MINSTER — The Greenville Lady Wave made the most of their Memorial Day trip north, using timely hitting and a dominant pitching performance from Ella Oswalt to defeat the Minster Lady Wildcats 5-0 in non-conference softball action.
“Great day for Lady Wave Softball,” said Greenville head coach Jerrod Newland. “Fun day to come up and play Minster here, solid regional team and program.”
The afternoon carried additional meaning for the Lady Wave on Memorial Day.
“Was really neat today during the National Anthem,” Newland said. “To have our American flag on our sleeves made us all smile.”
The game remained scoreless through the first four innings as Greenville repeatedly threatened but couldn’t capitalize.
“We left seven runners stranded the first four innings,” Newland noted.
The Lady Wave finally broke through in the top of the fifth inning. Leah Force opened the frame with a double to center field before Ella Oswalt launched a line-drive home run to center, giving Greenville a 2-0 advantage.
“Elle’s home run was a missile 25 feet off the ground and 250 feet,” said Newland. “Lizzie and Leah both had multiple barrel shots today to get us going and push us across.”
Greenville continued the rally when Lizzie Shaffer singled to center and advanced to second on a Kendall Cromwell sacrifice bunt. Shaffer later scored on Lily Brubaker’s sacrifice fly to center, extending the Lady Wave lead to 3-0.
The Green Wave added insurance runs in the sixth inning. Rielynn Davidson led off with a single to right field, and Hallee Fourman reached after being hit by a pitch. Force then lined a shot to center field that drove in both runners, pushing Greenville’s lead to 5-0.
“We hit it very square and solid today,” Newland said. “We ran the bases hard.”
While Greenville’s offense collected 11 hits, Oswalt made sure the runs were more than enough. The sophomore ace tossed a complete-game one-hit shutout, striking out 13 Minster batters while walking three. She struck out the side in both the first and sixth innings.
“Ella and Jordyn worked well today,” Newland said of the pitcher-catcher combination with Jordyn McMullen behind the plate. “Ally and Denny had a great plan and put it to work.”
Greenville’s lineup was productive from top to bottom. Brubaker, Oswalt, Shaffer, and Force each recorded two hits. Oswalt and Force paced the offense with two RBIs apiece.
The Lady Wave also played flawless defense, committing no errors in the victory.
Minster enters postseason play as the OHSAA Division VI District champion after defeating Columbus Grove 13-0 and will face Castalia Margaretta in regional action Wednesday afternoon.
Greenville improved to 29-1 with the win and now turns its attention to tournament play. The Lady Wave will meet Tippecanoe in an OHSAA Division III regional semifinal on Wednesday, May 27, at Newton High School, with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.
“Excited for Wednesday and the regional game,” Newland said. “Proud of everyone and excited for the week.”
BOX SCORE:
123 456 7 R H E
000 032 0 5 11 0 Greenville
000 000 0 0 1 2 Minster
