A grand NIC win for Lady Lions
BREMEN — Similar to how a flurry of three-pointers in basketball can add up the points in a hurry, extra-base hits do the same in softball.
Eight of Bremen’s 15 hits Wednesday went for extra bases, including a grand slam and four home runs total, as the Lady Lions defeated Glenn, 12-2, in a five inning Northern Indiana Conference contest at Pfeiffer Field Wednesday.
“We are finally hitting again,” said Bremen head coach Mike Huppert, after watching his team put up five runs in both the first and fourth innings. “the girls have learned to hit it hard. Most of them have a great swing plane and they just hit it hard.”
the big boppers were seniors Ellia Foster and Gretchen Willis. Foster went 3-for-3 with two HRS and a double, while knocking in four runs. She had a three-run blast in the first inning and led off the third with a solo dinger.
“Ellia had been getting behind in the count (in previous games), but now she just sees it and hits it,” Huppert said of his shortstop. “Gretchen is coming off an injury (hip surgery in late Feb) and was just cleared in early April. We want to get her some swings and we moved her to second base (from third) to take some of the pressure off the hip. It’s nice having her down in the order (No. 7 Wednesday). When the top players (in the order) get on, then the next thing you know your No. 7 hitter is hitting home runs, that’s nice. She’s a senior and knows the game. the most important thing is she is pain free.”
Well, not exactly. She was a pain - to the Glenn pitching - going 2-for-3 with two homers and six RBIS. She hit a two-run HR in the first inning three batters after Foster’s long ball, then crushed a grand slam to account for four of the five runs in what turned out to be the team’s last at-bat.
Mikayla Shively, Christina Grabowski and Nasya Zavala each added two hits apiece for the Lady Lions.
On the mound, Grabowski was the winning pitcher. the righthander scattered six hits, struck out six and walked just one.
“She is a trooper and a half,” Huppert said of the freshman hurler. “She plays travel ball so she is an experienced player. She has a great attitude too.”
the only Lady Falcon who figured her out was Kendall Goodlink, who went 2-for-2 with a home run and 2 RBIS.
Bremen is back at home to take on potential sectional opponent Fairfield Friday at 5 p.m. Glenn hosts Culver Community on Saturday. First pitch is 10 a.m.
• BREMEN 12, GLENN 2
At Bremen
Glenn 011 00 - 2 6 1 Bremen 502 5x - 12 15 0 Amanda Capales (L) and Natalie Wilton; Christina Grabowski (W) and Jaylin Swint, Delainey Neher (5).
2B: Avery Wildauer (B), Katie Moyer (B), Swint (B), Ellia Foster (B)
HR: Foster 2 (B), Gretchen Willis 2 (B), Kendall Goodlink (G) Records: Bremen 4-1 (1-0 NIC), Glenn 3-6 (0-3 NIC)