EC Varsity Softball Team Defeats Hopewell, Earns 10-Win Regular Season

The Lady Wolverines closed out section play strongly as they defeated Hopewell Thursday afternoon by a score of 9-0.  The team improves to 10-5 on the season and finished section play with a record of 7-3.

Makinley Magill got things started in the top of the second as she laced a double into left-center field.  Magill scored as Kyla Servick’s perfectly placed bunt single was thrown into right field for a two-base error.  Ariana Garroway walked with two outs to put runners on first and third.  Garroway and Servick then executed a double steal to plate the second run.

Ellwood City added two more runs in the third to take a 4-0 lead.  Maria Ioanilli led off with a walk and stole second base.  She moved to third on a single into center field by  Natalia Greco.  Greco alertly moved up to second as the throw from the outfield airmailed the cut off.  Ioanilli scored on a sacrifice fly by Angie Nardone as Greco moved over to third base.  Magill brought Greco in with a sharp single into center field.

Garroway led off the fourth with a bunt single that painted the first base line and immediately stole second base.  Anna Ferrucci’s infield single put runners on first and second and Ioanilli added another infield single to load the bases.  Garroway scored the fifth run as Magill was hit by a pitch.

The Wolverines made it 6-0 in the fifth as Garroway reached on a two-out walk and once again stole second base.  She hustled in to score as Ferrucci’s pop up to second base was dropped.

Ellwood City scored the game’s final three runs in the top of the seventh inning.  Kali Barnett led off with a walk and stole second base.  She scored as Garroway hit a bullet up the middle for a single.  Garroway swiped second base for her third steal of the afternoon.  The speedy catcher would show off her baserunning skills once again as she scored from second base on a beautiful sacrifice bunt by Ferrucci.  After an Ioanilli single, Greco chased her home with a frozen rope double into right center field to conclude the scoring.

The offense was balanced again as 7 different players banged out 13 hits.  The defense was solid as usual as they committed just one error.  Nardone in the circle was the story of the day as the rapidly improving freshman twirled a 2 hitter over seven innings of work.  She fanned 6 and walked 2 while efficiently throwing just 96 pitches.  The lanky right-hander consistently got ahead in the count by throwing first pitch strikes to 20 of the 26 batters she faced.  She also tossed 65 of her 96 pitches for strikes and reduced her ERA down to 2.48 on the season while raising her record to 7-2.

The team will tune up for the playoffs as they entertain New Castle at 5:00pm Tuesday in a non-section tilt at Stiefel Park.  The Lady Wolverines are comfortably in the playoff picture, but trail Avonworth (16-1 overall, 9-1 section) in the section.  Ellwood City has given the Antelopes their lone defeat on the season.