Softball Recap: Western Reserve Comes Up Short

Western Reserve extended their losing streak to 13 on Wednesday, dropping their season record down to 1-14 in the process. They came up short against McDonald, falling 21-1. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against McDonald this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 13-2 back in April.

Western Reserve saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Averie Hendon, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one double and one RBI.

As for McDonald, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games.

On McDonald's side, Gianna Mancini made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She struck out 11 batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). Those 11 strikeouts gave Mancini a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in all five of her plate appearances with three runs and two RBI.

In other batting news, Kayla Helco was incredible, getting on base in all five of her plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. She has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times she's played. Another player making a difference was Sophia Pecchia, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs.

Looking ahead, Western Reserve will head out to take on Aquinas at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. As for McDonald, they will face off against Mineral Ridge at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (the Blue Devils 3.9, the Rams 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.