Clyde beats Carey, improving every day

CLYDE — Big hits from everywhere. Clyde clobbered six doubles and three home runs Thursday, topping Carey 14-4 in non-league action. Ariah Farrar, pitcher Taitum Jeffrey and senior Ella Howey accounted for the home runs. Farrar's was a three-run poke in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game via run-rule. "They say hitting is contagious and it really is," Fliers coach Marc Marshall said. "Once someone can get the ball rolling, it seems like the momentum gets going and the snowball starts heading down the hill. We've been lucky this year that we've had different contributors throughout the lineup." Clyde (19-5) trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the third before exploding for six runs. The Fliers played from ahead the rest of the way. Kennedi Long doubled before a run-scoring single by Ember Andres tied the game at 2. Later, Howey went deep off of Carey pitcher Tylin Stoll to extend Clyde's lead to 5-2. Howey struck out in her first at-bat, but responded in her second chance. "I didn't have a great first at-bat, so I wanted to make up for it a little bit," Howey said. "I was seeing it well. It's 1 through 9 that can hit. I think when someone gets it going, it's a domino effect." Later in the inning, Farrar tattooed a RBI double before scoring on Teaghan Smith's RBI double. That was more than enough support for Jeffrey in the circle. While the Blue Devils got to her a few times, Jeffrey pitches to contact rather than walking hitters. Getting some offense on the board is always a big help. "It's very nice in the circle because you're going out there with a cushion," said Jeffrey of pitching with the lead. "I have my defense behind me and they're very helpful. As a hitter, you know if you make a mistake or ground out, there's going to be someone behind you to pick you up." Jeffrey did damage at the plate herself in the fifth inning. Howey and Adrianna Barnes-Ortmann each singled before Farrar's single scored a run. After an out, Jeffrey homered to left field, giving Clyde a 11-4 lead. "It was a 3-1 count and I knew she was going to try to throw me a strike because she was behind in the count," said Jeffrey of facing Carey reliever Danika Hanna. "I took advantage of her missing her spot. She was throwing me some different pitches, but I capitalized on her mistake." Farrar ended the game early in the sixth inning, finishing her day with four hits. Mya Stiefel doubled and Barnes-Ortmann walked before Farrar crushed her shot to center. It finished off a pesky Carey team. While not near the level they were a year ago when they were regional runners-up to Monroeville, the Blue Devils were a tough out on a breezy, cool day at Joe Wilson Field. "Obviously, we didn't play our best softball and part of that was because of Carey," Marshall said. "I thought they played extremely well. We grinded it out. I know the score isn't indicative to how the game actually went. The best thing we did was they were never able to win an inning. They would score and we would come right back and match, which I think is crucial because they were never able to keep the momentum." Jeffrey finished with nine strikeouts in a complete game effort. She's just a sophomore, but has been a steady force for the Fliers since entering high school. Jeffrey gets the ball in almost every game and has become one of the leaders on the team. "Today she grinded it out and maybe didn't have her best stuff," Marshall said. "She's going to battle and she's going to go at people. That's what she did. She's going to give up hits because she doesn't like to walk people. Because of that, they're going to get the bat on the ball and so be it. She has done a nice job of hitting her spots and she does a nice job of fielding her position." Clyde has just two seniors in Howey and Long, who each finished with two hits against Carey. The Fliers also have a pair of freshmen in the lineup in Farrar and Ember Andres. That quartet, along with the rest of the team, have come together to create one of the best teams in the area. "This year has been awesome with the way the kids have grown together," Marshall said. "Kennedi and Ella have done an outstanding job. They've been two of the best leaders we've ever had with the younger kids. We have two freshmen starting and you'd never know. Kennedi and Ella are right there with them. They partner up when they're in the batting cages together. It's never like they're away from everyone. It's one cohesive unit." Clyde clinched the outright Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division title Wednesday in an 18-1 win against Tiffin Columbian. The Fliers are 9-0 in the league and have the opportunity to finish off an undefeated slate Friday at home against Perkins. "We would like to finish it," Marshall said. "Perkins will come over and be ready to play. We have to be ready to play. We have an opportunity to go undefeated in the league and we've never done that before in my tenure or since we've had softball since 1984. We have something that we can accomplish." After that, Clyde has a pair of home games next week against state-ranked teams before tournament play. The Fliers host Division V No. 4 Eastwood (16-2) on Tuesday and Division VII No. 8 Tiffin Calvert (18-2) on Friday. "You obviously want to play your best ball at the end of the year," Marshall said. "Eastwood is very good and Calvert just had a big win (Wednesday) over New Riegel. We want to see the best. If we want to try to advance in the tournament, you have to play the best. It gives us a chance. We're going to see quality pitching and we're going to see quality teams." Carey 101 020 - 4 5 1Clyde 106 043 - 14 16 1 WP: Jeffrey. LP: Stoll 2B: (Ca) Bouillon; (Cl) Jeffrey, Farrar, Smith, Long, West, Stiefel. HR: (Ca) Kessler; (Cl) Farrar, Jeffrey, Howey