Nevins off to strong start for Knights
Sophomore pitcher hurls North County to second straight win
Plenty of top-notch pitchers have gone through North County’s softball program.
While it might be way too early to anoint Jaclyn Nevins as the next star, she’s off to a good start.
Nevins picked up her second straight win with a four-hitter and struck out five in Wednesday’s 7-2 victory over Glen Burnie. Nevins, a sophomore, helped her cause with a two-run double in the bottom of the second for the Knights, who jumped to a 3-0 lead after two innings.
“She became the starter a couple days before the season and she’s stepped in and has filled some big shoes,” North County coach Kelly Guarnieri said. “She showed me that she’s not going to back down from anything. She has her team behind her and she’s going to keep throwing and work us through it.”
Nevins didn’t face too many tense moments in an 11-1 victory over No. 11 Northeast on Monday, but she had to pitch out of a jam in the top of the fifth to preserve the lead on Wednesday. After the first three Glen Burnie hitters reached base, she forced three straight groundouts and limited the Gophers to just a pair of runs. Glen Burnie had two singles in the inning, but had just two other hits — both singles — in the game. Nevins walked a pair and set the Gophers down in order in three of the seven innings. After she walked the leadoff hitter in the top of the sixth, she retired the final six hitters.
“I felt good. I had my teammates behind meandif anything happened they could pick me up,” Nevins said. “There’s pressure, of course, but as long as I have a good group of North County sophomore Jaclyn Nevins pitched a four-hitter against Glen Burnie for her second straight victory. girls behind me I know I can do it.”
Colleen O’Devin singled in Emily Weichert with the Knights’ first run in the bottom of the first. After the Gophers cut into the lead in the top of the fifth, North County got one of the runs back when Weichert scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-2. Courtney Leisner singled in a run in the sixth and Weichert capped the scoring with a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth.
Weichert, the Knights’ leadoff hitter, was on base three times and scored a pair of runs. North County has scored 18 runs in just 10 innings in its first two games.
“It’s a very good start to the season. We’re coming out really strong and have picked up where we left off last year,” Guarnieri said. “We’re aggressive. We’re driving the ball hard and they’re doing everything we ask of them.”
Mandy Purzner singled in a run and Jordan Fangman had an RBI groundout for the Gophers, who’ve lost two straight to start the season.
“She (Nevins) pitched well and we didn’t hit,” Glen Burnie coach Dave Sauble said. “We hit in the first inning of our last game, but after that our bats have been cold. I think we’re built to hit, and it’s just not coming. When they decide to hit like they know how, I don’t want to be the team on the other side.”