Mathews picks up league win in Akron, topples Chalker, 7-2
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AKRON -- With how Mother Nature has been to start this season, if there’s an opportunity to get a game in, coaches are taking it.
Mathews and Chalker had an opportunity to get a game in, both making the trip to Akron’s Firestone Stadium to make it happen.
The rust was apparent - and both coaches will be the first to admit it - but the Mustangs took advantage of some well-placed balls and strung together enough hits to dispatch their league rival 7-2.
"There was a lot of rust," Mathews coach Jim Nicula said. "(Olivia Matheny) was extremely sharp in the circle which was a blessing, because she just took care of business to allow us to finally get some bats going. We were just really rusty. It took a while, and we never really got there. We had a couple of bursts there where we strung some stuff together, but it wasn’t consistent enough. We need to be better than that."
While the rust was there, the Mustangs had a couple spurts in the second and fourth innings. Mathews was able to send two runners home in the second, and four in the fourth.
Ashia Pate knocked home a runner in each inning.
Mustangs sophomore Rilee Paddock has had a great start to the year and kept it rolling on Thursday. In the top of the seventh, the second-year outfielder knocked the ball to right field and got a favorable roll that allowed her to round the bases.
With the schedule being so inconsistent at the beginning of the season, it’s often hard for a hitter to find that much-desired rhythm. For Paddock, confidence in the box has been crucial.
"It’s confidence," Paddock said. "When I struggle, it’s because I’m not ready to go. When I’m ready to go, I hit way better. When I’m watching the ball, it’s just timing, and it’s just practice. There’s nothing more, you just have to practice.
"I think we all just kind of just figured it out on our own. We all just found something and we just did it. We just try to do what we do best."
This marks just the second time that Chalker has hit the field this season.
At 1-1, the biggest key is still making sure everyone is comfortable in their respective roles.
With new faces in new places, that has to come before anything else.
"It’s early," Wildcats coach Rich Hudak said. "Obviously we have many people playing in different positions than they have been, so it’s a learning curve for us. And that’s okay. We’re going to keep working at it and knock the rust off. It’s good to see live pitching. (Matheny) is one of the best pitchers around, threw a heck of a game. We haven’t seen a lot of pitching other than our own pitchers in practice, so it was good (to face some live pitching again.)"
Chalker is scheduled to take on Windham at 4:30 this evening in Windham.
Mathews (4-1) has a brutally tough stretch coming up.
On Saturday, the Mustangs are scheduled to take on Marysville and Gahanna Lincoln. The following Saturday, both Poland and Boardman await them. During the week, two league opponents in Bristol and Badger are on tap.
With that stretch on the horizon, Nicula wants to see more focus out of his team than he saw Thursday. With that focus, Mathews is a hard team to stop.
"They’re very talented. There’s a ton of talent here. We’re returning district champs and regional finalists and we have everybody back but one kid," Nicula said. "It should just be business as usual. It’s up to them to get it ready to go once the game starts."
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