New London softball stays perfect with win over Phantoms

DE PERE - The last time New London and West De Pere met on the softball diamond the teams combined for 31 runs, but New London managed to beat the Phantoms, 18-13.

So when undefeated New London traveled to West De Pere on Monday was offense once again going to rule the day?

Both teams brought their bats, but this time the pitchers also had some success. In the end, though, the Bulldogs once again outscored West De Pere, 10-6, to win a Bay Conference game.

“I didn’t expect a game like the last time we played them,” New London coach Tony Porath said. “I expected a 2-1, 3-2 game. Still a little surprised we both hit the ball.”

“We both have really good pitching,” West De Pere coach Carrie Jones said. “We just swing the bats when we play each other. I guess we both come ready to hit the ball when we play each other.”

New London's offense keys win
Just like the first time the teams met, this game included three home runs, two by West De Pere freshmen Jennifer Timm and Tia Danforth, while New London pitcher Emily Goerges also went deep.

Early on it appeared New London, ranked No. 2 in Division 2, would run away from the Phantoms. The Bulldogs plated five runs in the second inning and another in the third to lead 6-1.

But after four innings Porath pulled Gorges and replaced her with freshman Shelby Sommer. After a 1-2-3 fifth inning, West De Pere scored four times in the sixth to close the gap to 6-5.

New London then showed why it's undefeated, as the Bulldogs matched the Phantoms’ four-spot with four runs of their own in the seventh, including a line-drive two-run homer from Gorges that clipped the top of the centerfield fence.

“We’ve had a few of those games,” Porath said in regards to his team having to keep it going on offense. “The girls don’t give up, we have good hitting.”

Bulldogs exceeding expectations
New London moved to 13-0, 8-0 on the season, but a huge doubleheader awaits the Bulldogs on Saturday when it travels to fifth-ranked Oconto Falls (11-1, 8-1). At this point Porath said his team has exceeded expectations.

“We still have a lot of tough games ahead,” Porath said. “So far, we’ve been doing some nice things. We’re a little better than we kind of expected, but now that we’ve seen what they can do, we kind of expect more.”

Pitching is great in the Bay
New London leads Falls and Hortonville by one game in the loss column, so by the end of the week it’s anybody’s guess what the standings may look like. One thing Porath knows, the Bay is loaded up top and the reason is pitching.

“I think at the top, yeah,” Porath said. “Hortonville, that (Heather) Dorn is pretty good. Oconto Falls, (McKenna Larsen’s) awesome. This girl right here (West De Pere’s Emma Leuman) and the other one (freshman Amber Van Duyse), they’re pretty good. I like the way they pitch. There’s a lot of good pitching.”

Added Jones: “We have a really tough conference. The pitching is phenomenal. I don’t think there’s another conference around that has this. It’s great, it makes us better. It’s great to see great pitchers.”

• Notes: Gorges, who re-entered and pitched the final two innings, hit three home runs and drove in 10 runs versus West De Pere in two games this season. … Only three times has a team scored more than three runs against New London this season and West De Pere has done it twice. … New London has scored 10 or more runs in six games this season.
• Game ball: Gorges, who was tough in the circle and at the plate.
• Numbers game: 3 Home runs in the game.

NEW LONDON 10, WEST DE PERE 6
New London…...051 000 4 – 10 11 0
West De Pere…100 004 1 –   6   8  3

WP – Emily Gorges (6 IP, 2 R, 9 H, 6 K, BB).
LP – Emma Leuman (5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2 K, BB).

Top hitters: NL - Lexy Zaddack 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Gorges 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Shannon Sommer 3-4, 2B, 3 R; Kelsey Fassbender 2-4, 2 RBI. WDP – Heidi Van Sistine 2-4, 2 RBI; Tia Danforth 1-4, HR; Jennifer Timm 4-4, HR, 2R.

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

doug.ritchay@wluk.com