MILFORD – Cherry Valley-Springfield pounded out 12 runs in the third inning on its way to a 21-15 victory over Milford, Monday, in a Tri-Valley League (T-VL) softball game at Milford Central School. Savannah Crowley had three doubles and three RBIs to lead the Patriots, who improved to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the league. Audrianna Butler had a home run and a double and drove in two runs, and Michelle Natali went 5-for-6 with three RBIs. Pitcher Morgan VanAlstine got the win. Mariah Coville went 3-for-4 with two doubles to lead the Wildcats, who fell to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the T-VL. Gabby Skillen took the loss on the mound. Earlier in the week, CV-S was dominated by Fort Plain in a 16-0 loss, last Thursday, in a non-league game at Fort Plain High School. It was hard to believe the Hilltoppers entered the game with a 3-3 record, as they were nothing but solid in every aspect, but Fort Plain head coach Don Stockwell said his team has played some bigger schools. Kelly Budzik and Brittany Nellis combined on a one-hitter through five innings. Budzik fanned eight batters in three innings, throwing a riseball, dropball, changeup and an overpowering fastball. Budzik walked two and gave up the Patriots’ only hit, a line drive single to right field off the bat of Brittany Mabie. Nellis struck out three batters in two perfect innings of relief. “(Nellis) is more consistent (than Budzik), but she throws five, six, seven mph slower,” Stockwell said of his top two pitchers. “It’s a good combination to have.” The Patriots had only played one previous game and did not see pitching like the Hilltoppers have. “They’re good,” CV-S head coach Ken Whiteman said. “They’re right there, they’ve got speed and they don’t walk anybody. They’ve got a nice club.” VanAlstine surrendered 15 runs in three innings of work on the mound, but many of the runs were unearned, as the Patriots were victimized by lots of errors, wild pitches and passed balls. Fort Plain scored eight runs in the second inning, and seven of those were unearned. VanAlstine allowed 11 hits and walked four before Ashley Jacoby pitched one inning of relief. Whiteman said CV-S needs to work on its fundamentals, and that the weather has hampered his team’s efforts so far. “(We need to work on) knowing where to throw the ball, getting down on the ball and making the right plays,” Whiteman said. “We haven’t had any practices outside, and we’re trying to do it in the gym and it’s not easy.” No. 9 hitter Eliza Saltsman led the Hilltoppers with two hits, including a double, and three RBIs. Nellis had two hits, drove in two runs and scored twice, and cleanup hitter Emily Douglas smacked a triple and had two runs and an RBI. The Patriots play at Schenevus, Wednesday, and host Worcester, Friday, at 4:30.
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