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Stallions relying on hitting, pitching
Let's talk numbers.Seven wins. Thirty-eight and two-thirds innings. Nine strikeouts. Three runs.
These figures are all relative to the South County softball team, which has been on a tear as of late.
The Stallions' most recent success came Tuesday night against Patriot District rival West Springfield. After starting pitcher Chelsey Dunham forced a pop out in the top of the seventh inning to close out the game, South County found itself on the winning end for the seventh consecutive game thanks to the 9-3 decision.
West Springfield (5-7, 4-4 Patriot) did not plate a runner until the sixth inning, the first run South County allowed in 38.2 innings. Dunham finished the game with nine strikeouts.
"The pitching is why we're not allowing any runs. The pitching and the defense," said South County coach Al Thompson, whose team improved to 9-3 overall and 6-0 in the district. "We have an awesome defense and if one does pop through, we've made some fantastic plays. And what's good is we're deep, which means I can put my subs in with no worries defensively. It's really helpful when you got that kind of talent on your defense."
Dunham and teammate Paulina Gregorowicz are the main reasons for the Stallions' success. They compliment each other perfectly, and normally they both pitch in every game – Thompson typically lifts the starter in the later innings and yields to the other one. Tuesday night, however, because of the cold weather, the coach elected to leave Dunham in the game.
It appears his move paid off. Dunham displaced two hits in the first inning, but neither runner was able to cross the plate. The sophomore right-hander saw just three batters in the second, four in the third and struck out the side in the fifth inning.
Until Dunham gave a free pass to West Springfield leadoff hitter Christen Gibson in the sixth frame, she did not have more than two balls in any count.
"They're just good pitchers," Thompson said of Dunham and Gregorowicz. "They've pitched since they were little, both since they were eight. Their parents have spent a lot of time with them, they both have pitching coaches. They both play travel ... and they're both very mature."
South County's hitters did more than enough to help Dunham at the plate. A five-run first inning – keyed by a bases-clearing double courtesy of junior Kayla Reisinger off West Springfield starter Kat Rogers – jump-started the game. Another run in the third, followed by three more in the fifth – spurned by three fielding errors – complimented the first-inning outburst.
"We focus probably 70 percent [on hitting], 30 percent [on fielding]," Thompson said of his practices. "I have 50 different hitting exercises that we do. Different day, different set of drills, rotational stuff. We do a lot of hitting."
For the Spartans, a bloop single and a bunt to start the game put runners on first and second with no outs. But Dunham retired the side after that, and allowed only one other hit before giving up three in the sixth.
"Sometimes in the situational hitting, we're not getting hits from our big bats that we were getting before," West Springfield coach Margaret Gibson said. "That makes a big difference."
Senior Jordan Jeter's two-run double to the left field fence in the sixth frame served as the Spartans' offensive highlight on a night that was dominated by South County pitching. And defense. And hitting.
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