ARCANUM – The Arcanum Lady Trojans used timely hitting, aggressive small ball and a big night from Emily Fox to earn a 13-3 run-rule WOAC softball win over the visiting National Trail Lady Blazers Friday night.
The game included a rain delay midway through the contest, but Arcanum responded well after returning to the field.
“The rain came, and I was a little worried about that – how we were going to come back out,” said Arcanum coach Mike Morris. “We held them there, and we came out and took advantage of their mistakes tonight.”
Fox drove in six runs on four hits to lead the Lady Trojans. She singled in two runs in the second inning, doubled home two more in the fifth, and ended the game with a walk-off two-run single in the sixth.
National Trail struck first in the top of the first inning when Kinley Marker singled home a run for a 1-0 Lady Blazers lead.
Arcanum answered in the bottom half, taking advantage of a Trail error to tie the game at 1-1. The Lady Trojans moved in front in the second when Rees Hoffman led off with a single, an error followed, and Fox delivered a two-run single to give Arcanum a 3-1 advantage.
The Lady Trojans added a run in the third after National Trail committed two more errors.
Arcanum broke the game open in the fifth, scoring three runs on two hits. Grace Fry was hit by a pitch, Hoffman doubled to right, Claire Hein drove in a run with a sacrifice, and Fox followed with a two-run double to left to help push the Lady Trojans in front, 8-3.
Arcanum finished it at the bottom of the sixth with five runs on four hits. Matty Noe led off with a triple to right, Cam Garbig was hit by a pitch, and Jordyn Garbig followed with a two-run triple to right. A Trail error plated another run before Hein singled to center, Merideth Laux reached on a sacrifice and error, and Fox drilled the walk-off two-run single to center for the 10-run conference victory.
“We got our bunts down, put the pressure on them,” said Morris. “When we got the bases loaded in that sixth inning, I had a good feeling we were going to win it right there.”
“Emily Fox had six RBIs, that’s huge,” Morris added. “Cam pitched another great game. Matty Noe has been hitting the crap out of the ball, and so is Jordyn; she’s getting hot, so we are coming together.”
Cam Garbig earned the complete-game win for Arcanum, allowing seven hits and three runs, one earned, over 5 2/3 innings. She struck out four and walked one.
Morgan House started for National Trail, surrendering seven hits and eight runs, one earned, over five innings while striking out one and no walks.
Arcanum collected 11 hits in the win. Fox led the way with four hits, while Noe added three, and Hoffman had two hits on the night.
The Lady Trojans also put pressure on National Trail throughout the game with bunts, stolen bases, and aggressive base running, forcing the Lady Blazers into nine errors.
“That’s what we have to do, we have to get our bunts down,” said Morris. “Once we can keep doing that, getting someone on, bunt them to second, somebody hits them in, that’s what we’re going to do.”
BOX SCORE:
123 456 7 R H E
101 010 X 3 7 9 National Trail
121 135 X 13 11 1 Arcanum
