EATON — Eaton’s softball and baseball teams are off to a good start this season.
After winning three games on Friday and Saturday, the softball team has now won four straight games and stands 5 -1on the season.
The baseball team split a pair of games over the weekend to see its record go to 4-2.
“We had a big day yesterday beating St. Henry twice,” softball coach Maggie Neanen said of sweeping a doubleheader at St. Henry on Saturday, April 6. “Each of our players yesterday had a plan at the plate, made adjustments when needed. Defensively Ella Statzer and Kaydence Cook had a day, the freshman pair are our left side of the infield, they got a lot of ground balls behind our drop ball pitcher Sarah Abner, they made plays.”
Meredith Pieratt and Julie Schrimper were the pair on the mound and behind the plate of game 1, holding St Henry to 3 runs and striking out 11.
In game two, Sarah Abner & Alexia Morgan teamed up. Abner got her first start this year on the mound and was extremely efficient, throwing only 68 pitches in 7 innings.
“She got us a lot of ground balls and we made plays.”
Eaton won the opener 5-3 and took the second 8-4.
In game one, Cook went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, while Pieratt added two hits and drove in a run.
In game two, Abner went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Cook added two more hits and drove in a run. Hannah Redick hit her first home of the season as she went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
“Overall yesterday was great,” Neanen said. “This team is fun. Their chemistry is like nothing I’ve seen in my 10 years. We will continue to get better and grow as the season goes on.”
On Friday, the Eagles hit two home runs en route to a 6-3 win at Arcanum.
“We’ve been playing Arcanum for years and it’s always a battle with them,” Neanen said. “They are a competitive team who will always put the ball in play. It is hard to go up there and win. This team was on a mission to go up and get a statement win, and we did. We had some timely hits and Meredith threw extremely well, kept them on their toes at the plate. Collectively, as a team, we played very well (despite how chilly it was) we left with a team win.”
Madison Copper hit a solo home run in the first and was 2-for-4 for the game. Pieratt added two hits, including a home run and drove in two runs. Schrimper had two hits, including a double and had two RBI.
Eaton has a busy week scheduled. They were to travel to Brookville for a key Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye Division match-up on Tuesday, April 9. They are scheduled to play at Oakwood on Wednesday and host Oakwood on Friday. They will close out the week with a home doubleheader with Talawanda on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. The game also marks the Eagles annual Pink Game to promote cancer awareness.
The baseball Eagles ran their winning streak to four games with a 3-1 at Arcanum on Friday.
Eaton scored twice in the second and added another run in the fifth. Arcanum’s lone run came in the third.
The Eagles were held to just two hits with Dillon Jerdon and Gavin Winings collecting those.
Jerdon pitched the first four innings, allowing just three hits. JT Gels tossed the final three innings and struck out six.
On Saturday, Eaton traveled to Loveland where it had its four-game winning streak snapped.
The host Tigers scored five runs in the second, a run in the fourth and closed out the scoring and the game with a five-run sixth.
For Eaton, Gels had the lone hit. As a team, the Eagles struck out 10 times.
Eaton was scheduled to be back in action on Tuesday, April 9 at Waynesville. Like the softball team, they will be at Oakwood on Wednesday and host the Lumberjacks on Friday.
Also, on Saturday, the Eagles will host Kenton Ridge for a doubleheader. The game will also be the annual Pink Game honoring former teacher Rhonda Winings, who lost her battle with cancer in September of last year.
Reach Eddie Mowen Jr. at 937-683-4061 and follow on X @emowenjr.
