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Deemer blanks Howland
By Greg Gulas
HOWLAND
Poland girls softball coach Matt Campbell is confident that his Bulldogs are peaking at the right time with tournament pairings to be released Sunday.
Ally Deemer threw a four-hitter on Thursday against Howland, a 9-0 victory. She struck out six while Amanda Wire added two hits and scored three times.
Deemer also gave the Tigers fits offensively, rapping out two hits, driving in a game high four runs and also scoring a run.
“My movement pitches were getting what I wanted done and my screwball was working as well,” said Deemer, a Lake Erie College recruit. “I also relied on my off-speed pitch, which is kind of like a drop-curve.
“I haven’t had the kind of results that I had hoped at the plate, but I just keep giving it my all.”
Hits by Claire Testa, Wire and Deemer to start the game led to a 3-0 lead for the Bulldogs (11-5, 8-1 All-American Conference Red Tier).
“This was one the best wins we’ve had this season because we pounced on them early, got ahead and never let ourselves get down,” Wire said. “With Ally on the hill we’re always ready behind her defensively.
“Working together as a team has also been a big factor in our success this season.”
A run-scoring single by Deemer in the third inning extended the lead to 4-0. In the fourth frame, the Bulldogs sent nine batters to the plate, scored five runs on three hits and took advantage of three Howland miscues.
“Anytime you can get a league win against a tough opponent, that’s a great way to finish heading into Sunday’s tournament announcement,” Campbell said. “We’ve been battling and I told the team the other day that I still don’t think we’ve played a complete game in every aspect or facet of the game.
“I still think we can hit the ball better and more consistently, but the way we played defense, the pitching effort by Ally and the way we hit the ball tonight against a very good Howland team is a nice way to head into the weekend.”
Brielle Nocera also had two hits for the Bulldogs.
Six errors proved to be costly for Melissa Starkey’s Tigers (9-8, 5-4), who dropped their second consecutive outing.
“I challenged our girls before the game started and told them that we had a tough couple games,” Starkey said. “We’re making the same mistakes so I challenged them a little bit today by changing some things with our line-up.”
Tigers starting pitcher Hannah Kowach recorded two of their four hits.
Howland reliever Hannah Burke pitched the final three innings, facing and setting down all nine batters that she faced, recording four strikeouts.