Edison's offense, defense click in 12-2 win

MILAN TWP. — Adison Wechter was in the middle of a big first inning Monday. The Edison senior followed Abby Cloud's run-scoring single with a two-run single herself. That was all a part of the Chargers' big six-run first inning during a 12-2 six-inning Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division win over Huron. "I think my hit got the flow going," Wechter said. "It wasn't the best hit in the world and I didn't make the most contact, but a hit is a hit. It drove in runs and I got those RBI." After Cloud put the Tigers down in the top of the first, Stella Brown doubled before Peyton Taylor reached on an error. Cloud singled up the middle before Wechter's single gave Edison (6-2, 1-1 SBC Bay) a 3-0 edge. Lariah McMinn then singled and Peyton Bissell followed with a RBI single to push the lead to 4-0. "You can't give a team that hits the ball like Edison five outs in an inning," Huron coach Jude Schmidt said. "We had a routine pop fly we should have caught. Defensively, we had a tough day. Their defense played great. We gave up too many errors and they made the plays." After a groundout, No. 9 hitter Macari Harris roped a two-run double to left field. Harris has bounced around in the lineup, but Edison coach Jason Caponi likes what she is able to do from the bottom of the lineup. "Macari is a gamer. She's a dog," Caponi said. "I always batted her No. 9 last year. I've got some other girls swinging the bat, so I put her back in her comfortable spot. She's not the ninth batter because she can't do her job. "She's down there because I like her speed and she can turn it back over to the top of the lineup." Huron (4-3, 0-2) pitcher Madison Holeman induced a flyout to end the inning, but the damage had been done. "The hitting is contagious," Caponi said. "That first inning is what every coach wants to see. The bats came alive tonight. The girls were pumped up for this. They know we already have a loss in the conference and they want a piece of it." That was more than enough support for Cloud in the circle. She never had a 1-2-3 inning all day, but was able to make big pitches when the Tigers got runners on base. She needed just five pitches in the fourth inning and six pitches in the sixth. It helped that her defense behind her played flawlessly. "I think we all like the warmer weather a lot better," said Caponi of a day where it was 81 degrees at first pitch. "I think tonight was a complete game she put together. She only had two strikeouts. In high school softball, if you're not throwing 62 or 63 miles per hour, players are going to put the ball in play. We have to play defense and tonight we did." Huron did get to Cloud in the third inning. Lucy Hinners and Kaylee Albrycht each singled. After Cloud got the second out, Reece Hotz laced a double to the fence, bringing in both runs. "I thought offensively we hit the ball well," Schmidt said. "Cloud had two strikeouts, but a lot of times we hit balls right to them. Line drive to left field and she didn't even have to move. We had two to right field and she didn't have to move. That's how the game goes. You have to find a hole." Holeman gave Huron a chance by throwing scoreless innings in the second and third. Edison manufactured single runs in the fourth and fifth before blowing it open in the sixth. Cloud singled before Wechter reached on an error in the sixth. McMinn grounded out, but pinch-runner Ella Rogers scored. Bissell followed with a RBI single before a RBI triple from Delaney Fields made it 11-1. Harris then laid down a bunt and no play could be made with speedy runners on base. "Madison pitched very well," Schmidt said. "I hate to go back to it, but if you go back to every inning they scored, we gave them more than three outs. You can't do that to a team that hits like Edison." Huron has lost three in a row since starting the season 4-0. The Tigers head to league-leading Margaretta (9-2, 3-0) on Thursday. "We just got our full team back this game," Schmidt said. "The last two games before that, we were missing key people. Now that we're back, we have to work on that trust in each other." Entering last Friday, the Chargers were 2-2 and that didn't include being on the wrong side of an 11-0 score against Mohawk in a game that will be finished at a later date. In a matter of 72 hours, Edison has won four straight games. The Chargers are scheduled to travel to Vermilion on Tuesday and Willard on Thursday. "We haven't had a complete game this year," Caponi said. "The hitting is great, but I'm so excited about our defense. We had zero errors. I think Delaney had four plays at third and Lariah at shortstop had three or four plays. They didn't mess with my right side of the defense and we were pitching them outside." The game was big for both teams, but Edison didn't want to fall to 0-2 in league play. "We knew this game needed to be won," Wechter said. "The Margaretta game wasn't our best. We came out and showed who we really were. The win feels amazing. Now we're going to go for the conference championship." Huron 002 000 — 2 8 4 Edison 600 114 — 12 14 0 WP: Cloud. LP: Holeman. 2B: (H) Hotz; (E) Harris, Brown. 3B: (E) Fields