Ranger softball defeats Greenville in home doubleheader and goes 2-0 on the day

Ranger softball defeats Greenville in home doubleheader and goes 2-0 on the day

FHC varsity softball was able to coast past the Greenville Yellow Jackets on Wednesday in the team’s fourth double header of the year. They allowed the Yellow Jackets only one run on the night. The first game of the night finished 11-1 after the fifth inning by mercy. The second game was ended in the middle of the third 15-0, a second mercy rule win.

“Greenville is always a game where we try to work on things that we normally would not be able to work on in a closer game,” said senior Emily Wiltz.

The Rangers were able to shut down the Yellow Jackets from the get-go. Emily scrambled for a bunt and sent it to northern junior Beth Chick at first base for the first out of the game. Sophomore Molly Donovan fielded a ground ball and sent it to Beth for the second out. Northern junior Hannah Miller was able to strikeout a batter for the third and final out. The bottom of the first did not go much better for the Rangers. It ended with them going three up, three down.

Going into the second inning, the girls were able to pick up momentum. They got two outs on a double play, and picked up one strikeout. The bottom of the second was the turning point in the game.

Sophomore Alex VanElls was the first player at bat for the Rangers, she got a hit and sprinted to first to get the momentum going. Molly was also able to get a hit, sending herself to first and advancing Alex to second. Hannah was up next and hit one into left field, sophomore Valerie Nuffer replaced her as the runner. Hailey Enbody, a sophomore, hit one into center field. Both Alex and Molly raced to home plate for a 2-0 lead.

“A lot of our runs tonight were earned,” Emily said. “So everyone was still hitting the ball, it was not all runs on errors by them.”

With no outs in the second, the Rangers continued their offensive run. Beth got a hit and ran to first, loading the bases. Sophomore Tori MacLeod walked, sending Valerie home. Senior Sydney Reynolds was next up. She flew out, but picked up an RBI. Hailey tagged up and scored making the lead four. Senior Madi Noom kept the momentum also contributing with a sac fly.

Emily got a hit and Tori sprinted to home. After two hits by Alex and Molly, the Rangers led by seven. Thanks to a double by Hannah, a passed ball, and a single by Hailey, the Rangers continued to extend their lead.

“We played all the way through the lineup, which is really good,” Emily said. “We also played clean in the field, it was just a really good game to work on things we normally would not be able to work on.”

After a past ball and a big hit from Tori, the Rangers added two more. The Rangers were able to score twelve runs in the inning. On the defensive end, Molly picked up a ground ball, tagged the runner and sent it to Beth for a double play. She was able to field another and sent it to Beth once again for three outs. Madi, Emily, and Alex were all able to get home in the third inning to win the game by mercy rule, 15-0.