By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES - In a contest that feature plenty of defensive gems, it was a misque that led to a 1-0 victory for visiting Dowagiac Saturday afternoon against Brandywine.
The Chieftains, ranked No. 6 in Division 2, swept a non-conference softball doubleheader from host Brandywine, ranked No. 4 in Division 3.
Dowagiac followed up its 15-inning victory over the Lady Bobcats in game one with an 8-2 win in the second game.
In a battle of two of Southwest Michigan's top pitchers, an error with two outs in the top of the 15th allowed the winning run to score for the Chieftains.
Brandywine's Kelli Zache struck out 20 batters, while Dowagiac's Brittney Reist fanned 15 Lady Bobcats.
In a scoreless contest, Kim Luthringer doubled off of Zache with two outs and scored when Reist popped up on the infield between the pitching circle and second base. Zache and Brandywine second baseman Rachel Batman collided as they both went after the ball which allowed Luthringer, who with two outs was off and running on the play, to score with ease.
Reist then struck out two of the three Brandywine batters she faced in the bottom of the 15th to preserve the victory.
Zache dropped to 20-5 on the season.
Brandywine coach Jim Myers said "You hate to see it end like that on a mental error. But both teams played great. They played great defense and I thought we did too. You can't ask for any more out of your pitchers. Good pitchers are going to dominate hitters. I think it's a good step towards the district coming for both of us."
The Chieftains (29-4) outhit Brandywine 10-5 in the contest, but could not score thanks to the pitching of Zache and some outstanding defensive plays by the Lady Bobcats.
Dowagiac had four doubles in the contest at Luthringer, Brittany Bruens, Mandy Parish and Amy Wood all logged extra base hits. Bruens had three hits for the Chieftains while Parish and Wood both had two hits.
Dee Echevarria was 2-for-4 to lead the Lady Bobcats. Zache, Amanda Grice and Batman had the other hits.
Reist (13-2) allowed five hits in recording the shut out.
It was all Dowagiac in the second game as the Chieftains scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back.
The Lady Bobcats did cut the lead to 4-2 with their only runs in the second innings, however, Dowagiac scored three runs in the fourth and a run in the fifth to secure the victory.
Grice doubled to drive in both Brandywine runs.
Ashley Willis (11-2) tossed a seven hitter with five strike outs. Kendra Zache took the loss in her first apperance of the season.
Dowagiac finished with 10 hits, including a 2-for-4 performance from Luthringer with the home run and three RBIs. Bruens and Wood both had two hits for the Chieftains.
Brandywine finished with seven hits, led by Ashley Antus, who was 2-for-4 with a double. Mallory Barber was 2-for-3. Kristina Ford, Angela Newman and Kendra Zache had the other three hits for the Lady Bobcats.
First game
Dowagiac 000 000 000 000 001 - 1 10 3
Brandywine 000 000 000 000 000 - 0 5 2
Brittney Reist (W, 13-2), Kelli Zache (L, 20-5)
2B: Brittany Bruens (D), Mandy Parish (D), Amy Wood (D)
Second game
Dowagiac 310 310 0 - 8 10 4
Brandywine 020 000 0 - 2 7 2
Ashley Willis (W, 11-2), Kendra Zache (L, 0-1)
2B: Kim Luthringer (D), Amanda Grice (B)
Hr: Luthringer (D)
Varsity records: Dowagiac 29-4, Brandywine 25-8