Danielle Ray tossed a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts for Badin, which dispatched visiting Roger Bacon 4-0 and moved a step closer to the Greater Catholic League Coed Central Division championship.
“It was good to have some competition,” Ray said. “It felt good to go out there and really want a game. The energy is unreal.”
The Rams, 22-1 overall and 11-0 in the GCLC, are barreling toward their sixth straight league title and can clinch at least a share of the crown with a win Friday at Carroll.
Badin has outscored its opponents 222-12. League opponents have gone down by a combined margin of 132-1 (Chaminade Julienne is the only GCLC squad to score on the Rams).
Bacon coach Chuck Lindner was as happy as a coach that just got blanked could be. Two weeks ago, his Spartans got no-hit by Ray in a 14-0 beating.
“We took them seven innings, and they only scored four runs on us,” said Lindner, whose daughter Ashton went the distance in the circle. “The biggest thing was trying to keep their runs down. That was our goal, and we did. We haven’t beaten them in four years since I’ve taken over. This is my daughter’s senior year, and she was on the mound and did a heck of a job.
“You’d have to say it is a moral victory. It takes us into the (Division III) tournament with a good spirit because we’ve had umpires tell us we’re the second-best team in the GCL. We haven’t played McNick yet, so we’ll see.”
Badin tallied all four runs in the third inning. Thanks to an early error in the frame, everything was unearned.
Four straight Ram hits — a double by Ray, a single by Lexi Wurzelbacher, a triple by Sam Sander and a single by Allie Link — produced a run apiece.
Wurzelbacher collected two of Badin’s nine hits against Lindner, who had six strikeouts. The Rams played without cleanup hitter Lauren Moser, who was sick.
“After what we saw last night with the slow pitching (from Carroll), sometimes it takes us a couple innings to get our triggers reset to face pitching like this,” Badin coach Greg Stitzel said. “It’s like in baseball, adjusting from a Greg Maddux to a Randy Johnson. Major leaguers have got to do it all the time. So do we.”
Brittany Jerger, Harmonie Kugele, Ava Caldwell and Lindner notched singles for Bacon (12-5, 8-2). The Spartans had runners on first and second with one out in the fourth before Ray escaped the jam with a pair of punch-outs.
“I give credit to Bacon for being a pretty good team,” Stitzel said. “Getting four hits off Ray was a little bit of a victory for them. They played pretty heads-up and made some nice defensive plays.”
Ray, who didn’t pitch for a large chunk of last season because of a back injury, said she’s not 100 percent. Nothing is severe enough to send her to the bench, but it’s all having a cumulative effect.
“I’m battling a couple things right now,” Ray said. “It’s mostly soreness turning into worse injuries. I’m definitely feeling the extra pressure on my body. I just keep it one game at a time and just keep digging a little deeper.”
She got some quality defensive help and started a 1-6-3 double play in the fifth inning. Left fielder Anna Cantwell was a standout, as were Wurzelbacher at third base and Link at second.
“I don’t get nervous,” Ray said. “I believe in my teammates and they obviously had my back today, as you could see with the good defense.”
Chuck Lindner said he respects the program that Stitzel has built.
“Badin has always been tough,” he said. “They’ve got girls that play select. I’ve got two. That’s a huge difference.”
The Rams reached the D-III regional semifinals last year and figure to be seeded first in the Dayton sectional draw Sunday. Yet they’re trying to downplay the expectations.
“We don’t even think about it,” Ray said. “We have Carroll tomorrow, and I know what jersey we’re wearing. That’s about all I know.”
Bacon will host McNicholas on Monday at Vine Street Park.
Roger Bacon 000-000-0—0-4-1
Badin 004-000-x—4-9-0
WP — Danielle Ray (14-0); LP — Ashton Lindner (12-5). Records: RB 12-5, 8-2 GCLC Central; B 22-1, 11-0 GCLC Central
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