Dowagiac now 13-5 in Wolverine

Published 6:42 am Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Dowagiac’s Devon Ownby takes a rip at a pitch against Paw Paw Tuesday. (The Daily News/Ron Harner)

Dowagiac’s Devon Ownby takes a rip at a pitch against Paw Paw Tuesday. (The Daily News/Ron Harner)

The Dowagiac softball team improved to 13-5 in the Wolverine Conference Tuesday afternoon with a sweep of visiting Paw Paw.

The Chieftains, 19-13 overall, defeated the Redskins 8-2 and 11-1 in six innings.

Dowagiac finished the doubleheader with 21 hits and 19 runs.

The Chieftains banged out 12 hits in the first game, led by Katie Lorenz who was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Dowagiac also got three hits and two RBIs from Devon Ownby, while Kristyn Turner added a pair of hits.

Miranda East allowed three runs on nine hits with three strikeouts.

In the nightcap, Dowagiac had nine more hits, including a 2-for-4 performance from Lorenz, who had a triple and an RBI. Her triple was her school-record seventh of the season.

Amanda Craft also had two hits and drove in three runs. Ownby, Rachel Bailey and Tara Sova each had RBI singles.

Sova earned the victory as she allowed one run on five hits with eight strikeouts.

“We played good defense tonight and got good pitching for the most part,” Dowagiac coach Mike Behnke said. “We also hit the ball hard. However, we didn’t run the bases well and need to get that taken care of at practice. It was nice to see Katie get another school record. She got the season batting average record last year at .545 and now has the season triple record at seven and counting.”

First game

Paw Paw 000 020 1 – 3 9 2

Dowagiac 240 002 x – 8 12 2

Miranda East (W, 9-7) and Devon Ownby

Holly Vantilburg and Amanda Ampey

2B : Vantilburg (PP), Katie Lorez (D) 2

Second game

Dowagiac 243 002 – 11 9 0

Paw Paw 100 000 – 1 5 5

Tara Sova (W, 10-6) and Devon Ownby

Amanda Ampey and Courtney McCauley

3B: McCauley (PP), Katie Lorenz (D)

Varsity record: Dowagiac 19-13, 13-5 Wolverine