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TORONTO -- The Madonna softball team has rebounded from its season-opening loss.
Madonna built an early lead against Toronto, and the Blue Dons went on to shut out the Red Knights, 11-0, in five innings Tuesday evening on the new turf field inside Michael Simpson Park.
"We hit the ball well," Madonna (3-1) head coach Jason Backel said. "We put the ball in play. That is what we ask them to do. We want to put the ball in play, make the routine plays and we want our pitchers to throw strikes. Kendal did that today.
"This was a big win for us. We have worked hard. The coaches have worked hard, and the players have worked hard. We have come a long way.
"We are 3-1. We have five more games this week. We play seven games this week. We want to try and go 1-0 every day like Bud Billiard said. We play Bridgeport tomorrow. They have a good pitcher. They beat Shadyside. They are a decent team."
The Dons hit the ball well, and they took advantage of some Toronto miscues in the field to plate their runs.
"We played a good team," first-year Toronto (2-2) head coach Ralph Flowers said. "They capitalized on our mistakes. You can't ask for anything better."
Kendal Ryan recorded the win for the Blue Dons. She struck out six and walked two.
Laney Danko took the loss for the Red Knights. She struck out five and walked three.
The visitors from Hancock County collected seven hits in the game – two of which went for extra bases. Individually, Madison Owens delivered a single, a triple and an RBI; Chloe Orecchio recorded a triple and Peyton Conley tallied three singles and an RBI. Also, Geena Birkhimer collected a single and an RBI, and Ryan plated a pair of runs.
The Knights tallied four hits. Individually, Danko delivered a single and a double, while Jaylee Brown and JJ Rebich each recorded a single.
"We played two big wins against Lisbon," Flowers said. "We played Linsly last night. We made some mistakes, and they capitalized on our mistakes. We just could not get our bats fired up enough. Laney was out, and we had to bring in Madison (Asafailo), who is a freshman.
"We are young. We are playing a lot of freshmen. We're coming around. They are learning. That is what we talked about out there after the game. We're learning. We are going to come together."
The visitors scored five runs in the top of the first and two more in the second to build a 7–0 advantage. After a scoreless third, the victors tacked on four more runs in the fourth to potentially bring the mercy rule into play.
"This was a big win for us," Backel said. "This is a tough place to play. They're young. They have a lot of freshmen. Coach Flowers is doing a good job. They are going in the right direction.
"We made the routine plays today.
"We lost our opener, but we have responded with three straight wins. We play a lot of bigger schools. We are the smallest team on our schedule. We will play anybody. We will go out there and compete with everybody. We are not ducking anyone."
The Blue Dons have won their last three games by a combined score of 36-3.
Madonna was scheduled to play Bridgeport at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at home at Starvaggi Park.
Toronto is slated to play Wellsville at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at home.
"They absolutely love it," Flowers said about his team's thoughts on the new turf field. "What the school and the community has done for these girls, you can't ask for anything more."
Madonna 11, Toronto 0
Madonna 520 40 – 11 7 0
Toronto 000 00 – 0 0 4 7
MADONNA (3-1): Ryan WP (6K, 2BB) and Orecchio. Orecchio T, Conley 3S, RBI; Owens S, T, RBI; Ryan 2RBI; G. Birkhimer S, RBI.
TORONTO (2-2): Danko LP (5K, 3BB) and Cattrell. Danko S, D; Brown S; Rebich S.