Cougars down Lions

By Mike Myers, Sports Writer

May 20, 2008 11:09 pm

— LOOGOOTEE — The North Daviess Cougars put on a hitting display in ousting Loogootee from Class A Sectional 63 play 12-0 in five innings on Tuesday at Costello Field.
The fifth ranked Lady Cougars (17-5) banged out 15 hits, including a pair of home runs during a seven run second inning against Loogootee (12-13) starter Cassi Crew. Crew pitched out of a bases loaded, no out jam in the first, but couldn’t survive the second.
Elizabeth Fitzgerald led off the ND second with a home run to right field. North Daviess then loaded the bases with one out before Sharayah Graber delivered the big blow of the night for the Cougars when she hit a grand slam home run over the center field fence, giving ND a 5-0 lead. A hit, a walk, and a two run double by Nicole Willis later, Crew was replaced in the circle by Rebecca Craney and the Lady Cougars were well on their way to Thursday’s sectional final against Barr-Reeve.
That the big hits for ND didn’t come from the two biggest bats in the Cougar order — No. 2 hitter Kristen O’Haver and cleanup batter Katie Doades — but from other spots in the lineup made ND coach Jodi Berry very happy.
“I’m just tickled to death. We made the comment a couple of weeks ago that we’ve got to step it up when somebody’s down. Even though Kristen and Katie had two hits, they weren’t smashing the ball,” said Berry. “I can’t say enough about the girls that just came in and hit the ball extremely hard. It was an excellent team effort, they came in to show that they knew how to play ball, and I was pleased with them.”
The Cougars added five runs in the bottom of the fourth, then saw Samara Graber pitch a scoreless fifth to end the game via the 10-run rule. O’Haver hurled four shutout innings to earn the win for ND.
North Daviess had six players record multiple hit games, including leadoff hitter Brooke Wittmer, who had three hits. O’Haver had a pair of hits and drove in two runs, while Sharayah Graber finished with two hits and five RBI. Doades, Willis, and Jolynn O’Haver also had two hits apiece.
Loogootee finished with just three hits, including a single each from Jessica Padgett, Kristin Mann, and Jaclyn Padgett. The Lady Lions threatened only once, in the fourth, when LHS had runners at second and third and one out. But O’Haver retired the next two hitters to keep the shutout going.
Loogootee loses four seniors — Crew, Mann, Sondra Slaubaugh, and Ashley Sexton — a quartet that Lion coach Greg Clark says will be missed.
“That senior bunch, they’ve been through a lot with us. They’ve been such a pleasure to have around,” said Clark. “They know how much we appreciate them, and how much I’m going to miss them.”

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