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When you don't score it's tough to win games.
That's what happened to the Dodgeville softball team Wednesday in a second-round Division 2 playoff game against #3 state ranked McFarland. The final score was 10-0 in six innings.
Dodger freshman pitcher Lindsey Murphy and McFarland's Mia Hoveland both hurled two scoreless innings, but the home team scored twice in the third on a walk and a two-run home run by Kendra Forsmo.
They plated five more in the fourth with a thriple by Sophie Quelle being the big blow.
They finished it with two in the sixth as Forsmo singled, Lexie Kemnitzer doubled and Quelle singled.
Forsmo was 3x3 with two runs scored wile Quelle was 3x4 and Kemnitzer 2x4.
Hoveland fanned five and walked two while allowing threee harmless hits in hurling the shutout.
The Dodgers were able to a runner as far as second base as Alicia Benson posted a one-out double in the fifth.
She had one of her team's three hits with Ellie Argall singling twice in three trips for the other two.
Murphy allowed 10 runs on 12 hits while striking out one and issuing two free passes.
"For the first 3 innings, it appeared that it was going to be a close game and that we had a decent chance of winning it," said Dodger coach Gene Van Dyck. "We had 3 base runners and a hit and they had 3 base runners and 2 hits. The difference is that their number 2 battter hit an 0-2 change-up for a home run to give them a 2-0 lead."
He added, "But we were hitting the ball pretty well even though we seemed to be hitting everything at them Their infielders caught 3 line drives including one for a double play. Another few inches on these and it might have been a different ball game."
"In the fourth, Lindsey tired and lost command of the strike zone. ." he added. "She ended up throwing a lot of fast balls to each hitter and they showed us why they're ranked 3rd. in the State. They are way too good of hitting team to throw that many fast ball to. It also seemed that no matter where they hit it, we were not there. There just wasn't anything that we could do."
"Ellie continued to hit the ball well going 2x3 and both she and Alicia Benson hit drives that short hopped the fence. But we just didn't follow either up with hits. We only struck out 5 times in the game but just didn't hit it where they weren't for the most part."