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Beavers aren’t kidding around about first victory

WEST POINT – The Beaver Local softball team had to work hard for that first victory Tuesday.

Despite a shaky defense early on against Weir, the Beavers picked up the pace and a RBI triple from Maranda Kiddey in the sixth inning led the Beavers over the Red Riders 9-7 Tuesday at West Point Elementary.

“We made a good amount of mistakes, but we fixed them in the end,” Kiddey said. “They definitely worked out for us obviously.”

Kiddey picked up the victory on the mound, striking out two and walking three, and led the Beavers offensively with three hits as well as the go-ahead RBI triple in the sixth inning. She felt improvement on hitting, which hurt them a little in the pre-season.

“We had a hard time getting hits in the past scrimmages and games,” Kiddey said. “We’re hitting more late now, and hopefully it keeps going on from here.”

The Beavers (1-1) picked up the hitting power late in the game, but early on, it was the Red Riders who controlled the game with a 3-0 lead, but the Beavers had to put frustration from a sleepy defense behind.

“We didn’t even get up to bat yet so I was ready to hit,” Kiddey said. “You can’t get all flustered or else you get down on yourself and make more mistakes.”

After gaining composure in the second inning, the Beavers answered back with singles from Paige Prologo and Courtney Messenger, but it was the speed of Prologo and Bobbie Ann Theiss as both stole home to close in on the Red Riders.

“Honestly, the girls played the ball that they know how to play and pulled out the victory,” Beaver Local assistant coach Kelly Jones said. “It was a good team victory.”

Theiss and Ashley Riley also had an RBI each along with hits from Messenger, Erica Withrow and Danna Talbott.

The Red Riders (2-2) got the bats swinging early in the first inning with a triple from Breanna Rosnick and a walk from Kelly LeMasters, followed by an in-the-park three-run home run from Ashlynn Drizake put the Red Riders ahead 3-0.

Once the Beavers got on the board, however, the struggle to stay on top began for the Red Riders as it had for the last three games.

“We would get three runs right off the top,” Weir coach Dave Hinerman. “We’ve been going through this all year. We would get people on and score early, and then we would just go brain-dead.”

With last week’s struggle, Hinerman and the Red Riders knew that the Beavers would be tough.

“I don’t want to take anything away from them,” Hinerman said. “They came out, played better and won.”

Mariah Stevens and Marlee Harris also contributed with RBIs for the Red Riders.

The Beavers head to Steubenville today.

W: 3-0-0-1-0-3-0-7-12-1

BL: 0-3-0-1-1-4-x-9-10-2

W-Mariah Stevens, lp (6IP, 3K, 7BB) and Samantha Tate.

BL-Maranda Kiddey, wp (7IP, 2K, 3BB) and Erika Withrow.

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