By Cort Reynolds
FOSTORIA - The offense for the visiting Ada softball team came to life as they defeated Fostoria 9-6 in non-conference action Tuesday evening.
"Our bats kind of woke up with 14 hits," said Ada head coach Rebecca Dicke. "Our defense was a little tighter, although we still made a few errors and a couple of mental errors.
"All in all, it was a competitive game. We kept putting the ball in play and hopefully we can continue to do that," she added.
The Lady Bulldog record improved to 9-8 overall with the win that snapped a four-game loss slide. The Redwomen fell to 3-8 with the defeat.
Ada scored a run in the top of the first when senior outfielder Tori Green singled and went to second base on an error. Senior catcher Alexis Waugh drove Green home with a single.
Fostoria countered with three runs in the home half of the first. A leadoff home run on the first pitch by Hoffman was followed by a triple from Bernal.
Two more runs scored as a result of a passed ball, hit batter and fielder's choice to make it 3-1 in favor of the hosts.
Ada took the lead for good on the strength of a five-run third frame. Green singled but was caught stealing. Senior Brenna George hit a single, followed by singles from Waugh and Leona Dalton to load the bases.
Sophomore Kayla Wince knocked in a run with a single. Junior Lexi White then singled in the tying run. Senior Kiersten Cortez drove in a run with a fielder's choice.
Freshman Daicy Robinson plated Ada's fifth run with another RBI single. Classmate Katie Sizemore extended the lead to 6-3 with yet another run-scoring single.
When the dirt cleared the Bulldogs had collected eight singles in the inning.
Ada tacked on two more runs in the top of the fourth. Waugh hit a double and Dalton cracked an RBI double. She then came around to score on a pair of passed balls to provide an 8-3 advantage.
In the Fostoria fourth, Settles hit a double and scored on a single by Tyson. Then in the home fifth, the Redwomen added two more runs to edge within 8-6.
In the top of the sixth, Dalton singled to left field and advanced to second on an error. Wince reached on another misplay, giving Ada runners at the corners.
Dalton then scored an insurance run on an RBI single by White to give Ada more breathing room at 9-6.
Fostoria threatened a bit in their last at bat in the bottom of the seventh as Settles hit her second double. But Dalton retired the last hitters on a pop-out and a strikeout to end the game.
Workhorse senior hurler Dalton pitched another complete game for Ada to earn her ninth win. She struck out six, walked none and allowed six hits with five earned runs.
Dalton also led the offense with two singles, a double and two runs batted in. Waugh also singled two times and hit a double.
The Bulldog girls out-hit Fostoria, 14-6. Green contributed two singles, while White and Robinson added a pair of singles apiece.
123 456 7 R H E
Ada 105 201 0 9 14 2
Fos 300 120 0 6 6 3
WP-Dalton (9-8) LP-Kleinmark
2B-Waugh (A), Dalton (A), Settles 2 (F)
3B-Bernal (F)
HR-Hoffman (F)
The Bulldog girls (1-4 NWC) visit talented Paulding (15-2, 4-1 NWC) for a league contest Thursday, April 29. The Panther girls edged Archbold 11-10 Tuesday evening.
Ada then travels to face powerhouse Blanchard Valley Conference leader Van Buren (17-2, 7-0 BVC) in a non-league game Friday.
"We have two very good teams coming up, so it will be tough competition," said Dicke.
The Lady Bulldogs then entertain county rival Kenton (3-10) Saturday at noon. St. Marys beat the Wildcat girls 7-4 Tuesday.
Bulldog boys at Fostoria postponed
FOSTORIA - The Ada baseball game at Fostoria Tuesday evening was postponed due to a Covid-19 quarantine issue with the Redmen team, and will not be made up.
The Bulldogs (5-8, 1-4 NWC) are scheduled to visit league title contender Paulding (11-5, 5-1 NWC) for a conference battle Thursday, April 29, weather permitting.
The Panthers lost 20-7 to Archbold Tuesday evening in non-league action.
Ada hosts non-league opponent Arlington (6-5) Friday evening, then entertains Hardin County WBL rival Kenton (2-10) Saturday at noon. St. Marys beat Kenton 7-2 Tuesday.
