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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels April 12, 2004 Ashland softball swept by Crater By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings CENTRAL POINT - If they'd played one more game, maybe the Grizzly girls would have dealt the Crater softball team its first loss of the season. "Every team's beatable," said senior third-baseman Jackie Renteria. "We could have beaten them." The first two games however, told a different story. Crater dominated Ashland 9-0 in Game 1 of Saturday's Southern Oregon Conference doubleheader. Though the Grizzlies (7-6, 0-4 SOC) kept pace with the league-leading Comets (10-0, 4-0 SOC) in Game 2, Crater broke the game open with a three-run fourth inning that led to a 4-1 Comet win. "It's not the physical side, it's the mental side," said fourth-year Ashland head coach Rich Beugli. "We can outlast anybody." The Grizzlies pride themselves on their fitness level and devote a lot of practice time to conditioning to keep elements such as weather or extra innings from hindering their performance. Even on Saturday, when a nearby bank sign read 86 degrees as the double-header wrapped up, the Ashland team had no qualms with the heat. "This is good weather," said Renteria, who scored Ashland's lone run. "I enjoy playing in this weather." The problem the Grizzlies did have came from the star-studded Crater bull pen. The Comets boast one of the best pitching duos in the state - Jenni Bittle and Janelle Cristofaro - that allowed just two Ashland hits in the twin bill. "You have to give them some credit," Beugli said of Crater. "Good pitching will beat good hitting every time. You can't expect to win games with two hits." That goose egg Game 1 couldn't have gotten much worse for Ashland. Between Bittle's rise-ball and the short infield singles the Comets kept cracking out, the Grizzlies suffered their most lopsided loss this season. "There wasn't a lot of hustle in the first game," Renteria said. "We came, but we were pretty nonchalant." Meanwhile, Crater was business-like while Bittle was dominant. She struck out 17 and gave up one walk. Senior Janice Jones recorded Ashland's one hit - a bunt single - while Crater tallied nine runs. The Comets had 12 hits, though Beugli though senior Amanda Bolsinger "did OK" pitching Game 1. Ashland's woes came from a combination of fielding miscues and easy Comet hits. "Our outfield struggled a little bit to get to balls they should have had," he said. "We gave them some hits and we had a real problem getting the first batter out." The lead-off batters for Crater got on base in every inning but the fifth, leaving Ashland disadvantaged from the get-go. "Every other inning we allowed a runner on before we did anything," Beugli said. "It's really tough to win ball games that way." They almost had it The second game looked like it could have a happier ending for Ashland. The Grizzlies, led by senior pitcher Aimee Jeska, held Crater scoreless through three innings. "Aimee did a nice job," Beugli said. "That's her best performance of the year. Crater had a little bit of a problem handling her velocity." But toward the end of the fourth inning, the Comets caught up to Jeska. With two outs, Crater connected for two base hits that opened the floodgates for a three-run explosion. Tyler Sutherland cracked a two-run triple, then scored on an error that gave the Comets a 3-0 lead. "That's how our team is," Renteria said. "We have a great game and then there's one bad inning." But Ashland had a response. In the top of the fifth, Renteria slugged a grounder to right field - the only Ashland hit in the game. She stole second. Then she broke for third on a wild pitch. When the third basemen missed the throw, Renteria sprinted home. But that would be it for Ashland. Though the Grizzlies sent 22 batters to the plate, only one got on base the entire game. "That's good and bad," Beugli said. "If you score everyone who gets on base, that's a good day. If you only get one runner on base, that's a bad day." Where did the wins go? After four straight league losses, Ashland appears to have lost the magic that helped them to a 7-2 nonconference start. "It's kind of disappointing to go from having an awesome preseason and then coming into four losses in league," Renteria said. The reality is, the SOC is a tough place to play softball. Crater wasn't even picked to as the league favorite, but the Comets are clearly a contender. "They're at the top of the league and there's a reason for that," Beugli said. "They're going to be right there at the end." But Ashland remains optimistic heading into a showdown with Roseburg on Saturday at North Mountain Park. "If we put out the effort and the desire, we can beat anyone in the league," Beugli said. "[Roseburg is] not going to overpower us. We'll be ready go to. We'll try to surprise them." Renteria agreed. "We'll come back strong," she said. "Home games are always a different story." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams