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Trio Of TVL Wins For Varsity Softball Girls
BROWN
Molly Brown fires off another pitch during Trans-Valley League action against Riverbank on April 27. Despite some threatening weather, the game went on and the host Escalon girls got the win. Marg Jackson/The Times

A make-up game on the road, a game at home and then going back out on the road made for a busy week for Escalon’s varsity Lady Cougars softball team.

But they made the most of it, winning all three games to stay near the top of the Trans-Valley League standings.

First, they went to Mountain House on Tuesday, April 26 for a make-up game of a rained out contest from the week before and took a run-shortened, lopsided win that saw a one-hit, one-walk, 11-strikeout performance from starting pitcher Molly Brown.

Offensively, Brown went 2-for-3 to help her own cause and two Lady Cougars added home runs. Haylie Corriea was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run and Hailie Webster was 3-for-3 with a home run and four runs batted in. Chardae Hoskins was 4-for-5 with four doubles, Mackenzie Duval was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, Ashley Duval was 2-for-2 and Tristin King was 2-for-2 with four runs batted in.

Head coach Art Brooks said his team got plenty of hits and easily handled the host squad, but he also offered some praise for the Mountain House team for battling hard in a losing effort.

Wednesday, the varsity squad was at home to host Riverbank and were knotted with the visiting Lady Bruins 1-1 until the bottom of the fifth, when they finally got some offense going and took the lead for good. Escalon won the April 27 game by a final of 5-1.

Brown got the start but had to be replaced after twisting an ankle trying to beat out a throw to first in the fourth inning. Hoskins came on in relief and ended up getting the win. Between the two, they had eight strikeouts, issued one walk and allowed one run on six hits.

In Escalon’s big four-run fifth, Ashley Duval reached on a double and was moved to third by a Mackenzie Duval sacrifice fly. Ashley scored on a passed ball, followed by a Natalie Arnold triple. Haylie Corriea had an RBI double to drive in Arnold, Hoskins had an RBI double, with Hailie Webster then driving in Hoskins with a single.

For the game, Corriea was 3-for-3 with a single, double and triple, Webster was 2-for-3. Also chipping in with hits were Laura Brasil and Cindy DeFreitas.

The Lady Cougars turned a game-ending double play against the visiting Lady Bruins to record the victory.

“At Hughson on Friday, we got a 9-2 win,” Brooks said of wrapping up the week with victory number three. “Chardae Hoskins went seven innings, had 12 strikeouts, five walks and allowed four hits.”

Escalon jumped on the host team with five runs in the first, then added two more in the third and two in the sixth. Key hits in the first were RBI singles from Corriea and Webster, an RBI double from Hoskins and an RBI triple from Morgan Reider.

Webster went 4-for-4 on the day with a double and two runs driven in, Brown was 3-for-4 and Corriea was 3-for-5.

Improving to 6-1 in league play with the wins, the Lady Cougars are slated to travel to Ripon for a key TVL match today, Wednesday, May 4 and then will be home to host Hilmar on Friday. They close out the regular season with a home game and Senior Day hosting Mountain House on Wednesday, May 11.