Clyde routs Galion

CLYDE — Clyde scored eight runs in the fourth inning without making an out and went on to shut out Galion 14-0 in a Division IV softball tournament opener Wednesday at Joe Wilson Field. "We had a great performance both in the field and at the plate." Fliers coach Marc Marshall said. "We had contributions from everyone in the lineup one through nine, and we were able to string together some runs regardless of where we were in the lineup." That's something that third-seeded Clyde (14-8) has struggled with this season. "It hasn't happened very often this season," Marshall said. "I'm hoping we are catching our breath there. Hopefully we can continue to keep taking swings and putting the ball into play." It isn't the first time this season that the teams have met. The Fliers hosted the Tigers (6-20) on April 6 and only won by two runs, 9-7. "Last time we played them, they tended to play small ball with us," senior Teaghan Smith said. "Yesterday that was a focus at practice. Their first three batters are lefties and we had to work around that." Senior Mya Stiefel talked about the struggles on bunting from the previous meeting. "We worked really hard on the bunting situation during practice," Stiefel said. "Obviously that helped us. Our hitting has improved." At the start of the game, Stiefel hit a double that brought in Ariah Farrar and Ember Andres, making it 2-0. "Our leadoff hitter Ariah does a really good job starting us off," Smith said. "We follow in each other's footsteps once we get going, and that gives us motivation to keep going and keep with it." Stiefel scored on a wild pitch while Jayleigh Flynn was at bat. Flynn sent a triple sailing out to center field. After Galion threw the ball back into the infield, it went over the third basemen's head into the Fliers dugout, allowing Flynn to score. The Fliers scored two more in the second inning to make it 6-0. Madison Myers got the pitching win with two strikeouts and no walks. "I thought Madison did a nice job keeping Galion off balance," Marshall said. The Fliers now turn their attention to a third game against Route 20 rival Bellevue in a district semifinal next Tuesday at Margaretta. "We are going to hit some ground balls over at the baseball field," Smith said. "Going from turf to dirt is a hard thing to do and a change and it's part of the preparation." Galion 000 00 — 0 4 1 Clyde 420 8x — 14 13 2 WP: Myers. LP: Beck 2B: (C) Farrar. 3B: (C) Stiefel, Guhn