By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Even the best need to get a little dirty. Of course, there’s no dirt on the deluxe Bedford North Lawrence turf. That means the Stars can’t be afraid to sacrifice some rug burns when necessary.
No.4 BNL took home a few more of those rubber pellets as souvenirs for its aggression, diving and sliding to an 8-2 victory over Columbus East on Friday night. With normal starting pitcher Annie Waggoner sidelined by an ankle infection, Aliza Jewell shouldered that work load, and the defense behind her did the rest as the Stars took another step toward defending their Hoosier Hills Conference title.
Jewell (6-2) went the distance in the circle, and the bottom of the BNL batting order did a lot of damage as the Stars conquered the Olympians 8-2, pushing to 3-0 in the HHC race that is still far from decided.
With Waggoner’s absence leaving a void in the middle of the diamond, Jewell plugged that gap, striking out four and scattering five hits. With Waggoner at home rather than in her customary third spot in the batting order, the slack was taken up by the duo of Anna Williams (two hits) and Haleigh Canada (two RBIs).
After going hitless in limited chances during the first 14 games, Williams has 8 hits in the last seven. Canada had her first RBIs of the year. BNL (16-5) needed that boost from the bottom. East hurler Megan Kennedy kept the Stars off balance with a constant diet of slow, off-speed offerings. BNL’s thumpers were much quieter than normal, as Williams had the only extra-base hit. There’s more than one way to score.
“We had some good at-bats, and we hit the ball right at some people,” BNL coach Brad Gilbert said. “When they’re throwing off-speed, it’s hard to drive one off the fence, as opposed to the ball coming in 10 miles per hour faster.
“We manufactured some runs, took advantage of wild pitches. It wasn’t the sharpest game but it’s one we won. Sometimes it’s that way.”
Jewell gave up an early jolt. East lead-off batter Makenzie Foster cranked a two-strike home run to center. That got Jewell’s attention.
“I thought I was throwing harder after that,” Jewell said. “It kind of made me a little mad. I think I kind of needed it. I knew I had to do a job.”
BNL answered with a run in the first on Braxton McCauley’s two-out RBI, then took control with four in the second. Tori Nikirk reached on an error, Williams smacked her double to right, and Canada chased them both home with a single to left. Canada later scampered home on two wild pitches (Kennedy had five of those).
The Stars capped their scoring with three more in the fifth. Anderson was hit by a pitch, Ava Ratliff walked, Jewell lofted a sacrifice fly, Kendall Graves plated a run with a bunt as pinch runner Britta Warren beat the throw home, and Hayley Davis lifted another sacrifice fly.
East (9-8, 1-3 in the HHC) added a late run in the seventh.
BNL’s defense was solid, if not spectacular at times. Graves made a diving catch on a liner into the hole at short, the Stars turned a 1-2-3 double play to end a threat in the fifth, and McCauley made another diving catch in center to end the game.
“The defense was good,” Gilbert said. “The kids are working hard in practice, they love diving and sliding. They take pride in that.”
BNL was held to five hits, which is why the contributions from the lower lineup were crucial.
“I think my mindset has changed a lot,” Williams said. “Growing confidence in myself, because I’ve always been low in that. It’s just the mental game.”
The Stars were also more assertive on the bases, stealing two and putting pressure on East. It backfired a couple of times, but it was a signal of shifting gears without a key bat to produce punch.
“One of my goals was to be more aggressive, and it’s not happened a ton because we’re hit the ball so well,” Gilbert said. “You don’t want to leave a base open and give them the idea to walk people.”
BNL will visit Barr-Reeve on Tuesday.
