The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Black River hands Brookside third LC8 loss
In a year with high hopes, Brookside’s year has not gone the way it imagined.
In a Lorain County League showdown with Black River, the Pirates’ 10-0 win over the Cardinals sank them in a deeper hole in the conference title race.
Black River blasted 15 hits in five innings. However, Brookside’s fielding didn’t help either, according to Coach Scott Nader.
“I think that we are up to 37 errors in 11 games, and that’s too much,” Nader said. “I don’t know if it’s overthinking the process, if they are hitting the panic button when they make plays. I can’t put my finger on (the cause). Trust me, if I could, I would. The conversation (after the game)
LATE APRIL 18 BLACK RIVER 10, BROOKSIDE 0
was that they need to decide what they want this season to be.”
Nader believed this game could be a reality check for the team, as it continues to battle in the LC8 and prepare for the Division II postseason.
“We all need to go home and look in the mirror, as opposed to pointing fingers and see what we can do to make this change,” he said.
Black River completed its sweep on Brookside, as it improved to 7-1 (5-1 in LC8). Brookside dropped to 6-6 (4-3) in LC8.
Just like Brookside’s 5-3 loss to Black River earlier in the year, the Pirates got on the board first, but in the first inning, as opposed to the bottom of the third. The
Cardinals limited the damage to get out of the inning with the bases loaded.
“When they get the bat on the ball, that ball goes hard to the field and it makes it harder for the defense to field a ball that is coming that hard,” Black River coach Jennifer Bradford said.
Black River’s bats continued where they left off in the second inning to total five hits. Two of which were home runs from pitcher Lilly Stief and Guliana Hulesch to extend the lead, 5-0.
“I was nervous about our offense (to start our season), but our offense has been able to put the ball in play. I was very pleased with our offensive effort,” she said.
Stief only struck out one batter, but the defense had one of its best performances all year, according to Bradford.
They quickly retired batters with a total of 28 pitches from the third inning down the home stretch. Steif threw a total of 51 pitches.
“If we don’t hit, we don’t score either. It seemed like whenever we hit a ball, it went right at (Black River). It is what it is,” Nader said.
Technically, Brookside is not out of the Lorain County League race. However, Black River seemed to be Keystone’s biggest threat in the conference.
Competing in the LC8 will be an uphill battle to say the least, but they believed the Cardinals can make some noise either as a contender or at least a spoiler.
“I still think that we can make a move. These girls work hard. We have pretty good leadership that is coming back, and they are going to figure it out,” Nader said.