Early inning success propels Meadville to win vs. Conneaut

Apr. 17—The Meadville (4-1) softball team defeated Conneaut (0-5) by a score of 11-1 in a Region 5 matchup on Tuesday. Meadville scored three runs in the first inning and seven in the third, taking control early and never letting go.

The Bulldogs played a team game, with almost everyone contributing in some fashion. Back-to-back doubles by Kendall Mealy and Addyson Kregel gave Meadville the lead early. A single from Teagan Reichel scored A. Kregel to give Meadville a 2-0 lead. Reichel scored on a single from Lila Kightlinger to extend the lead to three.

Kightlinger was the starting pitcher in the circle for Meadville as well. Kightlinger pitched five innings, giving up one run on hit while striking out seven.

"We did excellent with Lila (Kightlinger) pitching, she only gave up that one big hit," said Meadville head coach Renee Ashton. "She kept Conneaut off balance all game."

The Meadville offense was led by Kightlinger as well. Kightlinger went 4-for-4 at the plate, scoring three RBIs, one of those a solo home run. A. Kregel and Rylee Kregel also knocked in three runs apiece. R. Kregel hit the team's second home run in the third inning, this time a three-run shot.

"The hitting is on a roll right now," said Ashton. "We've been working on that for years and it's paying off. We have a lot of power. A lot of that lineup knows that they have that power."

Conneaut's offense was able to get base runners on and get those runners in scoring position, but just weren't able to capitalize.

Conneaut made a few errors in the field that prevented them from getting back on offense as well, extending Meadville's time at the plate. Those errors allowed Meadville to blow the game open in the third.

"It was a tough loss," said Conneaut head coach Jason Onderko. "We're still in the learning process, we don't have a lot of varsity experience. Taking care of the ball first, making the routine plays, that sort of thing."

Lainie Harrington led the Conneaut offensive effort. She went 1-for-1 at the plate, with that one hit being a home run to center field for the Eagles only run of the game. She was hit by a pitch her second time up, and stole two bases.

"Each game is a learning process," said Onderko. "Each time that we play, we're making more and more strides and that's what we're looking from the girls, each game and each practice."

Meadville will hope to continue their winning streak against General McLane. That game is scheduled for Thursday at home, starting at 4:30 p.m. Conneaut is also scheduled to play at home on Thursday, vs. Cathedral Prep at 4 p.m.

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Conneaut 1

C. Vennare 2-0-0-0, Gilliland 2-0-0-0, Jordan 2-0-0-0, Shrock 2-0-0-0, Harrington 1-1-1-1, E. Vennare 2-0-0-0, Mihoci 2-0-0-0, Dends 1-0-0-0, Potts 1-0-0-0, Bowman 1-0-0-0. Totals 16-1-1-1.

Meadville 11

Mealy 4-2-2-0, A. Kregel 3-2-2-3, Reichel 3-2-2-1, R. Kregel 4-2-2-3, Kightlinger 4-1-4-3, Curtiss 3-0-0-0, Revel 3-1-1-0, Rusek 3-1-1-1, Baker 2-0-1-0. Totals 30-11-15-11.

Conneaut 010 00x x — 1 1 3

Meadville 307 01x x — 11 15 1

BATTING

2B: Meadville — Mealy 2, Regel, Kightlinger.

HR: Conneaut — Harrington; Meadville — Kightlinger, Kregel.

PITCHING

Conneuat — Shrock LP 2.2-11-10-9-2-0, Jordan 1.2-4-1-1-0-1; Meadville — Kightlinger WP 5-1-1-1-7-0.

Trevor Teubner can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at trevor@meadvilletribune.com.