Taylor Hall of Vilseck connects with a pitch Saturday during a doubleheader matchup with the visiting Lady Razorbacks of Schweinfurt. Vilseck captured its first two wins of the season 8-3 and 23-1. (Dan Blottenberger/Stars and Stripes)
Taylor Hall of Vilseck connects with a pitch Saturday during a doubleheader matchup with the visiting Lady Razorbacks of Schweinfurt. Vilseck captured its first two wins of the season 8-3 and 23-1. (Dan Blottenberger/Stars and Stripes)
Deraj McClinton of Vilseck delivers a pitch during the second game of a doubleheader Saturday against the visiting Lady Razorbacks of Schweinfurt. Vilseck captured its first two wins of the season 8-3 and 23-1. (Dan Blottenberger/Stars and Stripes)
Ashely Dowdy of Schweinfurt steps on second base as Deepika Singh of Vilseck tries to make her way back to the bag Saturday in a season opening doubleheader in Vilseck, Germany. Singh was called safe on the play after no tag was made. Vilseck captured its first two wins of the season 8-3 and 23-1. (Dan Blottenberger/Stars and Stripes)
Deepika Singh of Vilseck rounds first base Saturday in a season-opening doubleheader against the visiting Lady Razorbacks of Schweinfurt in Vilseck, Germany. Vilseck captured its first two wins of the season 8-3 and 23-1. (Dan Blottenberger/Stars and Stripes)
VILSECK, Germany –The Vilseck Lady Falcons grabbed the first two wins of the season Saturday in a doubleheader sweep of the Schweinfurt Razorbacks 8-3 and 23-1.
The three seniors on the Falcons’ roster led the team to the season jump start.
All-European Taylor Hall struck out the side to start the day off, displaying a sign of things to come. Hall threw 17 pitches in the first inning, 10 of which were strikes, to sit down the Razorbacks in order.
The Flacons proved solid in the clutch, scoring five of their first six runs with two outs.
Senior catcher Ashton Wiggins hit two inside-the-park home runs - one in each of the games - to lift her team. The second was a base-clearing grand slam.
Wiggins said her hitting was not on point all week in practice but she put things together when her team needed her.
“I was just ready to get a better hit than I did before,” Wiggins said of her first home run that lifted her team to an 8-2 lead in the 5th inning. She grounded out in her first two appearances, but totaled seven RBI in the doubleheader.
Already up 9-1 in the second game, the Falcons had a 14-run third inning to close the door on any possible comeback for the Razorbacks. Wiggins came up with the game already in hand and the bases loaded before driving an inside pitch over the outfield. She was all smiles rounding the bases.
“I wanted a home run, I saw everyone on base – my team depends on me. I need this,” Wiggins said. The runs were enough to force a mercy rule and an early end to the second game.
Starting pitchers Hall and Deraj McClinton combined for 23 strikeouts in solid pitching performances for the Falcons.
Hall struck out 13 batters in the opener. She gave up no earned runs on three hits. McClinton was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle in the first game, going 3 for 3 and driving in two runs, as well as scoring two.
Hall threw strikes 73 percent of the time last season while going 7-2 with a 1.25 ERA in her 2011 All-European season.
In the second game McClinton, also a returning All-European, struck out nine in three innings of work. She struck out four in the first inning, two of which reached base on dropped third-strike errors. McClinton was 8-1 last season with a 0.95 ERA.
Vilseck coach Jim Hall was not happy with his team’s hitting performance in the first game,
He said sophomore infielder Eve Hebert, who had two hits in the first game, was solid defensively as well. Sophomore Kayla Clamage reached base four times in the second game, twice on errors and twice via walks. She also scored two runs.
The Falcons have two more weeks playing against teams from lower divisions before they go to match up against some of the other Division I schools, but they feel they are making progress toward where they need to be come playoff time.
“We are really on target,” Wiggins said.
