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Eggens, Mathews dominate Windham
By Tim cleveland
BAZETTA
On paper, Monday’s Division IV district softball semifinal looked like it was going to be a pitchers’ duel between Mathews’ Cheyenne Eggens and Windham’s Brittany Knight.
When the teams actually took the field, Eggens and the Mustangs not only delivered an 8-1 beatdown, they gave Windham a preview of what it will be in store for next year when the Bombers move from the Portage Trail Conference to the Northeastern Athletic Conference.
Eggens completely shut down the Windham offense, striking out 16, facing just two batters more than the minimum and allowing only one hit – a leadoff bunt by Jessica Isler in the seventh inning.
“It’s always in the back of my mind to maybe try and do my best (and get a no-hitter), but it’s really not about individual things,” Eggens said. “I’d rather have the win than have a no-hitter and lose.
“I woke up feeling good this morning. I got lots of rest, I rehydrated a lot, and I just had a good feeling about today.”
Mathews coach Jim Nicula said Eggens improved her performance at just the right time.
“This is the best she’s pitched all year,” he said. “Cheyenne has not been as dominant this year as she was last year. Today she threw harder than she’s thrown all year long. I thought she took a step up in maturity today. She knew she was going against somebody who is close to if not equal to her.”
Mathews (21-7) advances to play Bristol at 5 p.m. today in an attempt to win its fourth consecutive district championship. The Panthers defeated Maplewood, 1-0, Monday.
“This game scared me to death,” Nicula said. “I’m a movie buff too, and I thought this was Rocky III against Clubber Lang. Nobody saw Windham coming. Brittany Knight is a phenomenal pitcher. She scares me to death because she’s going to be in the league for the next three years.
“They’ve not been hit like this all year long. They rolled through everybody in the (Portage Trail Conference) and I think they were a little shell-shocked.”
When asked his assessment of the game, Windham coach Elliot Thompson kept things short and sweet.
“They were ready to play and we weren’t,” he said.
While Eggens kept Windham (18-7) off the board, Jacki Rhine led the way for the Mustangs’ offense. She went 3 for 3, driving in Meredith Grimes with a double in the second for a 2-0 lead. She scored later that inning on one of Windham’s five errors. She added another RBI double in the third to plate Grimes to give Mathews a 5-0 advantage. Hollie Shreves then singled home Rhine.
Nicula said today’s game against NAC rival Bristol is one between two teams that know each other very well.
“Our rubber match. We won the first one, they won the second one,” he said. “It should be a great game. Our kids and Bristol go back to when they were in peewee, when they were 5 and 6. We’ve played against them forever. We know what their strengths are and they sort of know what we are.”