by Dean Raymond
Correspondent
Hudson -- Home runs from junior third baseman Lindsey Bartos and junior right fielder Alyssa Brown powered host Hudson past Stow-Munroe Falls, 6-3 April 23 in a Northeast Ohio Conference River Division girls softball game.
The Lady Bulldogs (9-5) did take the early advantage with a run against Lady Explorer sophomore left-hander Mindy Meredith (4-2) in the top of the first inning.
"Mindy wasn't as sharp today as she was Monday vs. Stow and we're trying to get her to move her pitches around," Hudson head coach Frank Caraballo said. "We have some kids who can really hit the ball and we were patient at the plate. The home runs were the turning point in the game."
Meanwhile, Lady Bulldog head coach Doug Hawkins also thought the home runs by the Lady Explorers were the difference in the game.
"I would rather not play teams back-to-back like this but I was still proud of my kids," Hawkins said. "We hit the ball today. Hudson hit a couple of home runs and that was the turning point in the game. We competed and I'm happy with that."
With one out, senior center fielder Taylor Weddle raced all the way to third base on an error by the Hudson outfielder. Junior shortstop Sammi Guinn came up next for the Maroon and Gold and launched a sacrifice fly to right field as Weddle scored for a 1-0 Stow lead.
However, Hudson (6-3) answered back with two runs in the bottom of the first frame to take a 2-1 advantage. Brown led-off with a triple to right field off of Lady Bulldog senior right-hander Lauren Hurd (7-2). With one out, Bartos belted a two-run round-tripper to left field as Brown and Bartos scored.
The Explorers played long ball again in the second inning when senior left fielder Jamie Markwell walked with one out. With two outs and sophomore second baseman Callie Drohan on first base (a fielders's choice erased Markwell at second base). Brown homered to center field as Drohan and Brown scored for a 4-1 Hudson lead.
Stow wasted a good chance to score in the top of the second frame as Hurd singled to left-center field (sophomore Morgan Springford ran for her) and senior right fielder Ashley Giovinazzo doubled down the left field line with one out. Meredith then recorded a strikeout and a pop-out to get out of the jam.
The Lady Bulldogs did score once in the top of the third frame to trail just 4-2. Freshman third baseman Julie Rooney led-off with a double to right-center field before a groundout advanced her to third base. With two outs, a wild pitch scored Rooney.
The Lady Explorers got that run back in the bottom of the third when sophomore catcher Georgia Stokes doubled to right-center field with one out (freshman Sara Rillero ran for her) and went to third base on a groundout. Senior first baseman Katey McCandless came up next and singled to right field, scoring Rillero for a 5-2 Hudson lead.
Stow came right back with a run in the top of the fourth frame to trail 5-3. Senior left fielder Nikki Goodwin led-off with a double to left field and went to third base on a fly-out to right field off the bat of Hurd. Giovinazzo then doubled again to left-center field, scoring Goodwin. Meredith then registered a strikeout and a fly-out to end the inning.
The Lady Explorers had runners on first and second base with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning before Hurd fanned the next batter to keep the score at 5-3 in favor of Hudson.
Meredith set the side down in order in the top of the fifth before the Lady Explorers scored a big insurance run in the bottom of the same inning. A single by McCandless to center field started the frame and, after a strikeout, a walk to sophomore Jenny Reitz and a hit-by-pitch to Drohan loaded the bases. Senior right-hander Caitlin Baker relieved Hurd at that point before the next batter, Brown, grounded out to third base as McCandless scored for a 6-3 Hudson advantage.
Stow got a two-out double to center field by Hurd in the top of the sixth frame and consecutive one-out singles by sophomore designated player Megan Baumgarder and Rooney in the seventh inning but couldn't score.
Rillero stood at second base (Bartos had led-off the Lady Explorer sixth with an infield single) after a passed ball with two outs before Baker recorded a groundout to end her relief stint for the Lady Bulldogs.
Hudson had nine hits in the contest while Stow banged out eight. Meredith fanned nine with five walks while Hurd whiffed five Lady Explorers and issued five free passes.
The Lady Bulldogs stranded six runners in the game while Hudson left nine on the bases.
Brown, Bartos and McCandless had two hits apiece for the Lady Explorers while Rooney, Hurd and Giovinazzo also belted out a pair of hits each for Stow.
E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com
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