Minerva girls notch win

The Minerva Lions softball team picked up the team’s third win in a row with a 7-3 win over Alliance April 15.

In the hard-fought battle, the visiting Aviators scored a run in the top of the first with a double by Hendershot. The Lions matched the run in the bottom half of the inning when Sierra Cress sent a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall for a homerun after just missing one a few pitches before.

The Lady Lions added three more runs in the second. Abby Ide reached first on an error by the Aviator’s first baseman. Dakota Breton laid down a bunt single and Adrianna Kashdan hit a sacrifice to advance the runners to second and third. Hannah Kirkpatrick smacked a single up the middle, driving in two runs.  Natalie Essick  reached first base on an error and the runners advanced to second and third. Rachel Weaver drove in the third run with a sacrifice fly. Minerva led 4-1 after two innings.

Alliance plated a run in the third with a triple, the runner scoring on the throw home. The guests pulled to within 4-3 in the fifth inning following a triple to left just past the diving Essick. The runner scored two batters later on an infield single. 

Weaver started the Lion’s share of the fifth with a single to center. Delaney Sell was safe at first on a bunt and both runners moved up a base. Essick then laid down a sacrifice bunt.  Weaver was called safe in a bang-bang play at the plate as the catcher dropped the ball in the collision. A pickoff attempt by the Alliance catcher allowed Sell and Essick to score on the bad throw. Minerva completed the 7-3 win.

Cress pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs, two earned on four hits, while striking out six without giving up a walk. Kashdan faced one batter forcing a groundout.

Kirkpatrick was 1-3 with two RBIs and one run. Cress was 1-3 with a home run, scored a run and collected an RBI. Weaver went 1-3 with a run and RBI.