Frazier comes up big with win over C-H
HOUSTON – Quicker than you can turn a 5-4-3 double play, the race in Section 3-AA got mighty interesting.
That’s because Frazier, with former California High School baseball coach Don Hartman as head coach, delivered a body blow to previously undefeated Chartiers-Houston on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon.
The Commodores, behind the solid pitching of Hartman’s daughter Logan and an even more impressive offensive attack, knocked off the Bucs, 7-2, to take control of the section standings.
Wanna know the best part?
These two teams meet again next week, just five days from the last out recorded in this matchup.
“We put the ball in play in timely situations,” said Don Hartman. “We were able to get the ball down, play some small ball, get some singles and score some runs. This is a huge win for us. Chartiers-Houston is a juggernaut. They are the bar. … For us to come here and do this today is outstanding. (The Bucs) are the No. 1 team for a reason.”
Frazier (5-0, 6-1) threatened in the first two innings, before exploding for three runs each in the third and fourth innings against C-H starter Kaitlyn Dittrich. The Commdores added another in the fifth.
While some of the hits were struck well, Frazier benefitted more from good placement. The Commodores had six hits that never made it out of the infield. When they did, they produced runs. Lauren Mastowski lined a shot through the middle of the infield that scored two in the fourth inning and Juliann Johnson and Kara Mastowski had nearly identical singles to center field that produced all three runs in the third inning.
“We knew they were a good team. They really didn’t hit anything deep. Everything dropped in front of us and those are plays we should be making,” said C-H head coach Tricia Alderson. “That was a little disappointing. They hit the ball well but not over our heads.”
Meanwhile, Logan Hartman was keeping the Bucs off balance with some effective changeups and sneaky fastballs. She finished with nine strikeouts and did not allow a walk. At one point, she struck out five of six batters over the second and third innings.
“We didn’t hit the ball until late,” said Alderson. “Too little, too late.”
The Bucs (3-1, 8-1) began to zero in on Hartman but the Frazier defense saved her. In the fifth inning, Jaylese Lombardi and Kaci Alderson hit rockets ticketed for extra bases down the first-base line but each ended up in the glove of Cara Matowski. Jessica Ford made sure no one was going to catch her blast, sending it over the left-centerfield fence for a solo home run that cut Frazier’s lead to 6-1.
But Frazier made it a six-run bulge again with a nifty play by Kat Barch in the bottom of the fifth. The third baseman beat out an infield single, made it to second on a groundout and to third on an infield single. When Karlyn Bayer, who relieved Dittrich to start the inning, uncorked a wild pitch, Barch headed for home. Bucs catcher Kasey Scears scrambled for the ball and dove toward the plate to tag Barch. But Barch leaped over her and scored. Hurdling is illegal in softball unless the catcher is on the ground.
“It’s only one loss,” Alderson said. “Right now, we’re in second place and play them again next week. … We have to get back to work and play them Tuesday.”