For The Daily Journal
COLUMBUS
Whiteland had a little bit of a struggle with the pitching of Columbus North early on in Monday’s softball contest.
Once the Warriors started to go through the order again, the hits and runs kept piling up.
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Whiteland smacked 13 hits, with seven of them going for extra base hits, to soar to a 13-3 six-inning victory.
“Our team does a great job of figuring out a pitcher the first time through and then communicating that to each other,” Whiteland coach Katie Mitchell said. “So I think we were just patient with that and figuring how we can push through hits and move runners. It was a great team effort in moving those runners so we could score.”
After the Warriors (3-3) went hitless in the first, Brooke Bruin led off the bottom of the inning for the Bull Dogs (0-3) by reaching base on an error. That error proved costly, as Bruin later scored on a passed ball.
Bailey Lofton then hit a single, and courtesy runner Lillian Mackey stole second and reached third on a passed ball. Rachel Cowan delivered an RBI single to put North ahead 2-0 after the first inning.
Whiteland cut the deficit in half in the next inning when Deborah Hill smacked a double and later scored on a single from Abbigail Nacio.
The Bull Dogs’ final run of the game came in the top of the third on a solo home run from Meghan Waggoner that built the lead back to 3-1.
The Warriors gained the lead for good in the third inning with an RBI double from Macy Cornelius and RBI singles from Haley Wilkerson and Nacio.
After putting up a run in the fourth and three more runs in the fifth inning to grow the lead to 8-3, Whiteland scored another five runs, four of which came off a grand slam from Hill down the right-field line.
“We have confidence in every single one of (our hitters),” Mitchell said. “They all do a great job doing what needs to be done for the team moving the runners and getting people on base.”
Warriors starting pitcher Delanie Gourley went all six innings and struck out 10 batters to earn the win in the circle.
“She did a great job for us and five of (the strikeouts) were the third time through the lineup,” Mitchell said. “It’s a testament to how hard she is working and hitting her spots. She pushed through that game really well and did a great job.”