3-1, 2-0)

ARCANUM — The Lady Patriots knocked off the defending WOAC champions on the road for a big conference win early in the season.

Tri-Village Head coach Emily Osborne said she is proud of her team for brushing off some errors and getting the job done against a great team.

“This is what we’ve been preparing for. Arcanum always has a solid team from top to bottom on the field and up to bat. Honestly, they had less errors than we did. We just were able to string enough together to call it a win,” Osborne said.

Arcanum head coach Mike Morris said Tri-Village made the winning plays and earned this win. He felt like this game decided who would win the WOAC.

“I told them, the king has been dethroned. They’re the big dog now. I think tonight was for the league,” Morris said.

It was a scoreless game heading into the fourth inning. Tri-Village sophomore Camryn Osborne put the Lady Patriots ahead with a solo home run.

In the fifth inning, sophomore Tai Mize drove in a run off a sacrifice groundout to put Tri-Village up 2-0. Senior Kiersten Wilcox added on two more runs on a double.

Senior Emilie Fout drove in Arcanum’s first run of the game in the sixth inning. All game long, the Lady Trojans were able to get runners in scoring position. They couldn’t get the one hit they needed to score them.

Sophomore Elizabeth Poling was able to hold off the Arcanum offense. Poling and the Tri-Village defense made plays to get themselves out of those jams.

Osborne said they are proud of Poling for navigating those tough situations and staying mentally strong.

“We’re so proud of her. We were pushing her. So far, she hasn’t had to pitch seven innings. To have the pressure on too, it takes a lot of a mental game out there on the mound,” Osborne said.

Tri-Village scored one more run in the seventh inning off a sacrifice flyout by sophomore Aereonna Baker.

Arcanum made up for that run in the bottom of the seventh as freshman Matty Noe drove in a run to try to spark a comeback. But like it was all game long, Poling and the Lady Patriots got the final outs and left a few Arcanum base runenrs stranded.

Morris said he has to figure out a way to get the team back on track. He will start by shaking up the lineup and seeing if that can get some players going at the plate.

So far, the team hasn’t been able to make quick adjustments at the plate.

“We’re just not adjusting at the plate quick enough. Right now, I think we’re looking for some leadership. We got to have people who are going to go up there and swing the bat and want to put the ball in play. Somebody that wants to be up there at big moments,” Morris said.

Osborne said she is proud of how her team ended the game. They didn’t panic when Arcanum scored late in the game. They learned from their loss to Versailles earlier in the season when they lost in the bottom of the seventh off a walk-off hit.

The Lady Patriots stayed mentally strong and finished the job.

Poling finished with six strikeouts. Senior Hannah Kendig pitched six innings for Arcanum and had seven strikeouts. Senior Belle Harleman pitched the last inning and had a strikeout.

Arcanum did get back into the win column with a 7-5 road win at Milton Union on April 10. Junior Kenzie Byrne had two RBI and a home run. Fout hit a home run as well. Harleman pitched three innings and had a strikeout. Freshman Cam Garbig pitched four innings and had a strikeout.

Arcanum will host Kenton Ridge on April 13 at 11 a.m. They will then host National Trail on April 16 at 5 p.m.

Tri-Village will host back to back games. They will host Milton Union on April 15 at 5 p.m. and then host Dixie on April 16 at 5 p.m.

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

Around the county:

Bradford (2-4, 1-2)

The Lady Railroaders lost a close one at Tri-County North, 7-6. The Lady Panthers scored the game-winning run in the fifth inning. Freshman Addy Mills had two RBI. Freshman Calli Didonato and junior Lex Clark each had a RBI as well. Freshman Vivian Harleman pitched 3.2 innings and had three strikeouts. Sophomore Casey Bolen pitched 1.1 innings and had two strikeouts. Bradford will be at Greenville on April 13 for a noon first pitch. They will then host Celina on April 15 and then Preble Shawnee on April 16 with both games starting at 5 p.m.

Franklin Monroe (2-8, 2-1)

The Lady Jets won 2-0 over Dixie. Senior Jocelyn Gray drove in both runs for Franklin Monroe. Senior Keihl Johnson shut down the Lady Greyhounds pitching all seven innings and having three strikeouts. They will have a double header on April 13 at home. They will start off with a game against Fairlawn at 10 a.m. They will then have back to back road games. They will be at Bellbrook on April 15 and at Tri-County North on April 16 with both games starting at 5 p.m.

Greenville (7-4, 5-1)

The Lady Wave got back into the win column with a 15-4 win over Tippecanoe. Senior Mahayla Cook had two home runs and three RBI. Junior Zoey Burns and sophomore Kendall Cromwell each had three RBI. Senior Haleigh McDermitt, junior Kylar Arnett and freshman Lizzie Shaffer each had two RBI. Burns pitched five innings and had three strikeouts. Shaffer pitched two innings and had two strikeouts. The Lady Wave will have a double header on April 13. They will host Bradford at noon and then play Milton Union after. Greenville will then host Xenia on April 15 and host Piqua on April 17 with both games starting at 5 p.m.

Mississinawa Valley (3-2, 2-1)

The Lady Blackhawks won 9-3 at Newton on April 9. Freshmen Emma Brock and Gentry Newbauer each had a home run and three RBI. Senior MacKenzea Townsend and freshman Ella Godfrey each had a RBI as well. Godfrey pitched seven innings and had 11 strikeouts. Mississinawa Valley will host St. Henry on April 13 at 10 a.m. They will then head to Twin Valley South on April 16 at 5 p.m.

Versailles (6-1, 0-1)

The Lady Tigers lost their first game of the season against Fort Recovery, 3-2. Senior Jenna Dirksen had a solo home run. Senior Lydia Hecht drove in the only other Versailles run. Senior Colleen Hiestand had five strikeouts in seven innings pitched. Versailles will have a double header at Carlisle on April 13 starting at 11 a.m. and then host Minster on April 16 at 5 p.m.

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