Mathews falls to Poland in close 3-0 battle
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POLAND - The Poland Bulldogs softball team is looking to be a well-rounded squad in 2022 with solid pitching and defense, along with clutch hitting. They were successful in all three of those phases Saturday afternoon in a 3-0 win over the Mathews Mustangs in non-conference action.
"We have a good mix of some upperclassmen that have been through this before," Bulldogs coach Jim Serich said. "The seniors were in the state semifinals when they were freshmen. The seniors are doing a great job of leading this team."
With the victory, the Bulldogs improve to 2-1 in the early season. The Mustangs fall to 1-1 on the year.
Poland's junior pitcher Katie McDonald picked up the victory by tossing a one-hitter while striking our 10 Mustang batters. While she was keeping the Mustang batters off-balance, Bulldogs' sophomore shortstop Mary Brant blasted a 2-run homer over the left-center field fence in the bottom of the fourth inning to provide all the support McDonald needed.
"When I went up to bat the first time, she threw me a first-pitch strike, but I didn't swing at it. I knew it was coming again, so I knew it would be a good pitch," Brant described her home run approach.
Brant would display her defensive skills and arm in the sixth inning when a liner deflected off the glove of third baseman Emily Denney to Brant. She would in turn fire a strike from deep in the hole at shortstop to first base, retiring the Mustangs batter.
The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the sixth inning when Sophia D'Angelo smacked a single to center to drive in Brant, who had led off the frame with a double to the left-field corner and then stole third.
"This was very important for momentum," Brant commented. "Katie pitched an awesome game and Red (D'Angelo) had a good game behind the plate. So this win is good for all of our confidence."
The loss overshadowed a tremendous performance by the Mustangs' senior pitcher Emma Gates who tossed a six-hit complete game. She recorded eight strikeouts while only issuing one free pass.
"Emma Gates threw a great game today," Serich remarked. "One mistake to Mary Brant. But that's the name of the game. She is a good pitcher, and they are a solid team to play against. That is why we scheduled them."
That performance is exactly what Mustang's first-year coach Thomas VanKirk is looking for from his squad. The Mustangs start five freshmen and have a total of eight on the roster. So they are looking to win games utilizing their pitching and defense this year.
"We had a softball boot camp since I was new to these guys. We just dived into footwork, defense. Our strength is one hundred percent our defense. We are scrappy on offense, we just need to break that open a little bit more," VanKirk explained.
The Bulldogs will return to action Monday when they host league-rival Struthers. The Mustangs will also return to league play Monday when they host Lordstown.
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