By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Here are the scores and stats from the high school softball games from April 22 – 24.

Franklin Monroe (6-15, 4-4) vs Mississinawa Valley (4-8, 3-6)

ARCANUM — Both teams came into their game on April 24 playing two games in the last two days.

Franklin Monroe won 24-0 over Trotwood-Madison on April 22. Junior Layni Ressler and freshman Faith Wintrow each had three RBI. Junior Lila Davis had 12 strikeouts in four innings pitched. Davis and senior Keihl Johnson combined to throw a no hitter. The Lady Jets then lost 12-2 at Tri-Village on April 23. Wintrow and senior Olivia Sease each had a RBI.

Mississinawa Valley lost 7-0 at Tri-County North on April 22. Sophomore Makenna Hoggatt pitched all six innings and allowed seven hits and struck out three batters. They then lost 17-1 to Bradford the next day. Freshman Emma Brock had a RBI.

Like in the previous two games, Mississinawa Valley was without their freshman pitcher Ella Godfrey. Mississinawa Valley head coach Max Guillozet said he is playing some players out of position to make up for some of the injuries on the team. The hobbled Lady Blackhawks are doing their best with what they got.

“The game is all about pitching. Right now, I’ve got three girls willing to step up and try to do the job. You just got to muster through it,” Guillozet said.

Mississinawa Valley came out swinging against Franklin Monroe. They scored three runs in the top of the first inning. Sophomore Cora Hoggatt and senior MacKenzea Townsend each had a RBI hit while Brock drove in a run on a sacrifice flyout.

Franklin Monroe head coach Jared Morris said Mississinawa Valley came out and found gaps early. Once his team settled in, they started to gain control over the game.

“They came out hitting the ball. Nothing we could do there. No errors that first inning. Gave up some hits, they got some runs. But, we settled in defensively and we responded well in the bottom of the first. We took advantage of some mistakes they made defensively. We also put the ball in play,” Morris said.

The Lady Jets scored five runs in the bottom of the first to grab the lead. Ressler and senior Jocelyn Gray each drove in a run. Senior Joanie Hall walked in a run to tie the game. They took the lead after scoring two runs on an error.

In the bottom of the second, Gray drove in a run on a RBI single and senior Aleya Beatty drove in a run off a sacrifice flyout. After another run scored on a wild pitch, the Lady Jets were up 8-3 after two innings.

The offense kept rolling as Franklin Monroe put up six runs in the third inning. Davis had a two-run hit to go up 11-3. Three more runs scored on walks and passed balls gave Franklin Monroe a 14-3 lead.

Senior Jozlynn Wintrow said once the team started to be more patient at the plate, they started to see more success at the plate.

“We just had to sit back in the batters box and wait for it. Other than that, I feel like we got on top of the ball and did what we needed to do,” Wintrow said.

Beatty echoed the same thought. She said once they started to catch on to Townsend, they were able to wait for the right pitch to attack.

Mississinawa Valley only had runners in scoring position twice after the first inning. Johnson and the Franklin Monroe defense got themselves out of those jams to keep the Lady Blackhawks off the scoreboard.

Guillozet said they are in a position right now where they have to score a ton of runs to win games. In this game, they couldn’t keep the bats going.

“I thought well, maybe we are going to hit the ball tonight. Then that fizzled out pretty quick. It is what it is,” Guillozet said.

Johnson said it was a team effort to get over the 3-0 deficit and keep the Mississinawa Valley offense in check.

“I think it was backed up defensively too. It took some adjustments pitching wise to lock in. But after that, it worked out,” Johnson said.

The Lady Jets finished out the game in the top of the fifth inning to secure the run-rule win. Johnson finished with six strikeouts while Townsend finished with three strikeouts.

Tournament draw is here as the brackets will be set on April 28. The seniors only have a few weeks of the regular season left before they end their high school career.

Johnson said they will enjoy these last games together and enjoy going through the postseason together. The Lady Jets are going to not only give it their all each game, but do their best to enjoy each game with each other.

“Enjoy our last couple games that we have together playing as a team. Just try to have fun. Still try in the game, but try to have fun. That way, we can enjoy our last few games,” Beatty said.

Franklin Monroe will be at Marion Local on April 29 and then at Ansonia on April 30. Each game is set for a 5 p.m. first pitch. Mississinawa Valley will host Randolph Southern on April 29 and host Preble Shawnee on April 30 with both games starting at 5 p.m.

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

Around the county:

Ansonia (13-4, 5-1)

The Lady Tigers won all three games early this week. They won 13-8 at Marion Local. Sophomore Kylie Caldwell had three RBI while junior Jayda Mangen had two RBI. Sophomore Abby Klingshirn had four strikeouts in four innings pitched. They then won 6-4 at Preble Shawnee. Sophomore Ava Thatcher had a home run and two RBI. Freshman Addison Geyer also had two RBI. Senior Abby Kramer had nine strikeouts in five innings pitched. They then won 2-0 at Dixie on April 24. Geyer and Thatcher came through once again as each player drove in a run. Kramer allowed one hit and struck out 10 in seven innings pitched. Ansonia will be at Riverside on April 29 and then host Franklin Monroe on April 30 at 5 p.m.

Arcanum (11-7, 7-1)

The Lady Trojans won back to back games on the road. They won 15-0 at Dixie on April 22. Junior Kenzie Byrne had a home run and five RBI in the game. Freshman Matty Noe had four RBI. Senior Belle Harleman allowed one hit and struck out six in five innings. They then won 18-1 at Twin Valley South the next day. Byrne, senior Emilie Fout and freshman Jordyn Garbig each had four RBI. Senior Hannah Kendig threw a no hitter with 11 strikeouts. Arcanum will be at Russia on April 29 and then host Tri-County North on April 30 with both games starting at 5 p.m.

Bradford (5-11, 3-4)

The Lady Railroaders started the week with an 11-0 loss to New Bremen. Sophomore Casey Bolin had six strikeouts in three innings pitched. They then won 17-1 at Mississinawa Valley. Bradford scored 12 runs in the second inning. Freshmen Lilly Canan and Vivian Harlemen each had a home run. Canan finished with three RBI. Harlemen and senior Tegan Canan combined to allow three hits on the mound. Bradford will be at St. Henry on April 29 and at Dixie on April 30 with both games starting at 5 p.m.

Greenville (18-4, 12-1)

The Lady Wave have now won 12 straight games with two wins over West Carrollton. They won 16-3 at West Carrollton on April 22. Junior Maddie Hutchens had three RBI. Three pitchers for Greenville combined for seven strikeouts. Greenville then won 10-0 at home over the Lady Pirates. Junior Morgan Thompson had three RBI with junior Kylar Arnett driving in two runs. Junior Zoey Burns had five strikeouts and allowed four hits in five innings on the mound. The Lady Wave will be at Troy on April 29 and host Sidney for their last regular season home game on May 1. Both games are at 5 p.m.

Tri-Village (11-1, 6-0)

The Lady Patriots have won 10 straight games now. They won 11-1 at Fort Recovery on April 22. Freshman Emma Greer had two RBI. Sophomore Elizabeth Poling had six strikeouts in five innings and Greer had three strikeouts in one inning on the mound. They then won 12-2 over Franklin Monroe. Senior Kiersten Wilcox had three RBI while sophomore Hailey Burk had two RBI. Poling had six strikeouts in six innings pitched. Up against the only other undefeated WOAC team, Tri-Village won 3-0 over Tri-County North. Sophomore Camryn Osborne had a home run. Burk and junior Emma Cantrell each had a RBI. Poling allowed three hits and had six strikeouts in seven innings pitched. After the Dylan Williams Tournament, Tri-Village will host Twin Valley South on April 30 at 5 p.m.

Versailles (11-5, 0-3)

Versailles started the week with a 10-9 walk-off win over Covington on April 22. Senior Cassie Leach drove in the game winning run on a sacrifice flyout. She had three RBI on the day with senior Lydia Hecht driving in a pair of runs as well. Senior Colleen Hiestand pitched all seven innings and had three strikeouts. They then lost 10-0 at Coldwater the next day. Senior Kailey Jenkinson had the team’s only hit of the game. Hiestand had six strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched. Versailles will be at New Bremen on April 29 and then host Marion Local on April 30 with both games at 5 p.m.

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