ATHENS CONTINUES HOT HITTING IN 19-9 WIN OVER TOWANDA; IMPROVES TO 5-
By: Chris Manning / April 7, 2021 / Photo: Chris Manning
ATHENS — It was a hitter’s type of day as Athens stayed unbeaten,
topping Towanda, 19-9, in five innings during NTL Large School Division
softball action Tuesday.
“I never thought it was going to
happen,” said coach Mickey Farrell. “Again our bats were on fire here.
It’s the same old, same old; our defense has got to get better, and we
can not be walking 7-8-9 hitters, and we’re doing that a lot.
“But to be undefeated at this point, how can you not be happy?”
The Wildcats used a 10-run first inning to take a 10-2 lead, then simply went back and forth with Towanda from there on out.
Caydence
Macik (2-for-3) had a home run, double, two runs scored and two RBI for
the Wildcats, while Audrey Hatch (2-for-4), Aliyah Butler (2-for-3) and
Macie Coyle (2-for-4) all had multi-hit games. Hatch had three runs
scored with an RBI, Butler crossed home three times, and Coyle had a
double with two runs and three RBI.
Harley Sullivan (1-for-3) and
Mallory Mummert (1-for-2) each scored three times and had two RBI,
while Addy Repsher (1-for-3) and Megan Collins (1-for-3) both scored and
Megan Collins also had an RBI. Carlie Simpson (1-for-1) had an RBI,
with Ashlyn VanFleet knocking in two runs while also scoring.
Macik got the win, striking out one with eight walks.
Lizzy Matera (3-for-3) and Maddie Maynard (3-for-3) led Towanda. Maynard had a double with two runs, and Matera scored one run.
Jocelyn Bennett (2-for-4) and Athena Chacona (2-for-2) also had multi-hit games with Chacona adding a double.
Shaylee
Greenland (1-for-2), Paige Perry (1-for-2) and Saige Greenland
(1-for-2) also had hits. Shaylee Greenland doubled and scored two runs,
and Perry and Saige Greenland both scored. Brea Overpeck crossed home
twice as well.
Maynard gets the loss, striking out three with eight walks.
Towanda started off strong as Chacona hit a two-out double to put the Knights up 2-0.
In
the bottom half of the inning, though, Athens batted around. At one
point seven straight batters came around to score. Macik punctuated the
rally with a two-out home run to right field, avenging a strikeout from
earlier in the inning.
Towanda didn’t lie down, though, as
Shaylee Greenland led off the next inning with a single and eventually
scored, cutting it to 10-3.
The Wildcats would add on with a
two-out rally in the second inning, as Coyle reached on an error,
followed by Sullivan getting a single and Hatch doubling. All three
would end up scoring in the inning to make it 13-3 Athens.
In the
bottom of the third, the Wildcats went up 15-3 as Butler and Mummert
led off with back-to-back walks. After two outs were record, Coyle
doubled them in.
Towanda came back in the top of the fourth,
scoring four runs. Saige Greenland started the rally with a one-out
walk. Two batters later, Matera and Overpeck drew walks, setting the
table for Maynard, who doubled all three in. She would later score on a
Chacona single to cut it to 15-7.
However, they couldn’t bring Matera around, and Athens ended the game on a pitcher to first base put out.
Going forward don’t expect the Wildcats to let off the gas anytime soon.
“We just want to keep the same approach,” said Farrell. “We have a simple approach with two strikes. We preach confidence, and we’re very aggressive — 2-0, 3-0 we’re swinging, so that’s the approach we take.”
Athens, now 5-0, returns to action Thursday when it hosts Troy.
