By Adam Knoll
Sports correspondent
Last Tuesday, the Lady Whippets varsity softball team traveled to Big Foot for a conference crossover game and went ready for a fight. Whitewater scored three runs in the first two innings to take the lead and catching the home team off guard. Unfortunately, the momentum did not last and Big Foot was able to stabilize and keep Whitewater from scoring the remainder of the game resulting in a 13-3 loss for WHS.
Kacie Snyder began the game with a double, the first of two in the game for her. Michaela Schumacher ripped an RBI single and then stole second base. That allowed Izzy Zahn to get an RBI single of her own, right up the box and into the outfield.
In the second, Whitney Tredor started it off with a walk, and would come home on Snyder’s second double. After that, however, the scoring for Whitewater ended, and Big Foot was able to control the damage and get the victory. Michaela Schumacher again ended up with the loss. In the end, it was the errors that reared their head, again.
“Too many errors hurt us tonight,” head coach Dan Dowden said. “(Big Foot) is a good hitting team and run the bases as well as anyone. Again, we need to clean up our defense. It was nice to see the bats working early tonight though.”
Doubleheader sweep
Whitewater certainly eyed its double header with Jefferson as an opportunity to get back on track, and it was an opportunity they did not miss.
In the first game, Michaela Schumacher picked up her third win of the season, as Whitewater beat Jefferson 5-2. Schumacher struck out five while walking only two.
At the plate, Schumacher and Emilie Kachel each went 2-for-3. Emily Stoll had two RBIs, leading the team offensively.
Defensively, Whitewater came up with the big plays that have eluded them much of this season and helped ensure a clean victory, the third for the team this season.
In the second game the Whippets kept up the intensity. Schumacher pitched again, this time leading the team to a 6-2 victory, earning the team its fourth victory on the season.
Schumacher had 12 strikeouts as the Jefferson hitters started to wear down at the end of a long night.
Sally Hixson was hot at the plate going 3-for-4 and Kacie Snyder and Michaela Schumacher each went 2-4, helping the team’s winning effort.
Again, great defense all around the field kept Jefferson at bay. If Whitewater can continue playing this kind of defense, wins should come much easier.
“(The) doubleheader sweep was a lot of fun. It was nice to see the girls play good clean defense and bat the ball around,” Dowden said after the game.
Evansville stops rally
The good times did not continue, however, as Whitewater had a tough day against Evansville, losing 11-2 in game 1 and 11-8 in game two.
“The team worked hard,” explained Dowden, “but (we were) not able to hold Evansville’s good hitter down.”
In game No. 1, Michaela Schumacher went the distance in picking up another loss. She has pitched well this year but doesn’t always have the support needed to aid her. Kacie Snyder went 2-for-4 at the plate.
The Whippets returned to its erroneous ways in the first game, committing several errors that led to multiple runs for Evansville.
In the second game, Whitewater fought back, and nearly took Evansville out. Izzy Zahn started up the seventh inning with a single. Being down four runs at that point, the Whippets were looking for base runners. Sierra Minton came in to pinch run, and would score on Emily Stolls single later in the inning.
Now down 11-8, Whitewater was able to load the bases, yet no more runs would cross the plate in a difficult, yet rewarding loss because of the team pulling together.
Kacie Snyder and Michaela Schumacher each hit home runs in the game. Schumacher pitched the entire game, collecting four strikeouts and only walking one.
“After a sleepy start to the day, the girls rallied around each other and played well,” said Dowden. “Hopefully we can take this momentum into this week and win a few more games.”
