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NILES — Visiting Buchanan remained atop the Lakeland Conference softball standings following its sweep of arch rival Brandywine Wednesday.

The Bucks dominated the Bobcats, winning 18-2 and 10-3. Buchanan finished with 28 hits in the sweep.

“We made a commitment to playing a tough schedule to make us better and that is exactly what we are doing,” said Buchanan Coach Rachel Carlson. “Playing teams like Portage Northern will put pressure on us and help us learn and improve. I felt my players prepared well to play Brandywine and executed what we prepared for. Both of our pitchers threw great, had great sequences against their hitters and we put constant offensive pressure on them throughout the night. They made some nice plays on some balls we hit hard also.”

In the opening game, the Bucks scored two runs in each of the first three innings before adding a single run in the fourth and fifth innings to extend its lead to 8-0. Two more runs in the sixth gave Buchanan a 10-0 advantage before Brandywine finally got on the scoreboard.

After scoring two runs in the bottom-half of the sixth to make it 10-2, Buchanan exploded for eight runs in the top of the seventh to end any thoughts the Bobcats had of making a comeback.

Hailee Kara allowed one earned run on six hits with 11 strikeouts and no walks.

Caitlyn Horvath was 4-for-5 for the Bucks with an RBI, while Cameron Carlson and Alyvia Hickok were both 3-for-5. The two combined for three RBIs. Hickok had a home run for Buchanan.

Aspen Berry also had a home run, while Hannah Herman and Kara both doubled. Kara drove in four runs and Herman three runs.

Chloe Parker led Brandywine as she was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Macy Pellow also had two hits.

In the nightcap, Hickok was 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs. Sage Pruett had two hits for the Bucks. Berry and Kara added doubles.

Camille Lozmack went the distance, allowing one earned run on seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Brandywine was led offensively by Paige Krisher, who doubled.

Kadence Brumitt

Brandywine Coach Mike Brumitt was disappointed his team did not bring its “A” game.

“We didn’t quite show up tonight, especially offensively,” he said. “We are way better than we showed today, but we have a lot to look forward to with a couple girls coming off of injury. Tonight was their first game back, and we got to get caught back up.”