Marysville trampled

The Fighting Zebras got the key hits when it mattered most to come away with a 6-1 win over the Marysville High softball team at Abby Field in Marysville on Monday.

"We had the bases loaded twice and people in scoring position on two more occasions, but we needed to get that big hit," said first-year Marysville coach Larry Thomas.

"Our problem is that pitching-wise we are not that strong and the little mistakes are beating us."

Lincoln (3-0) struck first for a run in the top of the second inning by working the bases loaded on two walks and a single by Monique Dunievitz. Marysville starter Fiona Newman then walked Moorage Aiello to force in the run. Newman settled down after that, getting a force out at the plate and a fly out to center fielder Jessie Brown to leave the bases loaded.

Leaving runners on base was a problem for both teams, as the Indians stranded 10 runners and the Zebras left 16 on base.

"We need to improve on that for sure," Lincoln coach Ken Tofft said. "But we played defense when we needed to."

Marysville (2-5) looked to strike back in the bottom of the second inning when Janet and Jessica Thomas hit back-to-back singles and were followed by a walk to Kristiana Trapp to load the bases with no outs. Stephanie Tofft was then replaced in the circle by staff ace Nikoli Sharp. The move worked out perfectly for the Zebras. Sharp struck out the first two batters she faced before getting Brown to ground out to short to end the inning.

"I didn't want to get in a hole," coach Tofft said of the pitching change. "I could tell by the way we were swinging the bats that we could be struggling at the plate."

For Sharp, coming in with runners on base was no big deal.

"We usually switch on and off, so it's nothing new to me," said Sharp, who struck out nine in six innings of relief. "I was just trying to get strikeouts."

The Indians escaped a jam of their own in the third inning when Newman hit two batters and walked another to load the bases with no outs. Janet Thomas came in to relieve Newman and quickly got out of the jam by getting a strikeout, a force out at the plate and a popup.

"That was big," coach Thomas said. "She had the bases loaded with no outs and to get out of that inning was phenomenal."

The Zebras left the bases full again in the fourth inning, but not before they struck for three runs. Two singles and two walks set the table for Cassie Emerson, who's two-run single was the key hit of the afternoon. Ahead 4-0, the Zebras added two runs in the fifth inning thanks to three infield singles.

The Indians finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth when sophomore Alex Tanner led off with a triple to right field and scored on Newman's double to left, making the score 6-1.

"Pitching is a known issue, but except for the walks, we did great," coach Thomas said. "I thought we played good defense, especially Jessie (Brown) in center field. They hit a couple of shots and she's the only one on our team that could cover the ground. We just needed to find that clutch hit."

Newman went 2-for-4 with two doubles to lead Marysville's seven-hit attack. Tofft went 2-for-5 with five steals and scored two runs, Sharp went 2-for-5 with a double and scored twice and Emerson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead Lincoln.

Contact Andy Arrenquin at 743-0512 or at aarrenquin@appealdemocrat.com.