Unbeaten Rams mixing youth, experience on softball diamond

A lot of things have changed within Badin High School’s softball team this year. The expectations have not.

The Rams have captured six straight Greater Catholic League championships and back-to-back Division III district titles, and they’re on the prowl for more.

“Maybe there’s a little bit of rebuilding, but even with that, I think we still have such a good chance of going far,” junior third baseman Maddie Curtner said Monday after a 4-0 victory over Wilmington at Mueller Stadium. “If our team chemistry keeps connecting, I really think we’re going to be dangerous.”

Curtner launched a pair of RBI doubles, Samantha Sander smacked a two-run double and Nicole Rawlings tossed a two-hitter with five strikeouts in Badin’s conquest of the visiting Hurricane (1-2).

The Rams are 104-13 over the past five seasons. That includes this year’s 3-0 start, and Badin has a solid returning nucleus.

But the only players who are back in the positions they occupied last year are senior shortstop Shelby Schmitt, junior left fielder Anna Cantwell and Rawlings in the circle, though she played a lot of first base in 2016.

“I’m very, very happy with basically a new team,” Rams coach Greg Stitzel said. “Our infield is completely different except for Shelby, so defense was our biggest fear. But we’re doing very well defensively so far.”

Rawlings, a junior southpaw, was 29-3 in her first two seasons and saw plenty of big-game action as ace Danielle Ray battled injuries.

There is no question about the No. 1 hurler this year. Rawlings will be pitching practically every day, and she’s already 3-0 with 24 strikeouts in 20 innings.

“We only really have one pitcher now, and we haven’t had that in a while,” Stitzel said. “That’s why we’re constantly stressing defense. We tell them to do the best they can to minimize extra outs so Nicole doesn’t have to go out and get five outs in an inning.”

Wilmington consistently put the ball in play, but didn’t have a lot of pop in its bats. Sophie Blessing led off the game with an infield single, and Lyla Self added a single in the sixth.

“Give credit to their pitcher,” Hurricane coach Glen Blessing said. “She kept everybody off balance with location and timing. When you throw a batter’s timing off, that’s kind of the name of the game. You don’t have to have strikeouts. Just produce some mishits here and there and don’t let anybody drive the ball on you.”

Wilmington, a member of the South Central Ohio League, went 6-19 last season. Blessing said one of his best players is academically ineligible and another is out indefinitely with an injury.

The Hurricane will host Little Miami on Tuesday.

“We’ve got four freshmen on the field, so any kind of big-stage, big-team games that we can get under our belts early, especially heading into league play, I think it’s an advantage to us,” Blessing said. “I always try to schedule that way. There’s a lot of good takeaways when you play a tough team. It kind of shows you where you’re at.”

Leadoff hitter Gracie McHugh doubled, singled and scored twice for the Rams — she’s the center fielder, the backup pitcher and another left-hander. Fellow freshman Sydney Rawlings also saw some action.

Curtner is one of the players in a new position this season. Moving from center field to the hot corner was not her idea.

“She fought it. She didn’t want to do it,” Stitzel said. “But I didn’t have anybody else I really wanted at third base other than Maddie.”

“It’s been a very difficult adjustment,” Curtner admitted. “It’s not reading. It’s not thinking. It’s just kind of reacting. It’s a lot different than outfield.”

But when push came to shove, she accepted the switch and tried to turn it into a positive.

“It really is what the team needs,” Curtner said. “As an upperclassman, it was my opportunity to set an example for the underclassmen to adjust to wherever the coaches need me. I think it shows the well-roundedness of me as a player and just us as a team adjusting to a new third baseman.”

Badin is hitting .351 as a team through three games. Curtner said she struggled in the preseason, but now leads the squad with a .727 average, four doubles and five RBIs.

“I just relaxed and started playing the game that I love,” Curtner said.

The Rams have been to the regional semifinals three times in program history (1992, 2015, 2016) and lost each time. Curtner believes Badin has the potential to go farther in 2017.

“We are so done with just being in the regional semifinals,” she said. “We want to make it to that next level and show everybody in the area who Badin is and why we do what we do.”

The Rams will travel to Harrison on Tuesday.

Wilmington 000-000-0—0-2-1

Badin 001-030-x—4-7-2

WP — Nicole Rawlings (3-0); LP — Madi Flint (0-1). Records: W 1-2, B 3-0

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