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Sports

First Inning Dooms Lady Chargers

Shawnee plated eight in the first inning and never looked back.

MEDFORD—After losing three of its last four, the Timber Creek softball team was well aware of what lay ahead the remainder of the season: seven games in nine days.

That's right—a very uncharacteristic seven games in nine days.

It is a stretch run that comes at a bad time for the Lady Chargers, who have scuffled since the beginning of the month, as they headed to Shawnee for a divisional rivalry matchup on Monday with a team that was pacing them in the standings.

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Against the Lady Renegades (8-6), Timber Creek stumbled out of the gate, committing four first-inning errors and surrendering eight runs on the way to losing the game, 12-2. The loss dropped the Lady Chargers to 9-9 on the season.

“It was definitely a tough one. What did we put ourselves into—an eight-run hole?” Chargers coach Marci Logan said with dismay after speaking to her team. “It’s a little difficult. We can’t do anything once that inning is over.”

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Sophomore Brianna Fisher once again took the mound for the Chargers, but found herself in trouble from the very first batter. After allowing a single to Shawnee leadoff hitter Kristen Soprano, the Lady Chargers' infield committed a pair of fielding errors, allowing runners to reach second and third.

After a quick out, Shawnee's Jacklyn Pezzato laced a triple off of Fisher to start the scoring. Shawnee sent 11 batters to the plate in that first inning, plating eight and setting the tone for the game.

“Mistakes happen,” Logan said while searching for the appropriate words.

She was asked about the fielding miscues, but clearly didn’t want to focus on them or their influence on her team’s effort.  

“It’s over,” the coach said.

After that fateful first inning, the Chargers' mitts and Fisher's arm did seem to settle down.  After a quiet second inning, Timber Creek was able to get on the board in the third with Anissa Ferrar’s RBI single, which knocked in right fielder Brianna Milillo.

Did she feel that her team responded well in the following innings?

“Somewhat,” Logan said.

For Shawnee and head coach Paula Escudero, the post-game feeling was that of a team that is trending in a different direction.

“In the beginning of the season, we had some big, clutch injuries and they set us back. We kind of didn’t fit into our mold,” Escudero said.

Escudero pointed out that the team has only been healthy since May 1, and the coaches have seen the difference on the field.

“We said once May 1 came, you could see that the pieces were coming together. We are all healthy, we are over that hurdle and we have been hitting the last three games,” the Renegades coach said.

Shawnee entered Monday's game 2-0 on the month, notching a shut-out victory over Triton last Thursday and defeating Cherry Hill East last Monday.

The Chargers carry a full load this week. They will look to get back on track on Wednesday when they travel to Lenape. They fill out the week with two more road games—at Eastern on Thursday and at Camden Catholic on Friday.

The games Wednesday and Thursday mark the Lady Chargers' first meetings of the year against Lenape and Eastern. They dropped their earlier engagement against Camden Catholic and star pitcher Lauren Messina, 6-0.

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