Softball: Potent bats not enough for Fenwick in 16-11 loss to Bacon

Falcons coach George Moore has experienced this scenario before, and he admitted it’s getting a bit frustrating.

“What you saw today was kind of the story of our season,” Moore said after visiting Roger Bacon recorded a 16-11 Greater Catholic League Coed Division victory.

“We’re a good team. We’ve hit better than we have in the past. But we kind of do ourselves in with the errors. I think we lead the league in errors by a decent margin.”

Fenwick had five physical errors and a couple mental errors as well in falling to 6-14 overall and 2-10 in the GCLC North.

The Spartans (8-7, 6-6 GCLC Central) have some pretty good bats of their own and were led by Harmonie Kugele (4-for-4, double, inside-the-park home run, six RBIs), Arrington Walker (3-for-3, two doubles, RBI) and Haley Hoffman (3-for-5, double, two RBIs).

“Most games, scoring 11 runs is a winner, right?” Moore said with a smile. “I know we’re young, but we’ve killed ourselves in a lot of games. We usually have that one bad inning. Today, we started out that way.”

Bacon put up six runs before the Falcons got a chance to hit, and it was 8-0 heading to the bottom of the third. That’s when Fenwick exploded for seven runs to make it a one-run affair. A three-run triple by Annabelle Thomas was the big blow in that frame.

But that was as close as the hosts would get.

“I didn’t think we’d come back like that, but we did, so that’s good,” said Falcons sophomore center fielder Claudia Miller, who doubled twice, singled, drove in a run and scored three times. “I think we can keep pushing and getting better. We can get closer as a team and work better together.”

Thomas was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, losing pitcher Jess Finley contributed a double, a triple and two RBIs, and Rachel Berling added a double and a single for Fenwick.

Falcons junior catcher Sammy Bany left the game in the fourth inning after a collision with Olivia Horton at home plate. Moore said he doesn’t believe Bany’s injury is serious.

Spartans coach Chuck Lindner said his squad has also been plagued with errors this year, committing four Tuesday. But Bacon just keep swinging.

What was he thinking when the Spartans’ eight-run lead shrank to one?

“Well, I’ve seen it go both ways, so it was good to see them go the right way this time,” Lindner said. “Our fielding was pretty sketchy in the third inning, but they settled down after that. Fenwick’s got a good team. They’re young, and they don’t give up.”

Ava Caldwell went the distance in the circle for Bacon. Becca Dance added two hits and two RBIs to the winning effort.

“I thought we’d have a couple more wins, but we’re going into the tournament on a good streak,” said Lindner, whose team has won six of its last seven games.

The Spartans are seeded eighth in the Division III Cincinnati sectional and will open on the road against No. 3 Reading on Monday.

Fenwick will begin D-III Dayton sectional play Monday. The Falcons are seeded eighth and will visit No. 5 East Clinton.

“If we can build some momentum and straighten out our defense, I think we’ve got a chance to win some games,” Moore said. “We beat Northridge last year and then nearly beat Badin, and I think we’re in the same place this year.”

Both teams will return to GCLC action Wednesday. Fenwick will host Carroll, while Bacon travels to McNicholas.

Roger Bacon 620-530-0—16-15-4

Fenwick 007-010-3—11-11-5

WP — Ava Caldwell (6-4); LP — Jess Finley (3-7); HR — R: Harmonie Kugele. Records: R 8-7,6-6 GCLC Central; F 6-14, 2-10 GCLC North