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04/16/2014 12:00 AMIn only its first week of the regular season, the Guilford softball team has already demonstrated the crucial trait of resiliency.
After suffering a one-hit, shutout loss to East Haven on April 9 to begin the campaign, the Indians rebounded the next day at home with a gritty 2-1, eight-inning victory over Hamden. While the Guilford defense forced the Green Dragons to strand 10 men on base in eight ups at the plate, sophomore pitcher Ashley Ignatowski went the distance by striking out six, walking three, and only allowing nine hits before doing it at the dish with both RBI-including the game-winner on a fly ball that the outfielder couldn't handle.
"Honestly, I felt that they would catch it, but when they didn't, it was an amazing feeling," said Ignatowski. "I felt that our whole team played great and, overall, I pitched better than yesterday so there was improvement there. I think the whole team played a lot better and we just made all the plays."
Ignatowski finished 2-for-4 with the other RBI coming on a double in the fourth to give Guilford the first run of the contest. Senior second baseman Anne Jonathan also figured in both tallies as she scored both in going 2-of-3 with a walk.
"This was the most positive thing we could've done for a win as a team, I think. If we won this game by mercy rule, then it wouldn't have done a thing," said Jonathan. "We needed to battle the other team to show we could do that and we were really confident today. We went out there today and knew what we were doing."
Following an error and walk in the top of the first with two down, Guilford (1-3) got the next batter to ground out to clear the trouble. In the next frame, senior third baseman Aimee Munck (1-for-2, double, walk) shot a double into the right-center field gap prior to Guilford striking out on the next hitter.
Hamden (1-1) had runners on the corners with one down during the fourth, although the Indians again weathered the storm with the next two Green Dragons going down on a bunt attempt and groundout, respectively.
Guilford finally drew first blood in its fourth inning at-bat. Jonathan led off with a single before moving to third on an out. Ignatowski then stepped up and helped her own cause by drilling a double to give her squad the lead following four.
"I was thrilled with the way they came back today. Yesterday was a tough game, but the girls showed up and played with a lot of enthusiasm," said Head Coach Steve Zajac. "We had eight strong innings in a tight ball game, yet they were in it all the way, and I was proud of their effort."
Both teams went in order during the fifth, but Hamden tied the score on a crucial run-scoring single with two gone the following frame. The Green Dragons later had two on, although they grounded out to halt the threat.
In the seventh, it appeared as though Hamden was ready to take the command again with runners on first and third with two out. It was then that senior catcher Morgan King made a solid throw to Munck at third for the monumental pickoff play.
"That was one of the biggest plays because it really got our energy up going into extra innings and plays like that are just great," said Zajac. "I was happy with Anne as she got on base three times and Ashley hit the ball well today. The first few innings, we struck out more than I wanted, but they did a great job of putting the ball in play the next five. They didn't hang their heads and kept playing while they also did a good job of being more aggressive."
Hamden again couldn't score in the extra frame with a pair of basemen on and two gone and Guilford took full advantage of that in its half of the eighth. With two down, Jonathan drew a walk before taking second on a wild pitch. Following junior shortstop Olivia Boudreau getting a single, Ignatowski got the ball down in the outfield to send Jonathan home and the Indians to their first triumph.
The Indians then dropped doubleheader decisions at North Branford on April 12 by 5-2 and 6-3 margins. Boudreau went 3-for-4 in the first contest prior to both her and freshman first baseman Lily Young hitting 2-of-3 for the second game.
Building off of the initial win, Zajac feels his club needs to simply stay with its high morale, in addition to going all out each day.
"We want to keep the confidence up. After a tough game [against East Haven], they played hard today and were rewarded for it," said Zajac. "All we can ask of them is to give 100 percent all the time."