For the most part, Indian River softball seems to be right on track, chalking up a 23-1 win this past Monday against visiting Dover to bring their season to 5-1, with recent wins over Woodbridge (12-3) and Newark (14-2).
Coastal Point • RUSLANA LAMBERT:
Sophmore shortstop Lindasy McCabe takes a rip.
Pitcher Sarah Tyre made her second appearance as starting pitcher on for Indian River, leading the girls to their victory.
“We needed her to step up,” said IR head coach Mark Browne. “She had the opportunity to go out and make a name for herself, and she has. We’ll be looking for her to pick us up now and really see what she’s bringing to the team this year.”
The home game against Dover marked the fourth game of the season for the Indians that did not pass the fifth inning, due to the mercy rule, wherein the game is called in the fifth if an opponent leads by 10 or more runs.
“It’s no fun to beat a team that bad,” said Browne. “We’ve been playing really well as a young team, and we take satisfaction in making good swings when we’re at the plate.”
Second baseman Abi Buchler and shortstop Lindsay McCabe sent back-to-back homeruns over the fence to start the second inning, adding to their already comfortable 5-0 lead.
Freshman catcher Lizzy Handy also knocked a homer out of the park to bring in two runs in the second. Tyre added to the lead with two doubles in the second that brought in two runners, each. Hayley Brennan, Jamie Esham and Caitlin Blitz all contributed runs for Indian River, as well.
“Abi [Buchler]’s been working a lot in the off-season,” noted Browne. “She’s developed some great hitting mechanics and I’m really pleased with what she’s bringing to the team. I have a lot of confidence in Lindsay [McCabe]. She was a starting freshman at shortstop last year, and she’s really shown a lot coming back. Lizzy Handy is beyond her years, both physically and mentally. She’s an all-around gifted player.”
Though pleased with the victory, Browne doesn’t want to let the wins get to the heads of the players. “Having a team learn to play together takes time,” he said. “I don’t want to read too much into the blowouts. I’m proud of the improvements we’ve made, but we need to stay on track.”
Practices have provided the team with the best preparation in his opinion. “We’ve had some light games lately,” he said, “and we need to step up to a competitive level. We do it in practice — we put the girls in pressure situations and work them in scrimmages. Now we’ll be looking for it in the games.”
With a home game against a competitive Smyrna team this past Wednesday, and the all-day Sussex Fastpitch Invitational this Saturday, Browne was sure that the girls will be tested.
“We’ll face Cape Henlopen and Eastern Maryland at the Sports at the Beach complex on Saturday,” he said. “They’re all really good teams. We’ll find out how we stack up to the competition.”