The No. 12 Akron-Westfield softball team took a battle of unbeatens on Friday night with a 10-2 win in six innings over MMCRU in Akron.
The Westerners were off and rolling early with three runs in the first inning, two in the third, and another three in the fourth. After struggling a bit in early innings to start the year, Akron-Westfield head coach Rachel Harris says she was happy to see the bats get going sooner.
Offensively, Akron-Westfield flexed their muscles hitting two balls out of Bob Tucker Field for home runs. Peyton Vander Helm homered in the first inning, and Josie Jacobs hit one in the sixth inning. Coach Harris says adding power to the game is crucial to be a well-rounded team.
MMCRU was down 8-0 going to the top of the fifth inning and could have easily packed it up for the night. Down to their final out in the fifth, the Royals got two-out RBI hits from Breanna Staab and Samantha Peterson to keep the game going. MMCRU head coach Kelly Tentinger was happy to see the team respond to early adversity.
Now with their first loss of the year, the Royals will try to let this be just a minor bump in the road on the way toward trying to reach the region final again. Coach Tentinger says the girls are still playing with a lot of confidence even after a tough loss.
Akron-Westfield keeps their undefeated record in-tact, and they are looking to keep it that way. Coach Harris says continuing to do the things that have gotten them here will be important.
Following each team’s games on Saturday, MMCRU is now 8-1 on the season while Akron-Westfield is 6-1 on the season.
