PLEASANT HILL – Milton-Union made a statement on Wednesday that it is a team to be reckoned with after a convincing 12-1 run rule victory over a traditionally strong Newton team.
When gauging a team, everyone seems to focus on the amount of runs a team scores, but in Milton-Union’s case, what made an impression was the pitching and defense the Lady Bulldogs displayed on the field against a team that always seems to find a way to manufacture runners across the plate.
In all, the Lady Bulldogs allowed just three hits in the contest and played error-free ball in the field, which gives future opponents an idea of how difficult it will be to score against a team that is as balanced across the board as Milton-Union.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first, but Newton was able to tie the score with a run in the bottom half of the inning.
After a scoreless second inning, Milton-Union took advantage of a fielding error by Newton to plate two runs in the third and then broke the game open with a seven-run third inning.
Two more runs by the Lady Bulldogs followed in the top of the fifth to push the lead 12-1 with Newton coming to the plate hoping to prevent the run rule with three outs left.
Milton-Union sophomore Carly Zimmer was in a zone in the circle and kept Newton off balance with her change-of-speed pitches. This resulted in three quick outs to end the bottom of the fifth and the game as the Lady Bulldogs walked off the field with an extremely impressive early-season victory.
Zimmer was impressive as she allowed just three hits and struck out seven batters in her five innings of work. She also had a solid defense behind her – a defense that didn’t commit a single error in the contest.
Offensively, Milton-Union was equally impressive as it tallied 19 hits in five innings.
Zimmer helped herself out at the plate by connecting on three hits on four at bats and scoring three runs with two RBI.
Kenna Booher also had three hits on four at bats and scored three runs while crossing the plate once herself.
Maria Lopez was also three-for-four in the contest and accounted for two run with an RBI and a run scored.
Yes, it was an impressive outing for Milton-Union – a complete win as all players contributed to the effort that improved the Lady Bulldog’s record to 2-0 on the young season.
It was a statement win as well.
| VIEW GAME PHOTOS |
SCORE BY INNINGS:
Milton-Union – 1 – 0 – 2 – 7 – 2 = 12 – 19 – 0
Newton – 1 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 = 1 – 3 – 4
