SWANSEA — An early offensive output coupled with some solid defensive plays was all the Case Cardinals needed Monday afternoon as the Cardinals beat the Apponequet Lakers 7-3 in South Coast Conference softball at the Elizabeth S. Brown School.
“Solid performance overall,” Case coach Shannon Silva said. “We definitely still have to clean some stuff up on offense and defense, but (center fielder) Ali Feilhauer offensively continues to keep us in games and Jenna Thibault out in right field continues to put out (ESPN) SportsCenter Top 10 plays every game.”
Feilhauer went 2-for-4 at the plate with a run, stolen base and a pair of RBIs off two singles, while Thibault made two diving catches, including one she tossed to second for a quick double play.
Offensively, the Cardinals also saw a strong outing from third baseman Hannah Pelletier, who went 2-for-3 with a single, double, run and an RBI while catcher Maddy Medeiros went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
In the circle, pitcher Riley Burgess tosses a complete game for Case, giving up six hits and three runs while striking out five.
The loss was charged to Apponequet pitcher Jillian Rogers, who went two innings while giving up four hits, four runs and two walks while striking out one. Madison Fisher threw four innings in relief for the Lakers giving up four hits and three runs while also striking out one.
Offensively, center fielder Jordan McCloskey led the way from the leadoff spot, going 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs and an RBI while catcher Mackenzie Murray went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Feilhauer led things off for the Cardinals in the bottom of the first with a single, advancing to second when Thibault was hit by a pitch before a double steal set the two up in scoring position. A wild pitch brought Feilhauer home to make it 1-0 before Rogers retired two of the next three batters she faced to end the inning.
In the second inning, left fielder Sydney Hajder and shortstop Riley Fitzgerald hit back-to-back singles and a throwing error to second on a Fitzgerald stolen base saw Hajder come home to double the Case lead. After Thibault walked, Maddy Medeiros hit a base-clearing double deep to left field to make it 4-0, which the Cardinals carried into the third.
The Lakers struck back with two runs in the top of the third.
Facing a new pitcher to start the home half of the third, the Cardinals wasted little time expanding their lead as the first three batters all reached base. Pelletier brought designated player Casey Medeiros home on an RBI double while first baseman Abby Medeiros walked after her before Feilhauer drove them both home on a deep single to make it 7-2.
From there, both pitchers kept control for their respective teams, with Fisher giving up only one hit to the Cardinals over the final three innings. Burgess retired the side in back-to-back innings before a leadoff single by McCloskey in the sixth saw Murray drive her home on an RBI double to make it 7-3, but further trouble was averted as Thibault pulled a 7-6 double play, diving for the catch and then tossing it quickly to second to catch Murray off guard.
“We have some stuff we need to work on at practice definitely for sure,” Silva said. “We’ve got Bourne on Wednesday, so we’ll try to clean that stuff up before (then).”
The Cardinals play at Bourne Wednesday.