By Kevin Cunningham
Correspondent
The Whippet baseball and softball teams each picked up wins against Edgerton recently, with both teams getting strong performances from their pitchers.
The Whitewater High School baseball team had two games this past week, with the first being at home against Edgerton.
In the first, behind the team’s home crowd, the Whippets got off to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and would never relinquish that lead.
The Whippets then scored in the third, fourth and fifth innings. The team amassed 10 hits and Jimmy DuVal went 2-for-4 at the plate while knocking in a game-high two runs. Every other player who recorded an RBI didn’t get more than one.
Jason Curtis pitched six innings and allowed two runs while striking out nine batters in his victory, a 7-3 victory for the Whippets.
After the four-run win, the team then hit the road to face Evansville.
Playing on the Whippets’ home field led to a home victory in the first game of the week and the trend followed suit for the second game.
Evansville got 10 hits on Whitewater, while the Whippets recorded four. DuVal, one of the players who recorded a hit, knocked in the lone run for the team as well.
Nine times throughout the game a Whippet batter struck out at the plate. James Dedrick started the game for the Whippets, but following Dedrick in relief was Jacob Lee who pitched four scoreless innings.
Evansville scored all five of its runs once the third inning concluded. With the 1-1 split in the week, Whitewater currently owns a 10-2 record. The Whippets started the year 4-0 before losing to Edgerton – the team they beat this past week – and then won six straight before losing to Evansville. The final was 5-1.
Softball team gets back to winning
The Whippets’ softball team had a 2-8 record on the season heading into a six-day stretch that featured four games on the schedule. Because of the weather, though, only two of the games were played.
On April 28, the Whippets faced Badger at home, and much like to what the baseball team accomplished, the softball team won its first game of the week with its home crowd in attendance. The team would win 4-0 and was the first time this season the team won with a shutout.
“(Sara Johnson’s) pitching was outstanding,” Whippet head coach Ron Sdano said. “She threw seven innings and only gave up two hits while not walking anyone. She struck out five also. She’s our top pitcher and she’s pitched four or five really good games in a row, but I’ve usually been taking her out after about four innings.
“Unfortunately, we just haven’t been able to give her a win. Against Big Foot it was 2-2 after four innings and somebody else got the win. There have been other games where we haven’t played well – we’ve made errors – we need to use two-to-three pitchers each game to give us a chance.”
The Whippets jumped out on Badger in the first inning with four runs, and for the remainder of the game, neither team would score. Johnson also recorded two RBIs with her victory on the mound and Alyssa Schumacher doubled, scoring another run.
Sdano talked more in-depth about Schumacher and another young player, who have been bright spots despite the team’s overall record.
“Alyssa Schumacher’s just a freshman,” he said. “And, she’s our leading hitter. She’s hitting just under .500 right now. She’s leading our team in runs batted in and hits. She’s really impressed me.”
In the second game – against Evansville – it was a road contest, and just like Whitewater’s baseball team, the softball team once again matched the outcome, losing the lone road game. Evansville won 11-1, leading to the rematch that will take place later in the week at Whitewater.
“Sara did start that game, but she didn’t have her best stuff tonight,” Sdano said. “She went two innings and got the loss. They hit the ball and she just didn’t have her best stuff. They have a good team. They had 12 hits in five innings, so they hit the ball really well.
“They have one of the top pitchers in our conference and then they have an all-state catcher who is only a junior and she hit a home run tonight against us. I figured that Evansville would battle McFarland for the title,” Sdano said.
With the 11-1 loss to Evansville, the team is now 3-9 overall. Of the seven games remaining on the schedule, five of them are at home. “I feel good about our girls,” Sdano said. “We have really cut down on our errors and our pitchers aren’t walking many girls, so, I really feel that defensively and pitching-wise, we’re getting better. Our hitting, we’re in a big slump. We’ve scored 15 runs in the last seven games, so, we’re averaging just over two runs in the last seven games.
“Once the weather warms up and these home games start coming in, I’m hoping that our bats come alive because right now, that’s what’s hurting us – we’re in a hitting slump as a team. We’re a very young team and we have to be patient. We have four freshmen and three sophomores starting. Our pitchers are all freshmen and sophomores, so we’re going to take our lumps this year, but I think in a year or two we’re going to be pretty darn good.”
