2008 Woodie Awards
Errors take toll on 'Winds at home
Ken Woods
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Sports
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Western (8-30, 6-10 Summit League) committed seven errors in the two games combined and St. Louis (21-31) took advantage of the extra outs it was granted by putting runs on the board.
"I though that our defense really struggled today," said coach Holly Van Vlymen. "I thought we had a few bright spots with (sophomore Julie DePolo) doing a good job at third, but other than that it is something that we need to work on."
DePolo served as a silver lining in the dark cloud that hovered over the 'Winds in the doubleheader. She went 5-for-6 with two RBIs in the two games combined.
She played a solid defensive third base and hit a home run as well. Her performance did not rub off on the rest of the team, but she did not lose confidence in her teammates.
"I think they tried their best, and some of the time they didn't come through, but I know that everyone was trying hard to come up with hits to help us win," DePolo said.
The 'Winds were down in the first game. They battled back with a rally in the final inning and were only down by one run with the bases loaded, but did not manage to come up with the big hit to take the game.
Although Western lost the first game in dramatic fashion, the outcome of the contest did not affect the game plan for the next battle with St. Louis.
"We take one game at a time and we try not to let the other games affect the next. We want to go out there and try to win," DePolo said.
The 'Winds pitchers had been struggling, giving up the big inning in previous games, but the pitchers gave a good effort in both contests against St. Louis. Junior Courtney Jacobson (2-8) pitched in the first half of the doubleheader, going the full seven innings, striking out five and allowing only one earned run.
Sophomore Lori Pankratz (4-11) took the bump in the second game, pitching the entire game and only allowing two earned runs.
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