FREMONT – Coming off a thrilling and emotional win Thursday over rival Sandusky, the Ross softball team was hoping those positive emotions would carry over to Friday for a meeting with another rival: Findlay.
Unfortunately, for the Lady Giants, however, Findlay came out of the gate strong, took an early lead and Ross never climbed back into the game, falling 6-1.
While Thursday’s win over the Blue Streaks didn’t have the carry-over effect coach Tony Hill had hoped for, he didn’t think his team had an emotional hangover, either.
“I don’t think we came out flat, I was happy with where our energy level was,” Hill said. “We didn’t execute. That’s the first time we’ve seen (Findlay’s pitcher) and it took some time to adjust and I think we got better as the game went on. We just didn’t string enough hits together. We weren’t flat, we weren’t lackadaisical. I don’t think there was a hangover at all. We just didn’t execute as well as we can.”
Findlay started the game with three hits in its first four at-bats, jumping out to a 2-0 lead before the Lady Giants’ first time up.
A Lady Giant fielding error proved costly in the top of the second inning as Findlay added another two runs to take an early 4-0 lead.
Though Ross fell into the early hole, Hill liked that his team continued to battle.
“I think they responded well,” he said. “Maybe games past we let that lead get a little bigger than it was. The two runs they scored early, they didn’t hit any of the balls hard. The double, if it’s three feet this way, it’s a routine groundout. (Pitcher) Morgan (Englund) was getting in on the hands and they were able to fight it off as bloopers into center field. They didn’t light us up at all, they just got some timely hits and we really didn’t.”
The Lady Giants had a chance to narrow the deficit in the fourth inning, putting runners on second and third but were unable to get them home. Ross again put two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the sixth inning but this time, thanks to a Findlay fielding error, got one run home to get on the scoreboard, but nothing more.
Ross (3-8 overall, 0-6 TRAC) had a scary moment in the early going. Senior Braelyn Horn suffered a knee injury sliding into second base while stealing. She said her status for Saturday’s home game against Sylvania Southview was doubtful.
She was replaced in the field and in the lineup by her younger sister, Malayah Horn, who Hill said filled in admirably for her sister.
“It’s not like she was over-matched I thought she did well,” Hill said. “Anytime you take your leading batting average out of the lineup, it’s going to hurt, but I don’t think it cost us the game.”