By Cort Reynolds
RIDGEWAY__The visiting Ada High School softball team defeated county foe Ridgemont handily 10-1 in a Saturday, April 13 makeup game postponed by one day due to wet fields.
The Bulldogs improved to 7-2 with the non-league victory. The Gophers fell to 2-4 after the loss.
“We hit the ball hard,” said third-year Ada head coach Jeff Bassitt. “We hit the ball well, but right to people, at times. They caught a lot of balls in left and center field.”
The Bulldog girls out-hit the Gophers 8-4, and capitalized on nine costly Ridgemont errors.
Ada jumped ahead 1-0 in the first inning and was never threatened. Catcher Natilyn McClain walked and scored on Karley Wagner’s RBI single.
A double play by the Ada defense snuffed out a Gopher threat in the home first.
The Bulldogs put four runs on the board in the second frame to seize a 5-0 lead.
Katie Sizemore led off with a single and was erased on a fielder’s choice. Jenna Bassitt smacked a two-out, run-scoring single to make it 2-0. She stole second base, and Aidra Preston reached on an error by the center fielder as Bassitt crossed home.
McClain’s fly ball to left field was misplayed to allow another run in that made it 4-0. Tess Griffith got on base via a shortstop error, which scored Preston and stretched the lead to 5-0.
The Gophers tallied a run in the bottom of the third to edge within 5-1. A walk and an error led to a run when Ridgemont’s McClane singled.
Ada answered by tallying a single run in the fifth frame, then plated two more in the sixth to build a commanding 8-1 margin.
In the top of the fifth, Wagner reached on an error and went to second on a wild pitch. She rounded third and scored on a head-first dive into home on Reese Jordan’s sacrifice bunt.
In the Bulldog sixth, Sophie Fleming reached base on an error and scored on a Bassitt triple. Bassitt was then out at home on a delayed steal attempt. Preston later scored on a throwing error.
The Bulldogs tallied two more runs in the top of the seventh to put the game well out of reach.
Abbey Johnston reached on a misplay by the second baseman. With two out, Fleming sliced a shot that rolled to the right field fence. The speedster circled the bases to make it 10-1.
“It was nice to get another win and get everybody in the game,” said Bassitt. “Sophie hit the ball hard.”
Bassitt struck out 10 Gopher batters in seven innings. She allowed four singles, no earned runs and walked one batter to earn her sixth pitching win.
Bassitt also hit a triple and a single. Senior Sizemore hit a single.
Junior shortstop Wagner singled twice. Freshman Fleming legged out an inside-the-park home run.
Juniors Griffith and McClain each singled.
Ada hosts league rival Bluffton (0-3, 0-1 NWC) Monday in the league opener. The Bulldogs entertain Spencerville (2-3, 1-0 NWC) in a makeup game Tuesday, April 16.
The Bulldogs then visit backyard rival Allen East (1-4, 1-0 NWC) Thursday as they play three league games in four days. AE rallied from an 8-0 deficit to beat Bluffton 20-14 Saturday and earn their first win.
“We have to be ready to play with three league games this week,” Bassitt warned. Ada finished second in the NWC at 7-1 last spring.
SCOREBOARD
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
ADA 1 4 0 0 1 2 2 10 8 2
RMT 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 9
WP-Bassitt (6-2) LP-B. Caldwell
3B-Bassitt (A)
HR-S. Fleming (A)
