The hard-hitting Fruitport softball team just keeps winning, with three victories in two nights so far this week.
The latest came on Wednesday, when the Trojans visited Montague for a non-conference game and pounded the Wildcats 17-4.
It was Fruitport’s eighth straight win and left the Trojans with a 19-6 overall record.
That victory followed an O-K Silver conference doubleheader sweep over Belding on Tuesday, which gave Fruitport a 9-1 record in the conference standings.
[1]There were some notable individual accomplishments over the three games.
Kya Tawney hit three home runs, including two against Montague on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, senior pitcher Brooklyn Russell reached the 400 career strikeout milestone in the second game against Belding on Tuesday.
It came in the sixth inning, and Russell had no idea when it happened, according to Fruitport Coach Bob Dorman.
“I called time out and I walked out to her,” Dorman said. “She didn’t know what was going on. I said ‘Did you know that was your 400?’ and she just got a big smile on her face. The team came out and celebrated. A couple girls picked her up. It was a great milestone.”
[2]The Trojans have some big games coming up. They will visit a good Holton team on Friday, then will have a chance to clinch a conference championship on Tuesday in a home doubleheader against Hopkins.
One victory would clinch at least a share of the title. A sweep would give the Trojans the outright championship.
“We don’t wanna settle for that,” Dorman said about a possible doubleheader split. “We wanna sweep them.”
Three big wins
On Wednesday, Tawney powered the Trojans past Montague with two home runs and four RBIs.
Fruitport started the game with a home run fest in the top of the first inning. Madyson Prout led off with a solo homer to left field, Tawney followed with the same thing, then Khloe Courtade homered to center. Russell added a two-run single in the first and the Trojans led 5-0.
The Trojans added three runs in the second on RBI singles by Kalli Tawney and Courtade, then ran away with five more in the third on an RBI single by Russell, a three-run blast by Kya Tawney, and an error.
Fruitport finished with 17 hits, with Courtade collecting three.
[3]Courtade also pitched the win, scattering seven hits while striking out three and walking four.
“I was very pleased with our performance, playing back-to-back nights,” Dorman said. “You just never know what you’re going to get and who’s going to show up, but once again the girls’ mindset was right. We had three home run shots in the first. That was huge. It just sent a ton of confidence to our whole lineup.
“Definitely got to give a shoutout to Kya Tawney. She is seeing just about every pitch she had faced and is squaring up on the ball. She’s hitting it real well right now.”
The Trojans had to work a little harder on Tuesday to gain the conference sweep over Belding, winning 11-7 and 9-5.
[4]In Game 1, Fruitport took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when a run scored on an error.
The Trojans made it 7-1 in the fifth by scoring six runs on five hits. They added four more in the top of the seventh to make it 11-1.
Belding answered with six runs in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough.
Brylee DeWitt had two hits and two RBIs for Fruitport. Prout, Courtade and Kendall Lee each added two hits.
Russell got the win on the mound, scattering eight hits, striking out nine and walking one.
In Game 2, Belding took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, then Kya Tawney answered with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first to put Fruitport up 3-1.
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The Black Knights countered with four runs in the third to take a 5-3 lead, but the Trojans pulled ahead for good with five runs in the sixth inning. Prout had the biggest hit with a two-run single.
Prout and Lee each had two hits for the Trojans.
Courtade started in the pitching circle, then Russell relieved and got the win, allowing three hits and no runs over 4 2/3 innings. She struck out eight and walked two.
“We were trailing, but at no point did any of the girls ever put their heads down and think ‘We’re not going to win this game,'” Dorman said. “We just kept battling and doing the little things right. It was a great win, coming from behind.”
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