Softball: Bulldogs split with No. 4 Muscatine
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By Dearrel Bates | Friday, June 20, 2008 |
With a come-from-behind 4-3 second-game victory over No. 4 state-ranked Muscatine on Thursday night, Bettendorf’s softball team has thrust itself into the Mississippi Athletic Conference title picture.
The Bulldogs, after suffering a 1-0 loss to the visitors in the opening contest of the doubleheader, fought back from a 3-0 deficit to tally one run in the fifth inning, two in the sixth and the game-winner in the seventh. It was a run-scoring single to right by Erika Sevigny that scored Kayla Antle with the deciding run.
“I’ve been struggling at the plate, and while there was a lot of pressure, we didn’t want extra innings,” said Sevigny, a graduated senior. “Our team is playing well right now, but we have a tough schedule ahead.”
Muscatine (9-3) and Bettendorf (7-3) have three losses in the MAC as does Davenport West (7-3) and North Scott (7-3). All four teams trail league-leader Burlington (9-1) by two games in the loss column.
“We’ve had a tough schedule all season, but we’ve got Pleasant Valley, West and Burlington ahead in the league after we go to the Urbandale tournament this weekend,” first-year head coach Mark Lewis said. “We’re young with five freshmen starting, but we can bite just about anybody, but in turn anybody can bite us.”
It appeared Muscatine (17-5 overall) was going to bite the Bulldogs twice, jumping into a 3-0 lead in the first three innings of the nightcap.
Hits by Haylie Franklin, Danielle Frere and Erika Wagner produced one run before Wagner and Frere worked a double steal to make it 2-0 in the first. A Bettendorf error allowed the third Muskies’ run to cross the plate.
“We didn’t lose that game in the sixth or seventh inning,” Muscatine coach Dennis Schuur said. “We stranded too many runners (eight). We had Bettendorf down 3-0 and perhaps could have buried them if we bring some of those runners home.
“We need to shore up our defense. This had to be maybe our most disappointing loss this season.”
Schuur was talking about the sixth inning when the Muskies committed a couple of costly errors that combined with hits by Shelby Michaelis and a two-run single by Andrea Schmertman — her third straight safety of the game — for the two tying runs. Ashley Perkins had knocked in a run with a hit in the fifth.
Morgan Lintz picked up the pitching win, allowing seven hits while issuing four walks and striking out one. Kayla Gaunt, the winning pitcher in the opener for the Muskies, had relieved starter Kassy Middagh in the sixth and took the loss. Combined, they gave up nine hits and fanned three.
Contact the sports desk at (563) 383-2285 or sports@qctimes.com.
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