Bats Power Kennedy Softball to Win Over Calhoun

The first-place Lady Cougars' offense came to play on Monday afternoon, as Kennedy defended its home turf with 14 hits in a 13-2 win over the Calhoun Lady Colts in the Conference AA-II game.

The Lady Cougars scored eight runs in the first two innings off Calhoun pitcher Lauren Savarese, who twisted her ankle in the first inning yet continued to try and pitch through the pain.

Kennedy jumped out to an early lead behind back-to-back singles from Heather Hulkower and Stephanie Bauman.

The Lady Cougars followed up their three-run first inning by batting around for five runs in the bottom of the second. Kennedy scored two runs on two wild pitches before Samantha Finkel smacked a three-run home run to extend the lead to 8-0.

Calhoun loaded the bases in both the third and fourth innings, but only managed to grab two runs thanks to some key defense from the Lady Cougars, including a double play in the bottom of the third turned by Hulkower.

Kennedy's Jamie Demmett hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third and knocked in another run in the fourth to give the Lady Cougars an 11-2 lead.

Kennedy pitcher Gabriella Calia hit a triple that scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth and ended the game due to the run rule. Calia also pitched five innings, allowing six hits, six walks and two strikeouts to pick up the win.

Demmett went 3-for-4 with the home run, two RBIs and two runs scored for the Lady Cougars. Hulkower went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored and Bauman went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Calhoun's Rebecca Suss and Jessica Livingston both went 2-for-3 while driving in a run. Livingston pitched the final three innings of the game for the Lady Colts.

“They are so strong with base running, which is great for me at third base that I don’t have to tell them what to do and slow it down," Kennedy head coach Katie Speiss said of her team's play. "They’re heads up, they’re aggressive and they’re quick, and they’re smart, and you have to be smart on the bases.”

Score: Kennedy 13, Calhoun 2

Records: Kennedy 5-1 (5-1); Calhoun 1-4 (3-5)

Heroes: Finkel's three-run blast in the bottom of the second quickly put her team way out in front. She finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored.

“That’s why she’s in there. … She’s been solid up at the plate: aggressive, in the zone, and strong contact," Speiss said. "[She hits] line drives whichever way, and one went all the way to the fence, so good job Finkel.”

Turning Point: The Lady Colts had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the third and were threatening when Hulkower wisely picked up a slow roller down the first base line, tagged the runner and threw home to complete the double play. The heads up play took a lot of momentum away from Calhoun.

“Defensively, when the bases were loaded, when things got tough … we kept them to those two runs," Speiss said. "We did well as a team and that’s what I’m loving about this year, we’re playing as a team.”

Quotable: “Kennedy came out fast and they have a great lineup, so it’s kind of hard to play from behind," Calhoun head coach Jason Boland said. "We were able to get on base, we just couldn’t get them home and I think that’s the difference between us and them today. They were able to knock those runs and we left a lot of runners on base and we also made a lot of errors in the field.”

Bottom Line: Savarese's injury was not a good way for Calhoun to start the game, neither were the five errors in that followed.

“Our pitcher getting hurt early kind of threw us off also. She was able to hold Oceanside to four runs last week," Boland said. "She twisted her ankle early in the game and I think that sort of opened up an opportunity for Kennedy.”

Boland added: “We have a game tomorrow, which is great. We can bounce back tomorrow. We really just have to talk a little bit about playing well in the field.”

Kennedy's bats were alive and well, as every batter in the lineup reached base throughout the game.

“We’ve been practicing a lot of hitting and we knew that offense is going to win us games, so we’ve just been doing as well as we can," Hulkower said.

“They hit the ball well. I know I have a great offensive team so I’m just hoping to keep that going,” Speiss added.

Who's Next? Today, Calhoun at Plainview JFK, 4:30 p.m.; Today, Herricks at Kennedy, 4:45 p.m.

Box Score

WP: Calia

LP: Savarese

HR: Finkel (Kennedy), Demmett (Kennedy)