The 2014 campaign started out on a strong note for the Defiance softball team on Monday, as the Lady Bulldogs defeated Liberty Center 5-1 at home to start the season 1-0.
A major factor in the victory for DHS (1-0) came from the arm of sophomore Bulldog hurler Anna Riggenbach, who dazzled in her first varsity start. Riggenbach, after pitching just 41⁄3 innings all of last season, threw a complete game featuring just a pair of hits allowed and 14 strikeouts to earn the victory.
"That was a great outing from her," lauded Defiance mentor Hans Zipfel of his sophomore pitcher's effort. "She gave up that home run early but other than that, she was pretty much flawless. We expect to see a lot more of that from her. She's a consistent kid, a quality kid."
Continued Zipfel: "I'm proud of my kids. It didn't quite go the way we envisioned it going in the first couple innings but they persevered and stayed in it and didn't hit the panic button."
The game started out inauspiciously for the home Bulldogs, as Riggenbach gave up a two-out home run by senior first baseman Katie Gilson of Liberty Center (0-1) in the game's first frame.
"I just made sure I had my team backing me up and with a good catcher, I had a good target," said Riggenbach of her outing. "It just seemed like it was working out fine so I kept doing what I was doing."
From the first inning on, however, the sophomore seized control of the contest, only allowing a leadoff single by Erika Wheatley in the sixth inning the rest of the way. Riggenbach had at least two punchouts in all but the seventh inning, where she had just one, but it was more than enough for DHS.
Trailing 1-0 entering the fourth inning, the Bulldog offense came alive, scoring a pair of two-out runs. Senior shortstop Kirsten Emerson smacked a triple on a 3-1 offering from sophomore Tigers hurler Lexi Noll. Niqua Rowe then followed up by reaching an error by Liberty Center second baseman Libby Ball to score Emerson and knot the game at one.
Back-to-back base hits by Laura Schrag and Riggenbach advanced Rowe, the latter scoring the junior right fielder on a slap single up the middle of the LC defense and putting DHS ahead 2-1.
The Blue-and-White carried over their scoring output into the fifth inning, as center fielder Brooklyn Miller reached on a fielder's choice. Two straight wild pitches advanced Miller to third base, where she was promptly driven in by sophomore Emily Turner's single.
Noted Zipfel: "Sometimes I think it takes an at-bat or two of not getting the desired result for you to slow down, take a deep breath and trust your instruction and implement it and I think we did that."
Emerson drove in two more runs on the very next at-bat, rapping a hard single to the left center gap to drive in Ryn Riehle and Turner and create the final advantage for the Lady Bulldogs.
"This is the first time we've stepped on a field," noted Tigers head coach Brooke Perry of the effort by her young squad, who lost eight letterwinners from last year's 17-6 team. "We've been outside once so far. Overall, I don't think it was too bad. I'm a little disappointed about how we performed at the plate."
With a season-opening win under their belt, Defiance will take to the road tonight against rival Napoleon in a quest for 2-0.
"Defiance-Napoleon in anything is obviously noteworthy," said Zipfel of the early-season date for the annual rivalry. "It's always fun to go down there and play down there. They've got a nice facility, so I'm looking to see a pretty good game ... as usually is the case."
Linescore
L. Center 100 000 0 - 1 2 2
Defiance 000 230 x - 5 10 0
Records: Defiance 1-0, Liberty Center 0-1.
Winning pitcher: Anna Riggenbach (7 innings, 1 runs, 2 hits, 14 strikeouts, 0 walks).
Losing pitcher: Lexi Noll (6 innings, 5 runs, 10 hits, 1 strikeouts, 1 walk).
Leading hitters: (Liberty Center, hits) - Katie Gilson home run. (Defiance, 10 hits) - Kirstin Emerson 2 singles, triple, 3 RBI; Trista Guyton 2 singles.