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Dodgeville's softball team dropped four games from Thursday through Saturday in a grueling week for softball as they also played Monday and Tuesday.
They lost to Platteville in a SWC contest Thursday 7-0 then dropped a non-conference contest to visiting Belmont 4-1 Friday.
They went to Cuba City shorthanded pn Saturday and dropped a 4-3 game to Potosi and followed that losing 8-2 to the host Cubans.
The Dodgers only had two hits with Nicole Jones getting a single in the second and Paige Lee a safety in the seventh.
They loaded the bases in the second, but couldn't pus a run across.
Claire Tashner, Liz Budden and Lancaster each had tow hits for th ELady hillmen.
"Nicole Jones threw well for us for the first 4 innings as at the end of 4 innings the score was 2 to 1 in favor of Platteville. She hurt her back batting in the bottom of the 4th and struggled in the 5th as Platteville plated 5 runs. She seemed to loosen up in the 6th and 7th innings and again got back on Dodgeville coach Gene Van Dyke
"Regardless you have to score to have a chance to win and we didn't. Other than Nicole we really struggled to hit the ball. It was only our second game so far and their pitcher had a type of pitch that we hadn't seen nor had we prepared for and we really struggled at the plate. But the girls are working hard and they will come along with time. Defensively we seem to be solid but are making a few too many mistakes putting pressure on both the pitcher and the fielders."
"Belmont is always a real solid team and tonight was no exception. They had quality hitters and at bats throughout the line-up," Van Dyke pointed out.
"Nicole threw well and Lindsey in her first varsity appearance pitched really well. Only 2 of their runs were earned. While we played well defensively, we still had a couple of mistakes while they had none and it was what probably cost us the game. Our hitter looked better than against Platteville but we still didn't look as strong as we need to be at the plate. Our plate discipline was good but we're just not squaring up the ball."
"This was a rescheduled tourney and with school conflicts etc. we ended up with half varsity players and half JV players. Still though, we put a pretty decent team on the field," Van Dyke said.
They had seven hits against Potosi with Shawnee Judd getting two and Lindsey Murphy, Katie Cusman, Paige Lee and Ellie Argall having one each.
Murphy gave up 10 hits to the Lady Chieftains with Langmeier, Kaiser, Bloyer and McKillips each having a pair.
"We had a good chance to win the game taking the lead 3 different times but each time failed to hold the lead including having the lead going into the bottom of the 7th inning but Potosi scored twice and took the win. Lindsey Murphy getting her first varsity start threw the ball really well. She tired somewhat in the 7th and issued her only 2 BB of the game and that was the end of it.
"We also made a couple of errors by having players in positions that they normally do not play but still overall we played pretty good defense. Hitting still wasn't what we need but we did have two players with good plate appearances. Ellie Argall really hit the ball hard every plate appearance and Shawnee Judd also had a couple of good at bats. Overall, it was a great opportunity to get some quality varsity playing time for players that normally wouldn't get that experience."
Maci Swiggum and Jones oth had tw hits with Raven Mortimer, Cushman and Argall each collecting one.
Jones fanned six, waked one and gave up eight runs (4 earned) on 13 hits.
Cuban Kayla Busch hurled the win and had three hits.
"Nicole looked to be tired from the innings of the previous 2 days. Her drop worked pretty well as did her change-up but her fast ball just didn't have anything on it and Cuba made us pay. They're a good hitting team and without being on top of her game, Nicole just couldn't control them," Van Dyke said.
"I think it also made a difference that Alison Dougherty wasn't there made a difference. Shawnee received the ball pretty well but it is not the same as having your normal catcher and that included me as far as calling the game. It was tough. Ellie Argall continued to hit the ball hard. Nicole and Shawnee also looked pretty good at the plate again and this time Maci chipped in but we didn't have enough players hitting the ball hard but we did look a little better."