By Nicholas Huenefeld
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
ROSSFORD — Lucy Rodriguez did it all for Rossford softball on Wednesday, helping a young team deliver a 12-2 victory over Lake in five innings at the Glenwood Complex.
The freshman pitcher, who went the distance in the circle while allowing just five hits and a walk with three strikeouts, also went 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
“I feel like my curveball looked really good, and my changeup was working, too,” Rodriguez said. “Today feels really good because we’ve had a shaky start (to the season), and it felt good to wipe it away and start new.”
Rodriguez had some help offensively as a total of five Bulldogs had multi-hit efforts, including a 3-for-4, three RBI performance from Layla Nowak, who tallied a double for one of Rossford’s three extra base hits.
Ary Bond homered out of the cleanup spot while finishing 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBI. Aubree Knudsen and Liv Hussar also collected two hits apiece.
“I thought we played the way I envisioned us playing (this year),” Rossford coach Tom Kralovic said. “With a lot of young kids, I knew it was going to take time. We had a little more incentive because it’s a league game, and Lake is always good, but that’s how I envisioned us hitting.”
Rossford (2-5) exploded for five runs in the opening inning after stranding Lake’s Diem Isbell at third to end a scoreless top half.
The Bulldogs, who had five freshmen in their starting lineup, started the rally with three consecutive singles, and Scarlett Williams scored moments later on a passed ball. Bond then drove in a pair with a single before Rodriguez cleared the bases with a two-run home run to center.
“We didn’t get behind,” Kralovic said. “It seems like every game this year we were the home team, we’ve always gotten behind. One hit turned into two hits, and everyone started getting more confidence. We’ve been working hard.”
A two-out RBI double from Lake’s Alivia King got a run back in the second, but Rossford’s Norah Demory responded with a sacrifice fly in the home half to make it 6-1.
A home run from Bond, an RBI double from Nowak and a sacrifice fly from Caitlyn Extine extended the margin to 9-1 through four.
“I thought Rossford came out and scorched us early,” Lake coach Dave Rymers said. “It got them some momentum. They definitely had a vibe of excitement throughout because of that.”
Isbell walked and later came around on an RBI groundout from Kali Bedford in the fifth for Lake’s second run, but Rossford ended things with another three-run rally in the bottom half.
With two outs and a pair of runners in scoring position, Rodriguez drove in her team’s 10th run with a line drive to left. After a walk from Demory, Nowak walked it off with a two-run single to right.
Alayna Meadows led Lake (2-6) with two of their five hits while scoring a run. Isbell got on base twice via a walk and a hit by pitch. Lucy Boos and Sophia Gruetter added the other two hits for the Flyers.
“I thought we played pretty clean defensively,” Rymers said. “We missed some opportunities with base runners that maybe could have resulted in big innings. Playing catch up throughout the game makes it tough on the psyche.”
