Derrick Webb, Managing Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — If you haven’t been paying attention, there’s something special brewing within Chillicothe’s softball program.
Through 11 games this season, the Cavaliers have taken no prisoners.
They’ve allowed more than three runs just twice while the offense has erupted for six or more runs on nine occasions.
Tuesday’s contest at Unioto checked both the boxes as Chillicothe (11-0) continued its winning ways with a dominant 9-1 victory over its crosstown rival.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“It’s been a good start. I’ve been pretty pleased with the girls,” Chillicothe coach Andrea Morgan said. “We’ve come out hitting the ball really well. We went through a little bit of a lull, but it’s been good. Our offense, combined with our defense behind [pitcher CJ Rittinger], it’s a pretty good mix right now. And both things have to happen.”
As she has been all season, Rittinger was phenomenal on Tuesday evening.
The University of Akron commit fired a complete game, allowing just three hits while whiffing 17 hitters. The Shermans had trouble finding an offensive stride while the junior hurler kept them off-balance all night long.
“She does a tremendous amount of work all year long,” Morgan said of Rittinger. “From year one to year two, to where we are in year three, she’s grown tremendously. Her mental approach to the game is getting way better. She’s way more mentally tough and the physical part is coming right along.”
After three scoreless frames, Sydney Wade got the night’s scoring started in the top of the fourth inning.
With two runners on, Wade lined a double into left field, scoring both Danika Simpson and Cadie Boltenhouse for a 2-0 count. Later in the inning, Wade would come trotting home on a passed ball, pushing the Cavaliers’ lead to 3-0.
Unioto (5-3) answered with a run of its own in the bottom half, thanks to an RBI single from Macie Cox that scored Haylee Hull — who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning. But the Shermans left two runners stranded, sending the game into the fifth with Chillicothe leading 3-1.
After both offenses went down in order in the fifth, the Cavaliers played add-on in the sixth.
Simpson and Wade both walked to begin the rally before Kendal Stoneking singled in a run with a two-out single. Wade then scored on an error for a 5-1 count before Isabella Witte pushed the edge to 6-1 with an RBI single of her own.
When Boltenhouse stepped to the dish with the bases loaded, she put the icing on the cake with a bases-clearing double, producing the night’s final tally.
“Sydney kind of got us started and Cadie followed up,” Morgan said. “We do really well. We can have some ebbs and flows in our lineup. But we have a strong lineup and that’s what I enjoy. If someone isn’t feeling great, somebody else steps up and helps out. That’s really important to us.”
Statistically, Boltenhouse led Chillicothe’s offense efforts by going 1-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored. Wade was 1-for-3 with a double, two runs and two RBIs, and Simpson finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
Hull led the Shermans, going 1-for-1 with a double alongside a walk and a run, while Cox and McKenna Williams also etched out base hits.
While Unioto gets back to it on Wednesday evening in Piketon, Chillicothe looks towards a non-league date at Westfall on Thursday night.
“We take each game one at a time,” Morgan said. “We have to win the games we’re supposed to win, but it’s one at a time for us. I tend to stay a little more focused on the now while my other two coaches are better at working towards the bigger picture. Our girls have big goals. We want to win the league, which is really important to us. But history is made for us every single time we take the field together.”
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