By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Pitching, like real estate, is all about location, location, location. No matter where Brownstown hurlers placed the ball – unless it was dribbling off the rubber pellets as it neared the plate – Ava Ratliff was powerfully forwarding it to a new address. Outside the fence, another zip code away from its original destination.
Ratliff, Bedford North Lawrence’s super slugger, crushed two home runs, including a mammoth shot that probably would have blipped on the Chinese spy balloon radar had it not been shot down, and Kendall Graves blasted a walk-off bomb as the Stars overpowered Brownstown 11-1 in six innings on Monday afternoon.
The Stars, ranked No.3 in Class 4A, bashed out five extra-base hits, and Braxton McCauley blistered another drive off the top rail of the fence in left-center that was inches from a fourth homer. While the bashers did their work, Aliza Jewell and Haley Davis combined to scatter seven hits in the circle.
So that’s a complete team effort against quality opposition. The Braves (2-2 and ranked No.14 in Class 2A) had exploded for 43 runs during two weekend wins. But BNL (7-1 with six consecutive victories) is starting to look like softball’s version of the Big Red Machine. Few holes in that lineup.
“We hit the ball hard, a lot better than we have been,” BNL coach Brad Gilbert said. “We hit the ball solid, which is good to see.”
Nobody hits that yellow sphere harder than Ratliff. Her first time up, after Lauryn Anderson started with a walk against Brownstown starter Kyndle Huddleston, she clubbed a no-doubt drive to center. Brownstown coach Darren Bryant barked about wanting that pitch off the plate. It would have had to have been in the BNL dugout.
Third time up, following a wise intentional walk to BNL’s feared catcher in the second, Ratliff launched a three-run homer to the mezzanine level on the hillside overlooking the ballpark. Bryant wanted that pitch located on the ground. Ratliff golfed it a tape-measure distance for a 9-0 lead.
Then came the Graves blast to end it. Not many teams have a sixth hitter with a sparkling .526 average and 10 RBIs this early in the season. That shows the depth of the offensive attack.
“We can mix them all up, just throw them in a hat and pull them out,” Gilbert said. “She’s not your typical sixth hitter, and she’s going to have opportunities to drive in runs. There will be people on base in front of her. It should be exciting.”
For Graves, her first career walk-off was the product of contact, not excess swing force.
“I just try to get a base hit whenever I can,” she said. “I was just looking for a hit. You never know, it worked out. It feels pretty good.”
Jewell (3-1) worked the first four innings and avoided trouble while allowing four hits. Davis gave up a run in the sixth but was sharp with her change-up.
“Aliza pitched really well, and Haley came in and settled down,” Gilbert said. “She did a good job of keeping them off balance. We’ll take a few hits if they’re softly hit. There’s nothing to complain about. We beat a really solid team.“
BNL’s other runs came in the first (Graves drew a bases-loaded walk), second (Jewell with a RBI infield single) and third (Tori Nikirk singled, stole second and scored on two wild pitches). Ratliff accounted for 5 RBIs while Anderson and Jewell had two hits each.
Huddleston and Emily Dillman had two hits each for the Braves.
BNL will return to action on Friday in the Lady Braves Bash at Terre Haute South.
