Clover offense comes alive at GHS

Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Jennifer Wiley

Cloverdale came out in the first inning at Greencastle Tuesday night and did what they have struggled to do so much of the season -- they put runs on the board. And they kept doing so for most of the game.

The Clovers picked up 13 runs on 11 hits and six walks, as Cloverdale defeated Greencastle, 13-9. The Clovers improved to 4-18 and finished the WCC at 3-9. The Tiger Cubs fell to 4-17 and finished the conference season at 4-8.

The production came from all parts of the lineup -- seven Clovers had hits, seven had runs batted in and eight scored runs. All nine offensive starters were involved in the scoring. Clover coach Greg Crum was impressed with his lineup, top to bottom.

"We haven't had many games where that's happened," Crum said. "We have several kids hitting the ball on the nose. We probably had seven kids hit the the ball hard tonight."

"In the past, we've had maybe two or three. In the last several games, the middle and lower part of the lineup has come through," he added.

Chelsie Haltom, Hannah Monnett, Jennifer Wiley and Whitney Bond each had two hits for the Clovers, led by Monnett's double, three RBI and three runs. Wiley and Kristin McCammon each added two RBI, while Stephanie Tutterow also scored three times.

Tuesday was a far cry from Monday's loss to the Tiger Cubs at Cloverdale. On that evening, the Clovers had just four hits and no runs to show for it in the 9-0 loss.

The letdown was precisely what Greencastle coach Dave Keller did not want to see from his young team that has found some recent success

"We came out here on senior night and didn't put forth a very good effort at all," Keller said.

"We came out lackadaisical, and that will get you," he said.

While his disappointment was obvious, Keller made sure to give credit to the effort of the Clovers.

"Cloverdale played a good game. They hit our pitchers," he said.

Cassie Alspaugh got the start for the Tiger Cubs, was relieved by Kayla Nobles in the fourth, before returning in relief of Nobles in the sixth. In two stints on the mound, Alspaugh surrendered nine runs on eight hits and five walks. She struck out five in her five innings of work. Nobles surrendered four runs on three hits and a walk. She suffered the loss in her two innings of work.

"Take nothing away from Cloverdale," Keller said. "They came out with nothing to lose and everything to gain. We didn't get timely hits, and they got timely hits."

Greencastle's Sarah Land had a good night offensively, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored. Samantha Sillery scored three times, while Jessica Miller had two RBI.

While the night was a bit of a letdown, Keller did wish to emphasize the good play of his seniors in the final home game of their careers. Centerfielder Kylie Rowings was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Catcher Tabitha Wilson was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

"Tabitha and Kylie played excellent in the last game they'll ever play on this field. We're going to miss them,' Keller said.

Cloverdale starter Wiley tossed a complete game, surrendering nine runs on 11 hits and five walks. She struck out two Tiger Cubs in the victory.

"Wiley did a better job of keeping it around the strike zone today," Crum said.

With two more games on the slate, Crum could see no time to work on much this week. He just hoped to keep rolling.

"At this point, we just hope to continue what we did tonight the rest of this week," he said.

The Clovers travel to West Vigo for a 5 p.m. game Thursday. GHS will be at Owen Valley to close the regular season at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Cloverdale's regular-season finale is Friday at 4:30 p.m. when it hosts Rockville.

At Greencastle

Cloverdale 220 404 1 -- 13 11 1

Greencastle 012 042 0 -- 9 11 2

Wiley and Monnett (Cl). Alspaugh, Nobles (4), Alspaugh (6) and Wilson.

W -- Wiley

L -- Alspaugh

2B -- Monnett, McCammon (Cl), Land 2, Collins, Wilson (GHS)

Next game -- Cloverdale travels to West Vigo at 5 p.m. Thursday. Greencastle travels to Owen Valley at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

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