SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP —
The Chardon Hilltopper softball team is having a solid season behind good pitching, effective defense and a top five of the batting order that can at any time demolish any team they play.
That happened the last time the Toppers forayed into Ashtabula County the week before last, in a demolition of Geneva. It was safe to figure to expect much the same against a youthful Lakeside team which is taking its lumps this season.
Brianna Leonard took the mound for the Dragons on Monday and pretty well shut down the top of the lineup of Chardon, except for Gina Tosti, keeping the Dragons in striking distance, but with all but one of the Chardon hitters getting a hit, Chardon was able to do enough to claim a 4-0 Premier Athletic Conference victory.
Beside a solid if not spectacular day for Tosti, it took a hit by No. 9 hitter Chantal Daugherty with the bases loaded in the fourth inning to give Chardon a bigger cushion in a pitchers’ duel between Leonard and Kortney Nyegard.
“We just brought up Chantal from the junior varsity team,” Chardon coach Lynn Rose said. “This was only her second varsity game. We’re testing the waters right now with younger players to get them some gametime at the varsity level in case we need them during the tournament. She really had a clutch hit for us today.”
Her single plated a pair of runs to open a 3-0 lead, and might have led to more had not a throw from left fielder Alayna Hanna to catcher Krista Johnston been returned quickly enough to third baseman Koree Runyan to cut down Morgan Restly at third for the third out of the inning.
That play gave the Dragons a lift emotionally, but with Nyegard and then Gina Tosti dominating from the hill for Chardon (13-7, 5-4 in PAC), the Dragons were unable to get clutch hits when they got runners on base.
“It’s been a recurring problem for us this season,” Lakeside coach Kerri Weir said. “We played well, but we didn’t get the clutch hits when we needed them and we didn’t put the ball in play with runners in scoring position.”
Another key to the closeness of the contest was the offspeed pitches of Leonard against a Chardon team that usually pounds the ball.
“We just can’t hit slow pitching or offspeed pitching like Lakeside’s pitcher (Leonard) was giving us today,” Rose said. “We had our pitchers work on the same thing, throwing lots of changeups.
“If other teams are going to throw them to us, we need to be able to do it to them as well if we’re going to make a run in the tournament. Our girls need to know how to understand how it will affect a game. Lakeside’s pitcher today did a nice job of keeping us offbalance, and we need to adjust to that.”
Weir agreed about the solid game Leonard pitched.
“Brie did a nice job pitching for us today,” she said. “She’s doing a much better job of hitting her spots and throwing strikes.”
Leonard scattered 10 Chardon hits in the game while walking just one and fanning four as her record dipped to 2-5 for the Dragons, who slip to 4-16 overall and 0-7 in the PAC.
Nyegard and Tosti scattered five Dragon singles while fanning nine. Nyegard got the win to improve her record to 6-4 on the season. Lakeside did hit the ball solidly on several occasions, but a defense that allowed but one error kept the Dragons from putting together serious rallys.
Kelly is a freelance writer from Jefferson.
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