ELLETTSVILLE — The Edgewood softball team is in the middle of 11 games in 13 days.
They showed no signs of letting up on Tuesday, May 12.
The run started with a pair of sectional contenders, a tough 5-4 loss to No. 3 Cascade followed by a 5-0 win over Northview. Then came a sweep of three games at the Mustang Invitational and Monday’s 10-3 win over Martinsville.
After scoring 39 runs in it’s last five wins, No. 9 Edgewood looked anything but exhausted, pounding away at rival Owen Valley in a 17-1 five-inning win. Ally Bland tossed a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts and the Mustangs (20-4, 5-1) had 16 hits, including a pair of three-run homers.
Edgewood led 4-0 after one inning, added six more in the second and four more in the third to put it away early.
“We hit in every inning,” Edgewood coach Mick Hammett said. “We didn’t just get happy and go up there and mess around. We were patient and a couple of them hit the ball well. We’re happy with that.”
It turned into quite the extended celebration for Edgewood’s nine seniors who were recognized prior to first pitch, delivering the Mustangs’ sixth 20-win season in eight years.
Addison Yearby went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, Madi Bland went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs, Ella Sproul was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and Jayden Stephens was 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Freshman Braylin Bentley also went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
That said, it’s a still evolving team that will have to be at its best to win a postseason title.
“I hope we will still improve a little bit,” Hammett said. “We’ve two games Thursday and Friday and then we go down to Evansville (2A No. 5 Mater Dei and Reitz). Hopefully, we’ll get some things sorted out.
“During the (Mustang Invitational), we had one girl who hit really well. I think she’s going to jump into the lineup and couple of these others are going to have to fight it out. I didn’t want to do it on Senior Night, but tomorrow, I’m going to be blunt with them. We’re trying to make the best squad we can when it’s going to matter.”
Owen Valley still building for sectional
While Edgewood was giving OV starter Haley Amador a rough time, the Patriots struggled to string much together against Bland after putting the first two batters of the game on. Eight of the next 10 struck out.
“I thought after the first time through, we competed better at the plate,” OV coach Brian Greene said. “I thought we made some adjustments and had a little bit better plan when we went up there. (Bland’s) good, everybody knows she’s good.
“When we talked about it, I felt like we’ve just got to be better in all facets to compete at that level. Couldn’t give up extra outs, couldn’t give up extra bases. Just had to be a little bit tighter and cleaner. Even with location in the circle. But I thought Haley really gave us a good effort, they just hit the ball well.”
There certainly had to be an adjustment coming off a 23-6 win over struggling Eastern Greene that saw the Patriots (7-8, 2-4) pile up 22 hits. Bland was not nearly as forgiving.
Addy Applegate scored the Patriots only run with a solo homer to lead off the fourth. The only other hit was a single by Amador to start the game.
OV knows it has to prepare for a tough sectional opener against Cascade (17-2).
“I thought we did a good job as a team to not go, ‘Oh, poor me,'” Greene said. “We shrugged it off and kept playing.
“That comes in handy down the road here. We’ve got five more games to get ready for a tough sectional draw.”
Greene likes how his younger players, including freshman Tinsley Monroe, are coming along. Some lineup juggling is still taking place.
“I’m happy with them all around,” Greene said. “We’ve had one bad game where we didn’t like our approach, and one bad practice. This qualifies as a bad day but for a different reason.”
EDGEWOOD 17, OWEN VALLEY 1
Owen Valley (7-8, 2-4) 000 | 10 — 1 | 2 | 3
Edgewood (20-4, 5-1) 464 | 3x — 17 | 16 | 1
Haley Amador and Chanlie Tracy. Ally Bland and Jayden Stephens, Madi Bland (5). W: A.Bland. L: Amador. 2B: Braylin Bentley (E). HR: Addison Yearby (E), Madi Bland (E), Addy Applegate (OV).
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Edgewood softball powering through tough stretch, buries Owen Valley
Reporting by Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
