A good at-bat in the final inning gives Crawfordsville’s softball team some energy moving forward, but it was still attached to a 15-2 loss to Attica.
Falling to 0-2 on the young season, the Athenians got both of their runs, and half of their six hits, in the final trip to the plate.
“That last at-bat shows the fight these girls have,” first-year coach Mackenzi Landrum said. “We battled throughout the game, and that last inning we lit a little fire. We’ve seen a lot of good things this first week, especially with some leadership roles.”
That last at-bat started with Addie Hodges rocketing a shot right back at Attica pitcher Addy Small. The junior would advance on a Molly Pierce single and score on an error. It was her second hit of the game after a second inning double.
Pierce scored the second run on a hit to left by Celeste Moore, as Moore registered her second hit of the game. The sophomore led off the bottom of the first with a double.
“Celeste bounced back from last night,” Landrum noted, referring to the season-opening loss to Fountain Central. “She really stepped up and proved herself.”
Moore, along with Pierce and Bailey Crane, were voted captains by the team.
“We’ve got some underclass players stepping up in leadership roles,” Landrum said, pointing out that Pierce is a freshman, Moore a sophomore. “We also have our seniors wanting to leave the program better than they found it.” Crane is a senior.
The Red Ramblers, who finish the week with a sweep of all three Montgomery County schools, start their season 3-0.
They got a run in the first and second, seven in the third and a half-dozen in the fifth.
“It was a good week,’ Attica coach Dean Branstetter said. “We’ve got our infield that has been playing together for three years, backing up three pitchers who had nine inning of varsity experience coming in. We played 17 innings this week to get them going. I reminded the team that last year we started 3-0 and won five games all season. Our junior and seniors are making better decisions at the plate and fewer mistakes in the field. We’ve got more speed than last season, so our plan is get them on, them over, and get them in. Our hitters came to the plate looking for their pitch instead of walks.”
Every Attica hitter that came to the plate reached at least once, and every spot in the order scored at least once.
Leadoff hitter Aleah Cruz had two hits, reached all four at-bats and scored three times. Three other runners scored twice.
Small pitched all five innings, scattering six hits and the two runs. The sophomore didn’t walk a hitter and struck out two.
The season stays in full swing for both teams. The Red Ramblers travel to Frontier Monday and start WRC play Tuesday against Covington.
The Athenians travel to Greencastle, 14-2 winners over Southmont tonight, on Saturday. They head to West Lafayette Monday and start Sagamore Conference action Tuesday against Danville.
