By SCOTT NOVAK
Dowagiac Daily News

The Dowagiac varsity softball team ran its winning streak to 10 games Wednesday afternoon with a sweep of visiting Coloma.

The Chieftains (16-10) took the first game from the Comets 12-4 and then won the nightcap, 3-1.

During the winning streak, Dowagiac has been pounding the ball, playing solid defense and getting good pitching.

“We continued to hit the ball hard tonight in both games,” Dowagiac coach Mike Behnke said. “I knew it was a matter of time before we found some gaps because we had some loud outs early in the second game.

“Our hitting, defense and pitching were good tonight, but our baserunning was not for the most part. Bad baserunning mikestakes cost us runs in both games. We will work on that at practice and see what kind of team we are Friday night when we play a very good Otsego team,” he added.

In the opening game, Dowagiac banged out 14 hits, including a 3-for-4 performance from lead-off hitter Katie Lorenz, who doubled and drove in a pair of runs.

Devon Ownby and Torie Lowe both had two hits, including a double and they combined for four RBIs.

Kiele Belew had a pair of hits and two RBIs, while Kristyn Turner added two hits.

Sierra Herter also had a double and Rachael Bailey drove in two runs.

Miranda East tossed a five-hitter with three strikeouts to improve to 8-5 on the year.

In the second game, Lorenz continued her torrid hitting as she was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI.

Lowe and Tara Sova both singled and drove in runs. Bailey added a double.

Sova (8-5) tossed a two-hitter with four strikeouts.

First game
Coloma 000 021 1 – 4 5 5
Dowagiac 220 053 x – 12 14 1
Miranda East (W, 8-5) and Torie Lowe
2B: Katie Lorenz (D), Devon Ownby (D), Torie Lowe (D), Sierra Herter (D)

Second game
Coloma 010 000 0 – 1 2 0
Dowagiac 000 030 x – 3 9 1
Tara Sova (W, 8-5) and Torie Lowe
2B: Katie Lorenz (D), Rachael Bailey (D), Amanda Swihart (C)
Varsity record: Dowagiac 16-10