GREENVILLE – The Lady Wave Softball team defeated the Fairborn Lady Skyhawks in run-rule fashion for the second consecutive game in MVL action, with LWSB freshman Leah Force slamming three successive home runs in game two.
Coming off back-to-back 2023 and 2024 MVL Valley Division first-place finishes, the Lady Wave put the “leaving the base too soon” to keep the games respectable. Following a 15-0 Tuesday night first-game win, Greenville took the field as the visiting team in winning the second game 16-1 for the Tuesday night sweep.
“Great day for lady wave softball,” said Greenville coach Jerrod Newland. “Get two league wins against a team that won the other half the last two years, and every year is a different year. Excited to get two league wins and moving on and 5-1 before the ark comes in here for the weekend.”
Hitting in the leadoff spot, Force drilled her first of three consecutive home runs on the game’s opening pitch, giving the Lady Wave a 1-0 lead after one inning of play.
Lizzie Shaffer led off inning No. 2 with a walk on four straight pitches, Lily Brubaker knocked a single to center, Morgan Thompson drilled an RBI single to right, Kara Blumenstock hit a run-scoring infield single, and Force clubbed her second home run, a 3 RBI shot and a Greenville 6-0 lead with no outs in the inning.
Zoey Burns followed with a single. Rielynn Davidson and Kendall Cromwell singled to left, Kylar Arnett stroked a 3-run double to right, and Shaffer drove an RBI double to center, giving the Lady Wave a 10-0 lead and still no outs in the inning. Brubaker followed with a single to right before a lineout to left and back-to-back “leaving the base too soon” brought the scoring barrage to a close, bringing the Lady Skyhawks to the plate in the bottom of the second.
Fairborn went down 1-2-3, bringing the Lady Wave to the plate to score two third inning runs including Force’s third homerun of the game. Ella Oswalt picked up a single, Riley Thomas a walk, and Arnett sent a runner home on a Fairborn error upping the Lady Wave lead to 12-0.
“Little freshman Force has a great game,” Newland noted. “Hits three out.”
The Lady Skyhawks went down in order in the bottom of the third while Greenville was plating two runs in the top of the fourth on a Blumenstock single, a Force walk, and a 2 RBI double off the bat of Burns.
Fairborn again went down in order in their half of the inning, bringing the Lady Wave to the plate in the top of the fifth to add another two runs to the board on back-to-back singles off the bats of Reese Stewart and Jaelyn Christman, and back-to-back RBI singles off the bats of Shuttleworth and Blumenstock. A “leaving the base too soon” brought the inning to a close with the Lady Wave holding a commanding 16-0 advantage.
Two walks and two passed balls produced the Lady Skyhawks’ lone run of the night, and the teams settled on a 16-1 Lady Wave win.
“I’m competing with 18 kids trying to get them better and playing,” Newland stated. “Tonight played 18 in both games. It was good; it was fun for the kids, and we’re hitting the ball a little better, and it gets contagious.”
“We hit the ball square in both games, and all three pitchers threw well,” added Coach Newland. “Just excited for the kids and the opportunities when you get it, and you have to make the most of it and just love where we’re at and where we’re going.”
Burns picked up the win, pitching 3.0 innings of scoreless 1-hit ball, no walks, and five strikeouts. Shaffer tossed two innings, allowing no hits, two walks, and one unearned run while striking out 6.
Force paced the Lady Wave, going 3-3, all coming on home runs, a walk, 5 RBI, and four runs. Blumenstock was 3-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs.
Burns went 2-4 including a double, and 2 RBI; Brubaker 2-2, one run; Shaffer 1-2, a double, a walk, 1 RBI, one run; Kylar Arnett 1-3, a double, 3 RBI, one run; Rielynn Davidson 1-2, 2 runs; Stewart 1-1, 1 run; Thompson 1-2, a double, 1 RBI, one run; Christman 1-1, one run; Shuttleworth 1-2, 1 RBI; Oswalt 1-2, a walk; one run; Cromwell 1-2; Stebbins, one run; Thomas, a walk.
