Cougars Win Battle Of OVAC Leaders Against Bridgeport

BRIDGEPORT – Runs were at a premium when OVAC softball division leaders Frontier and Bridgeport hooked up on a sunny, but deceivingly cold, Tuesday afternoon.

After seven defensive-minded innings, the visiting Cougars (8-0) escaped Irene Ehni Memorial Field with a 2-1 victory over the Bulldogs (6-2). Frontier sits atop the Class 1A standings, while Bridgeport held down the top spot in Class 2A.

“I think we just made too many errors at crucial times,” admitted first-year Bridgeport head coach Hannah Boyer. “We missed a couple of throws. We missed a couple of fly balls. That’s what it came down to.”

Bridgeport took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Addie Snodgrass singled to left with one out. She advanced to second when the ball was bobbled and took third on a wild pitch. Vanessa Mullen laid down a sacrifice bunt in which the Cougars elected to take the out as Snodgrass scored.

Frontier drew even an inning later as Alexis Livingston led off with a double to right-center. With one out, Kiera Wolfe bunted to Snodgrass at third who threw across the diamond to Jayde Carman at first. Livingston never hesitated while rounding third and slid across the plate as the throw home was off target.

The Cougars’ defense shined in the fourth as the Bulldogs had runners on second and third with just one out. However, a strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play ended the threat.

Bridgeport used a defensive gem of its own in the fifth to keep the game knotted. With Seminole runner on second, Snodgrass fielded a bouncer at third and caught the runner in a rundown as Snodgrass eventually applied the tag. She then alertly threw to Rylee McElroy at second to end the inning.

Kenzie Livingston was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth for Frontier. She went to second when a fly ball to right off the bat of winning pitcher Kaycee Berentz was misplayed. Grace Arnold followed with a solid single to right as Livingston raced home. However, Bridgeport’s Vanessa Mullen settled down inside the circle and retired the next three batters to strand Cougars at second and third.

Bridgeport threatened in the bottom of the seventh as Jayde Carman singled with one out. However, McElroy’s line drive was snagged by Arnold, the Frontier first baseman, who tagged Carman to end the game.

“We’ve been hitting the ball really well, but we slowed down today,” Boyer added. “We’ll get back on that and be ready for the next game.”

Berentz allowed two singles while striking out five and walking three. The senior needed just 87 pitches – 60 strikes – and threw a first-pitch strike to 20 of the 24 Bulldogs she faced.

Mullen pitched well enough to win. The lefty fanned five, didn’t walk a Cougar but hit three. She surrendered five hits and threw 89 pitches, of which 64 went for strikes. However, she was only able to get ahead of 14 of the 29 Frontier hitters she faced.