Lane strikes out 12 in Margaretta's 11-0 win

PORT CLINTON — There was one thing that stuck out to Margaretta softball coach Mike Williamson about Cassidy Lane's performance. After missing most of the season last year with a wrist injury, it was Lane's ability to get through five strong innings on 81 pitches. Lane struck out 12 and got plenty of support from her offense as the Polar Bears defeated Port Clinton 11-0 in Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division action Thursday. "That's keeping her fresh," Williamson said. "We wanted her to hit her spots and she did that well today. She followed the game plan. We want to keep her ready for the rest of the season, so it worked out really well." Lane struck out the side in each of the first two innings before a pair of strikeouts in each of the final three innings for Margaretta (6-2, 2-0 SBC Bay) She allowed three hits, two coming in the fifth inning for the Redskins (6-3, 2-1). "The pitcher we faced last night is nowhere near what Cassidy was," said PC coach Ryan Wiechman of a win over Ottawa Hills on Wednesday. "We were way behind the first time through. It was probably a little bit of intimidation. We haven't seen a pitcher of that caliber yet this year. "The second time through, we started putting the bat on the ball. We got some singles there at the end." The Polar Bears supplied plenty of offense for Lane. In the second inning, Kenadee Lesch, Eli Grime and Tessa Lane each singled for Margaretta. Ellaynah Schaefer then reached when a ball she hit wasn't fielded cleanly, scoring Lesch. After a flyout, Lucy Edwards smoked a ball to the right-field fence. She was able to hustle around the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam and a 5-0 lead. "They're a good team and (PC's) Marissa (Frohne) is a good pitcher," Williamson said. "Our bats were a little quiet yesterday (8-2 loss to Calvert). We stressed being aggressive today because we knew she was going to bring strikes. We showed that early, I thought." Cassidy Lane then walked before Brooke Hastings roped a triple to make it 6-0. The Polar Bears added a run in the fourth before busting the game open in the fifth inning. Isla Palomo led off with a triple before scoring on a groundout by Grime. Tessa Lane then singled before Schaefer singled. With Elliana Young at the plate, Margaretta executed a double steal, bringing in Tessa Lane for a run. Young walked and later scored when Cassidy Lane tripled to right field. That made it 11-0. "The girls worked hard in the offseason on hitting," Williamson said. "We hit a lot. I expect them to hit well. We didn't hit well yesterday so we wanted to make sure today we woke the bats up. We wanted to make contact. She's supplying the power and juice. If you make contact, it's going to go." Port Clinton struggled defensively behind Frohne. The Redskins made five errors and could have made things a little easier on themselves on multiple other plays. "Marissa was making out pitches on Lane and on Hastings," Wiechman said. "She was making out pitches and we didn't come up with the outs. We had a plan of if she was going to miss, it was going to be really low or really high. For the most part, she pitched a fantastic game. We just didn't back her up." Margaretta is back in action Friday when it hosts Toledo Christian and Saturday when it travels to Ashland Crestview. The Redskins continue a busy week by hosting Woodmore on Friday and traveling to Western Reserve for a doubleheader Saturday. Port Clinton has already played four games in four days this week and it's been a solid start to the season for the Redskins. "If we would have said we'd be 6-3 after nine games, we would have all taken it," Wiechman said. "We have some young girls playing like a freshman catcher and a couple sophomores. It's been pleasantly surprising with how we've gelled together. We're happy with where we're at." Margaretta 060 14 — 11 10 1 Port Clinton 0 3 5 WP: C. Lane. LP: Frohne. 2B: (M) Grime. 3B: (M) C. Lane, Palomo, Hastings. HR: (M) Edwards