Dowagiac sweeps Marshall

Published 2:21 pm Wednesday, April 19, 2006

By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
Dowagiac's Katie Roach will always remember her varsity pitching debut.
The junior hurler tossed a perfect game with four strikeouts to help the Chieftains to a Big 16 Conference non-divisional sweep of visiting Marshall.
Senior Ashley Willis tossed a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts in the Chieftains 10-2 victory in the opening game. Dowagiac then took the nightcap, 16-0 in four innings.
"We didn't play very well the first game," Dowagiac coach Mike Behnke said. "Our hitting, defense and base running were not as good as I expect them to be. In the second game, we stepped up and played like we should.
"We made every play defensively and we ran the bases well. It doesn't hurt that in her first game pitching, Katie Roach throws a perfect game and Lynne Zachary gets her first career home run to end the game," Behnke added.
After a sluggish start in the opening game, Dowagiac exploded for six runs in the sixth inning to break open the close contest.
Dowagiac, ranked No. 8 in the latest Division 2 coaches' poll, finished with 13 hits, including a triple by Amy Wood and doubles from Willis and Beth Tomczak.
Wood finished the game 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Willis drove in three runs. Kim Luthringer was 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Brittany Bruens was 2-for-4. Holly Lowe was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
In the second game, Dowagiac banged out 10 hits.
The Chieftains put the game away in the first inning with eight runs. Dowagiac added three in the third and five in the fourth.
Bruens, Lowe and Sara Ausra all had two hits for the Chieftains. Roach added a double and Zachary a three-run home run.
Dowagiac (8-1) will entertain South Bend (Ind.) Riley on Thursday beginning at 5 p.m.
First game
Marshall 000 002 0 - 2 1 4
Dowagiac 001 126 x - 10 13 1
Ashley Willis (W, 4-1), Chelsea McGill (L, 2-7)
2B: Willis (D), Beth Tomczak (D)
3B: Amy Wood (D)
Second game
Marshall 000 0 - 0 0 6
Dowagiac 803 5 - 16 10 0
Katie Roach (W, 1-0), McGill (L, 2-8)
2B: Katie Roach (D)
HR: Lynne Zachary (D)
Records: Marshall 2-8, Dowagiac 8-1