If anyone was expecting to see the Hauser softball team fold under the pressure of visiting Columbus North’s new facility, one would have been sorely mistaken.
Instead, the Jets cruised to a victory Tuesday, securing their 10th win of the season by beating North 7-1.
“I don’t care who we step on the diamond with; we come to compete every game,” Hauser coach Craig Sims said. “Every game is big in my eyes. I want to come out and compete every game, and the girls do, too. That’s all I can ask for.”
The Jets stuck to that mantra early, scoring two when Paige Miller drove in Leslie Sims and Tessa Sims on a single in the first inning. While the two runs would prove to be all Hauser would need, the Jets continued to add on, scoring single runs in the second, fourth and fifth with two in the seventh.
Christine Bombardiere, who took over in the circle for starter Madisyn Prince in the second for North, kept Hauser uncomfortable at the plate, giving up just one hit. But six walks and six errors behind her allowed the Jets to pad their lead.
“Errors kill us. Putting them on base kills us. When you put 11 people on base, they’re going to score,” North coach Robyn Coffer said.
Tessa Sims pitched a complete game for the Jets, giving up just one unearned run on six hits. She struck out six Bull Dogs.
“She gave up five or six hits, but she spread them out across the seven innings,” Craig Sims said. “That’s what it takes in today’s world. It’s a pitching dominated game, but the hitting has gotten better. Teams are going to get hits; you just have to spread the hits out.”
North scored its run in the sixth. Bombardiere hit a rocket to right, registering her second single of the game, and reached second on an error by Jets right fielder Sidney Giles. Bull Dog center fielder Makayla Caudill then drove her in with a double.
“We’ve got to produce better at the plate and get timely hitting,” Coffer said. “We did push one across — a couple of hits together, and that’s what happens. We’ve got to keep doing that more consistently.”
The Bull Dogs, with just one win on the season, are hoping things can start to fall in to place. “Everybody has to put in their work, wherever that is, whether it’s at the plate or in the field. We need everything to work,” Coffer said.
“We’re going an inning at a time, a play at a time. It’s the little things that will add up. We’ve got to do the small things right every time,” she said.
Hauser, on a very different trajectory, isn’t about to stop. “You can never be satisfied,” Sims said. “We’ve got to go to practice tomorrow and work hard. Our opponents are working. We have to be willing to improve in the areas we need to improve on and be willing to get better in the areas that we’re good in now.”
