COVINGTON – The Covington Lady Buccs softball team faced a very talented team from Bellefontaine in the opening game of the season and put together an impressive performance in a 8-6 victory.
The key for the Lady Buccs was the defense as several critical plays prevented Bellefontaine from scoring more runs.
Bellefontaine took a 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the first, but the Lady Buccs were able to score three runs in the bottom of the second. Then, after two scoreless innings for both teams, Bellefontaine put another run on the board in the top of the fifth and had the bases loaded with just one out. The Lady Buccs ended the threat of more runs in the inning with a double play.
Additional scoring opportunities for Bellefontaine were eliminated by the Lady Buccs as Emalyn Johnson made a running catch in the center field and threw out a runner at first for another double play. Plus, Jayda McClure threw out another runner to Elizabeth Coblentz at home plate.
The Lady Buccs pushed their lead to 4-2 with a run in the bottom of the fifth and then scored four more runs in the bottom of the sixth for an 8-2 lead.
Bellefontaine continued to battle and scored four runs in the top of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Covington from securing the win to open the season.
Covington accumulated nine hits on the day with Elizabethe Coblentz leading the way with a double, a single, a walk and two RBIs. Taylor Foutz had two hits as well and additional hits were made by Ava Hartwig, Emalyn Johnson, Jayda McClure, Whitney Burns and Emma Ouellette.
Covington (1-0) hosts Marion Local tomorrow (Tuesday).
