By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The Ada softball team tallied eight first inning runs and cruised to a 19-1 blowout of Delphos Jefferson in a Northwest Conference mismatch Thursday evening.
The Lady Bulldogs improved to 6-2 and 3-0 in the NWC (tied for first) with the victory. The Lady Wildcats fell to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the NWC with the defeat.
"Today was a good bounce-back win (after an 11-2 loss at Shawnee)," said Ada head coach Troy Erickson. "It was a good win. We made the routine plays on defense and had good discipline at the plate.
"And 3-0 in the league is a good start."
Ada jumped on Jefferson from the very start and buried the Jeff-Cats in the opening frame by batting around, and then some. Senior shortstop Olivia Alexander led off with a walk and later scored. Senior Teara Coulson singled, stole a base and scored.
Senior Sydney Newland singled and later came in to score. Senior Maddie Gossard doubled in a pair and eventually came around to score. Junior Raina England and starting freshman pitcher Leona Dalton walked, with Dalton scoring moments later.
Junior Alexis Ennis singled and scored. Sophomore Sidney Gossard sliced a two-run double. Senior Kaiti Newland walked and scored the eighth run of the home first.
Dalton retired DJ in order in the top of the second, then led off the home second with an infield pop-fly single. The fleet Ennis beat out an infield dribbler to the left side. Sid Gossard walked to load the bases.
Kaiti Newland reached when her grounder to the pitcher was booted, allowing Dalton to cross home with the ninth run. The next two batters were retired on ground ball force-outs to the pitcher, who threw home each time.
But Syd Newland then crushed a two-run double off the base off the left-center field fence to extend the lead to 11-0. Maddie Gossard then golfed a low pitch up into the wind and it carried over the center field fence for a three-run homer, making it 14-0.
Dalton again set the Wildcats down in order in the top of the third with a strikeout on a nice change-up, a grounder to first and a pop-out to third.
"Leona is starting to use her change-up well; you can't throw everything hard, hard, hard," noted Erickson.
In the home third, Ennis reached on a one-out error off a sharp grounder to third base. Sid Gossard looped a single to center. Kaiti Newland then bashed a double to the left-center field gap to plate Ennis.
Alexander pulled an RBI single past second base, and then Coulson laced another run-scoring single to left for a 17-0 bulge.
Lefty-swinging Syd Newland followed by ripping a line-drive double into the right field corner to make it 18-0. Maddie Gossard then had one of the most unusual at bats of the season.
She belted a homer to center, but the shot was negated by a baserunner leaving base before the pitch for out two.
A moment later Gossard crushed a liner over the left field wall, only to have it nullified again by a runner leaving early, ending the inning.
In the top of the fourth, Maddie Gossard relieved Dalton and several other reserves from the deep Bulldog bench entered the game on defense.
"It was nice to get everyone a chance to play and contribute," admitted Erickson.
DJ coaxed a walk but Gossard retired the other three batters easily. In the Ada fourth, freshman Tori Green smacked a leadoff single to left. Freshman Lexi Waugh then yanked a long single to right field.
After two strikeouts, frosh Aubrey Madison singled to right field to load the bases. Freshman Kiersten Cortez plated Green with the 19th and final Bulldog run on an RBI single to left.
In the Jefferson fifth, a high fly to right field resulted in a leadoff triple. An ensuing grounder to second base knocked in the lone DJ run. Gossard got the last two outs on another grounder to second sacker Brenna George, and via a gsme-ending strikeout.
The Lady Bulldogs out-hit DJ, 18-2. Catcher Sydney Newland doubled twice, singled, scored twice and knocked in five runs to help lead the onslaught.
Third sacker Maddie Gossard slammed her third home run of the season, and also hit a double and a single. She drove in a season-high six runs and scored twice as well.
Ennis scored twice and had two hits. Sid Gossard singled, doubled, scored once and knocked in a pair of runs. Kaiti Newland doubled, scored three times and drove in a run.
Alexander scored three runs, had a hit and a run batted in. Coulson singled twice and scored a pair of runs. Dalton scored twice and threw three innings of one-hit softball to get her fifth win. She struck out one and walked none.
Cortez added an RBI hit in her lone at bat. Green singled and scored, while Madison had an RBI hit.
1 2 3 4 5 R H E
DJ 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 x
Ada 8 6 4 1 x 19 18 x
WP-Dalton (5-2)
2B-S. Newland 2 (A), S. Gossard (A), M. Gossard (A), K. Newland (A)
3B-DJ
HR-M. Gossard (A)
Ada (4-2 on road) visits non-league arch-rival USV Friday at 5 p.m., their fifth game in as many days this week.
"We just need to focus on what we need to do to keep improving," said Erickson. "We need some close games to be pushed in tight situations."
Ada has scored 77 total runs in its last six games, an average of 12.8 per outing.
