Kasi at bat shoulders load

Star Beacon

April 15, 2008 02:52 am

— ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP — With the loss of seven seniors from last year’s Division II district runner-up squad, Kasi Mercilliott, among others, will be expected to shoulder a bigger burden for the Edgewood Warriors this season.
Of course, that’s difficult to do with a separated shoulder, which is what Mercilliott is dealing with.
That wasn’t a problem for the junior on Monday in the Northeastern Conference opener against visiting Geneva, though.
Limited to DH duties because of the bum shoulder, Mercilliott had the big hit of the day — a two-run double to the fence in left in the bottom of the fifth — to break what had been a scoreless tie and pave the way for a 3-0 Edgewood win.
“I just hit it... it felt good,” Mercilliott said. “I don’t like to have to sit there and watch like I am now, so it almost feels like I have to do something when I get up to bat.”
With Geneva’s Meagan Brookes and Edgewood’s Megan Dragon throwing shutouts, the Warriors broke through in the fifth, with their “rabbits” setting the stage.
Speedster Lauren Childs drew her second walk to lead off the inning and senior shortstop Katie McMellen dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt, forcing an error on the hurried throw, Childs moving to third. McMellen stole second uncontested, setting the stage for Mercilliott’s big hit, which came on the first pitch of the at-bat.
“That was a great hit right there,” Edgewood coach Shelley Monas said. “Kasi was limited because of her shoulder, but we need her in the two-spot of the lineup and she really came through.”
Edgewood tacked on its final run in the sixth when Liz Wilson lined a triple down the right-field line on an 0-2 pitch and courtesy runner Meghan Cunha, a freshman, scored on a wild pitch.
Which was more than enough for Dragon (3-0), who got better as the game went along, finishing with the one-hit shutout, striking out 14 and not walking a batter. Sixty of her 93 pitches (75 percent) were strikes.
Brookes was the lone Eagle to get to Dragon, lining a clean single to right with one out in the fifth. Pinch-runner Erin Zehe promptly pilfered second and Geneva seemed primed to break up the scoreless game.
But Dragon reached back for a little extra, fanning the next two batters, to put out the fire.
“I felt pretty good, but it took me a while to get it going,” the junior hurler, who also had two hits herself, said. “After about the third inning, things seemed to start to click.”
Which was news to first-year Eagles coach Roberta Cozad.
“She’s very, very good,” she said of seeing Dragon hurl for the first time. “She was outstanding. It’s tough to win when you get only one hit and I thought Meagan Brookes pitched very well for us, too.
“But when you get only one hit, you have to be perfect, and that’s tough.”
Brookes (2-2) deserved a better fate, allowing six hits, two earned runs, striking out three and walking only two in going the distance.
“She threw well,” Monas said. “We didn’t get much off her. We popped the ball up quite a bit.”
While the Warriors opened defense of the six NEC championships they’ve won in a row with a win, Monas said her players are keenly aware Geneva handed Edgewood its only conference loss a year ago — and the two teams play again today in Geneva.
“The girls were talking about just that today,” Monas said. “They won’t overlook Geneva, that’s for sure.”
Meanwhile, Cozad & Co. know what they’re up against again today.
“It’s a tough way to open, definitely, but it will get us ready for the rest of the league games,” Cozad said. “We know, especially against a team like Edgewood, we have to be ready and we can’t afford to make a mistake.
“We played a good ballgame today and we’ll be ready to do it again (today).”

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.