Bauer, C-G open with win over Hersey

Kristen Bauer will certainly pitch better as the season goes on.

But, the Cary-Grove senior's gutsy effort in the pitchers circle was good enough to produce a season-opening 3-2 win for the Trojans over Hersey in a nonconference game in Cary Tuesday afternoon.

"We were just happy to get on a field and play a game," said Bauer. "We were really ready to play and are very happy to win our first game. My fastball, drop and change up was working well. It was a little cold out there. I would prefer it to be a little warmer. It was a good way to start the season."

In 7 innings of work, Bauer allowed 2 runs while scattering 7 hits. She struck out 4 without allowing a walk.

The visiting Huskies scored first in the second inning on a RBI double by Taylor Reeves.

Nursing a 3-1 lead heading into the seventh, Bauer and the Trojans had to stave off a Hersey rally.

The Huskies (0-4) cut the Trojan deficit to 3-2 on a RBI double by Aleene Morgenthaler.

Morgenthaler moved to third on a single by Sarah Laughlin to put runners on first and third with one out.

But Bauer got tough and retired Reeves and Malli Donoghue on infield popups to end the game.

"Kristen pitched a good game," said Cary-Grove coach Tammy Olson. "She made a couple of mistakes in the seventh but overall she pitched very well. She did a great job of mixing her pitches and changing speeds."

Cary-Grove, which was shut out during the first 4 innings by Donahue, scored all 3 of its runs in the fifth.

Benefiting from 3 Hersey errors, the Trojans scored 3 runs on 1 hit, a RBI single by Maggie O' Brien. O' Brien and Amanda Listak scored when Meredith Riemann reached on an error.

O'Brien, who scored from second on the error, led the Trojans with 2 hits and a run scored.

Danielle Gore paced Hersey with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate with a run scored and a double.

Donoghue, who shut out Cary-Grove for 5 of 6 innings, allowed 3 runs on 4 hits. She struck out 1 with 1 walk. She was hindered by 4 Huskie errors.

"We had our chances but we had some very costly base running mistakes," said Hersey coach Molly Freeman. "We just need to clean some things up and keep improving.

We need to be consistent and play 7 innings."

Lake Park 20, Elgin 0: The Maroons (0-1) suffered a tough loss to Lake Park in the Upstate Eight Conference. Despite the lack of opportunity Elgin has had getting outside to begin the season the Maroons still managed to collect a pair of hits. Kelly Patchett took the loss for Elgin.