DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
DECATUR – A four-run fifth inning was too much for the Bellmont Braves to overcome on a beautiful night for softball Monday and they fell to Woodlan, 9-6.
The Braves were able to put the ball in play against Abby Horn, who is headed to Hanover College this fall, striking out just once, but they also only had one extra-base hit, a double by Emily Bleke to lead off the first.
MK Scheumann got the start for the Braves and threw three innings, allowing five runs. She was relieved by Bella Ashley to start the fourth inning with the Warriors up 5-2. Scheumann was credited with the loss.
Ashley pitched the rest of the way, giving up four runs in the fifth.
Bellmont answered Woodlan’s two runs with a pair of their own in the bottom of the first as Taylor Bauer knocked in both tallies with an RBI single. Bauer had three hits on the night and scored twice.
After Woodlan scored three times in the third, the Braves drew back to 5-4 in the fourth with a two-out rally. Carissa Mickley singled and went to second on a ground ball by Ella Franze. The throw and Mickley’s slide were late and the sophomore had to be removed from the lineup. She was replaced by Finnley Godsey, who scored on a single to right by Aaliyah Faurote.
Franze scored on a well-executed double steal by Faurote, who drew the throw from the Woodlan catcher.
The four runs in the next half inning by Woodlan were too many for the Bellmont offense with just nine outs to play with.
Bella Ashley knocked in Bauer in the fifth and did the exact same again in the seventh, but it was all the Braves could muster, falling to 3-1 on the year.
The Braves’ next contest will be at home Wednesday against Heritage. That matchup can be heard on WZBD’s YouTube channel, with the first pitch scheduled for 5:30 p.m.