Hornets Split with Bulldogs

The Saline Hornets took one of two against the Chelsea Bulldogs Monday night.  Saline lost the opener 10-5 but shut out Chelsea 10-0 in the nightcap. The Hornets mustered 21 hits between both games.

Kristina Zalewski had a rough outing in game one. She allowed 10 runs, six earned, on six hits. She struck out 14 batters but walked five, all of whom scored. Her defense did not give her a solid performance either, with five errors leading to four runs. Offensively, the Hornets mustered little until the end of the game. The sixth inning saw Saline break the shutout with a lead-off triple by Amy Jedele. She was brought home by Laura Vaccaro with a sacrifice fly with the next at-bat. Saline would mount a small rally in the bottom of the seventh with three consecutive singles by Courtney Brown, Angel Schilke and Rachel Gould. All three would score on a Vaccaro triple; she was then plated by Sarah Tommelein’s single. The rally would end with the next batter, who grounded out to the pitcher to end the game.

“[Zalewski’s] adjusting to 43 feet. She’s having a tougher time with it, plus she was injured all winter, so she’s really just starting to pitch. So give her a little bit of time and she’ll get it. When she’s on fire, she’s on fire, but she’s having a tough time with corners right now,” said head coach Alicia Seegert.

The nightcap was a stronger performance by the Hornets. Vaccaro pitched a six-inning shutout behind a much more solid defense, and the offense got more timely hitting than the previous game. Saline struck first in the opening frame with three runs on three hits, all singles by Gould, Jedele and Tommelein. They struck again in the second for three more and put up two in the fourth and two in the sixth to mercy the Bulldogs. Caleigh Bond ripped a single to left to score Vaccaro and Tommelein to end the game. Vaccaro ended the night giving up five hits while striking out four and walking just one. She also went 6-6 with four singles, a double a triple a walk and a sacrifice fly, plating six RBIs. 

“[Vaccaro] has grown as a pitcher. She’s had a tough time with the height of her pitches. Batting, she’s a tough hitter. She’s just working hard and understanding her role,” said Seegert.

The Hornets travel to Adrian on Wednesday for a doubleheader.