Drury Gets Aggressive, Downs Central
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Brooke Bishop drove in four runs at the plate for the Drury softball team on Monday afternoon.
But she made an even bigger impact in the field in a 14-6 win over Springfield Central.
“She’s good behind the plate,” Blue Devils coach Michelle Darling said. “She’s like the captain on the field when she’s behind the plate because she sees everything. And when she initiates a play, everybody moves.”
And Bishop was starting a lot of action on Monday, jumping up to make a throw or threaten a throw on almost every pitch when the Eagles had a runner on base.
Those efforts led to a couple of rundowns on the base paths to keep Central from cashing in on scoring opportunities and two runners caught directly trying to steal second base.
Danielle Harnick also played a role in stranding six Central runners as she finished with 13 strikeouts in leading Drury to a 2-1 start this spring.
Central actually drew first blood with a run in the top of the first.
But the Blue Devils answered right away, scoring the first three hitters to come to the plate.
First, Madison Saunders led off the bottom of the first with a walk.
Then, after she stole second, Ariana Rivard got down a bunt to put runners at the corners. Rivard then took second and both came home on Bishop’s single to left to make it 2-1.
Bishop then stole second, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on an error to give Drury a 2-1 lead.
“Being aggressive is a point of emphasis,” Darling said. “We want to be aggressive on the bases and step it up a little from last year. Because we were very young. We’re still young, but we learned a lot. We are going full out aggression all the time.”
No. 9 hitter Heaven Mazza walked and stole a base in the second before coming around to score on Bishop’s sacrifice fly.
In the fourth, Drury extended its lead to 7-1. Rivard (2-for-2) had the big hit, a two-run triple to left. Bishop brough Rivard home on a ground ball.
Central made a game of it with three runs in the top of the fifth to get within three.
But Drury put the game all but out of reach with a seven-run fifth that used just four hits, including RBI singles from Saunders and Rachael Barrows.
Drury will look to stay on a winning track on Thursday when it hosts Ludlow.