BC dumps Whips; Marengo showdown next

Six hits were more than enough for Burlington Central. The Rockets parlayed those 6 hits into 13 runs and came away with a 13-2 Big Northern East softball victory on a cold, blustery day in Hampshire.

Jet Kein pitched effectively in relief of Mackenzie Scott and Jessica Herrmann had 2 hits and drove in 4 runs for Central. The Rockets (11-4, 3-0) also took advantage of 10 walks and some sloppy fielding by Hampshire.

The frigid conditions made it tough on both teams' defenses, but Central coach Scot Sutherland wasn't interested in excuses.

"Defensively, that was totally unacceptable. If we're going to compete for anything, we've got about 22 hours to get that figured out," said Sutherland, whose team hosts Marengo today and then plays at Marengo Thursday in a showdown of the two BN-East heavyweights.

Scott pitched hitless ball through 2 innings, striking out five. Kein then finished up the 5-inning game. She gave up Brianna Doyle's run-scoring single and a second run on a wild pitch, but was otherwise unscathed. She also struck out five.

Hampshire's Amanda Wescher, making her first start of the season, pitched better than the score indicated, but she was done in by wildness and some shaky defense.

"We made a few mistakes in the field, and (gave up) 4 or 5 unearned runs," said Hampshire coach Ken Bram. "So really it was a nice performance by Amanda. We just didn't hit the ball. We had 3 hits and that's just not going to cut it."

After a scoreless first inning, the Rockets jumped ahead with 4 runs in the second on just 1 hit. They added 4 more in the third, with Herrmann's double down the left-field line the big hit.

The Whip-Purs (6-10-1, 1-1) struck for their 2 runs in the fourth.

The Rockets put the game away with 5 in the fifth. Herrmann drove in 2 more with a single, and Brittany Priest and Lindsay Lange each singled in a run. Lange had 2 hits and scored twice for the Rockets.