Strong pitching and one good inning on offense carried the Cardington softball team past East Knox by a 4-1 margin Wednesday evening.
After starting pitcher Ari Simpson gave up a first-inning run to the visiting Bulldogs, she and Genevieve Longsdorf were able to pitch out of trouble with no further damage done the rest of the way. The Pirates then rallied with a four-run third inning that provided the rest of the game’s scoring.
Things looked rough for Cardington in the early going, as East Knox opened the game with three consecutive singles by Hannah McCoy, Baylee Comer and Natalie Smith to hold a one-run lead with two runners on base and nobody out in the first inning. However, Simpson settled down and recorded three straight outs with no further damage done.
“That was huge,” said head coach Tod Brininger. “Ari settled down in that first inning and we made some nice plays. They could have scored a lot more in that first inning. Two on, nobody out and scored a run. They could have put up a lot more runs, but our pitching stepped up and carried us.”
Simpson then pitched a perfect second inning and worked around a double and walk in the third. While the Pirates couldn’t muster any offense during the first two innings against East Knox pitcher Maddy Cotsamire, the third was a different story.
Abby Ufferman opened the frame by drawing a walk and stealing second base, allowing her to score when Myleigh Bishop cracked a double. Bishop would advance to third on a bunt by Chloe Nida and then crossed home plate to make it a 2-1 Pirate lead on a groundout by Kayden Burchett.
With two outs, Cardington continued their strong inning with big back-to-back hits from Morgan Powell and Longsdorf. Powell got on base with a double, setting the stage for a Longsdorf home run to put the home team up by three.
Brininger noted that with a young team featuring a number of freshman starters, the leadership of returning varsity starters Simpson and Longsdorf has been crucial in keeping Cardington in contention for another KMAC title.
“We’ve been riding a roller coaster,” he said. “We’ve got five freshmen starting — you never know what you’re getting. We have nine freshmen out of the 16. They’re growing, they’re learning. Ari and G need to be leaders and are being leaders and showing these young ones how to play and they’re responding well. Tonight was a great team victory.”
The Pirates still had to work to preserve the win over the final four innings, as East Knox was able to settle down and keep them off the scoreboard the rest of the way — in part thanks to getting an out at home plate to close out the sixth inning.
The Bulldogs quickly threatened in the fourth inning, getting their first two batters — Kayla Finch and Gracie Sheasby — on base. Brininger would respond by making a pitching change, having Longsdorf relieve Simpson, and the move paid off as the junior got out of the inning with a pair of ground balls sandwiched around a strikeout.
Longsdorf would record eight strikeouts in her four innings of work and was able to strand a runner on second in the fifth inning and one on third in the seventh to preserve the win.
Brininger said that the continued growth of his young players will be essential to Cardington’s success as the season progresses.
“A lot was expected of them,” he said. “They were challenged at the beginning of the year to grow up really quick. We’ve had our ups and downs. We’ve lost some games I thought we should have won and have beat most everyone we should have beat. They’re growing up and, hopefully in the next week or two weeks, we grow up a lot and then the tournament…you never know.”
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
