It was cold as usual for opening day, but Northwestern softball scores an 11-8 win

WEST SALEM - It was cold, and it was really cold.

Such is becoming the norm when Northwestern and Loudonville renew their yearly acquaintances on the softball diamond. A year ago, it felt like it was 20-degrees. Saturday afternoon wasn’t that cold, but it was chilly as the Huskies held on for an 11-8 season-opening win over the Redbirds.

“It’s the first game of the year, and the weather conditions made it tough to play in,” said Northwestern coach Scott Hershey. “The cold isn’t always a hitter's dream to hit in, but they battled, and it was a good way to start the season.”

The Huskies are led by a lot of returning key players this spring, as they are sprinkled up and down with a talented batting order. Featuring Kaylee Cherry, Alysa Troyan, Gabby Cuber, Taylor Wurst, Arayah Nussbaum and Coralyn Hall, Northwestern’s lineup card definitely packs a punch.

Cherry sets the pace at the top and then going through the middle of the order of Cuber, Wurst and Nussbaum is no picnic for any pitcher. Last year, Cuber tore the cover off the ball at a .371 clip, blasted eight homers, drove in 39 runs and scored 18.

Taylor Wurst doubles on an 0-2 pitch here in the second inning to plate three runs for Northwestern.

Saturday, those veterans in the batting order stepped up big time as Cherry reached base three times, Cuber drove in a pair and doubled, Wurst doubled, totaled two hits and drove in four and Nussbaum added a pair of hits.

“It was nice to see the girls answer the call,” said Hershey. “When you looked at the scoreboard and saw that they scored, it seemed like we answered.”

That’s what one can expect from a lineup that is returning a lot of experience. Inside the circle, Wurst delivered five eight-hit innings and scattered six runs for the decision and Troyan finished up in relief.

“It wasn’t the best pitching conditions out there,” he added. “But we hit the ball well today, we didn’t make a lot of physical errors, but there was some mental stuff that we need to work on and keep getting better. Taylor really battled and did a good job for us; she moved the ball around really well.”

For Loudonville, it was about seeing its youth continue to come of age and battle back in this opening day battle. Even to the very last out, the ‘Birds were making noise until a double play ended the game.

“The girls showed their resilience today, they didn’t give up and they fought to the last out,” said first-year coach Ann Stitzlein. “I am very excited with how we put the ball into play and how we are driving the ball. We’re learning how to make adjustments, learning about what pitches to expect and where the ball should go in different situations. The more repetitions we take the better we will get.”

Losing key stars like Natalee Buzzard, Payton VanSickle, Karena Burgess and Olyvia Fenton will do that to you. Then losing projected staff ace Jaiden Stitzlein to a season-ending ACL injury only made this year tougher to boot. Still the Redbirds are piecing it together and though young, they are already proving to be a tough out.

“We continue to grow and each and every day we’re getting better,” said Stitzlein. “We have great team chemistry.

“We’re a very young team, but I like where we’re at. We’ve had to make some huge adjustments already and we have had a lot of adversity due to injuries to deal with. We are working to learn how to overcome those hurdles.”

Loudonville's Jocelyn Kegley singles through left side of the infield here in the seventh inning.

In this season opener, Jocelyn Kegley and Elly Hensel both knocked in a pair of runs, while Helaina Gray and Addison Wolford each had two hits. Asked to step into an unfamiliar role as the anchor of Loudonville’s pitching, Alesha Felix pitched a gritty complete game with three strikeouts. At the dish, she delivered three hits and scored four times.

“In this cold environment, it’s hard to throw,” said Stitzlein. “Your hands are cold hands, your fingers are cold, everything is cold, but this girl will never say no. She will always go out there and will put the team on her back, she always gives us 110-percent every single day, every pitch.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Northwestern softball hands young Loudonville opening day loss

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