by Dean Raymond

Correspondent

Stow -- The Stow-Munroe Falls softball team put it all together May 5 as they defeated visiting Solon 4-0 behind a four-hit shutout by senior right-hander Lauren Hurd.

The only time the Lady Comets (6-8) got a runner as far as third base was in the first inning and she was caught stealing home for the second out of the inning.

Meanwhile, Stow (13-5) jumped on Solon junior right-hander Sloan Zimmerman (4-4) with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Freshman third baseman Julie Rooney led off and reached on an infield error. Rooney then stole second base and went to third on a groundout. Junior shortstop Sammi Guinn came up next and slapped a single to centerfield as Rooney scored for a 1-0 Lady Bulldog lead.

Guinn stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch before senior second baseman Allison Scherer singled to leftfield as Guinn touched home plate for a 2-0 Stow advantage.

The Maroon and Gold added another run in the bottom of the second inning for a 3-0 lead. With one out, senior rightfielder Ashley Giovinazzo tripled deep down the rightfield line and scored when sophomore first baseman Chelsea Carlson singled to leftfield.

The Lady Bulldogs got back-to-back singles from Scherer (3-for-3 on the day with two RBI and a run scored) and senior leftfielder Nikki Goodwin with one out in the third frame before Zimmerman recorded a groundout and a strikeout, leaving Scherer on third and Goodwin on second base.

Stow added an insurance run in the fifth when Scherer blasted a two-out home run over the leftfield fence for a 4-0 advantage. "It was a fastball inside and it was right in my wheel house," Scherer said. "I knew it was gone when I hit it."

Hurd (9-2) ended up with 11 strikeouts an just one walk on the afternoon while Zimmerman had one strikeout and no walks. "I wasn't as sharp in the beginning and I needed to focus more and locate my pitches," Hurd said. "I mixed things up and kept them off balance."

The Lady Bulldogs out-hit the Lady Comets 9-4 and each team committed an error.

"We hadn't played in almost a week," Stow head coach Doug Hawkins said. "We were a little rusty but Lauren picked us up and battled throughout the game. Overall, we played pretty well."

Both teams left five runners on base.

Giovinazzo also had a good day at the plate for Stow as she went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Bulldogs set to open postseason

Stow opens up tournament action May 12 at Medina at 4:30 p.m.. If they win, the Lady Bulldogs would play Kent Roosevelt at Kent May 13 at 4:30 p.m.

The district semifinal game is slated 5:45 p.m. May 19 at Firestone Stadium. The district championship game will be at 7 p.m. May 20 at Firestone Stadium with the winner advancing to the Akron Regional.

The top four seeds are: Cuyahoga Falls (No. 1), Twinsburg (No. 2), Stow-Munroe Falls (No. 3) and Ellet (No. 4).

E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113