Freshman Jessica Webster threw one inning of scoreless relief Monday. (photo by Ed Wright)

Mercy,
Mercy

Chiefs cage Zebras in DH sweep

BY ED WRIGHT
April 14, 2010, 11:35 p.m.

  Canton's softball team was playing so well Wednesday afternoon, it figured out how to condense a double-header into six innings.

  The Chiefs  overmatched visiting Wayne Memorial in every phase of the game, outscoring the Zebras by a combined score of 33-0 in their season-opening double-header. Both games  were called after three innings due to the MHSAA's 15-run-lead-after-three-innings mercy rule.

  When it was all said and done, the Zebras boarded the bus for the short ride home with the same number of hits  they had when they stepped off the bus a couple hours earlier: zero.

  Senior Amy Dunleavy (two innings, three strikeouts) and freshman Jessica Webster (one inning) silenced the Zebras' bats in Canton's 17-0 game-one win.

  In the nightcap it was Alyssa Boucher who reduced the Zebras' bats to toothpicks, throwing three perfect innings that included a pair of strikeouts.

  "The thing I was impressed with the most today was the way our freshmen played in their first high school varsity games," said Canton coach Jim Arnold. "Our pitching staff did extremely well today and we played good defense."

  Canton's first-game, three-inning line score was 6-6-5. Dunleavy (3-for-3, two RBI) and Katelynn Mattson (2-for-2, two RBI) paced the offense. Mattson, a first baseman, also made the defensive play of the game when she did the splits at first base to secure a third-inning out.

  CarolAnn Sexauer (2-for-3, two RBI) and Jill Tomilenko (2-for-3, three RBI) swung hot bats for the Chiefs in the second game. Webster also played well, going 2-for-3 with a pair of ribbies.

  The Chiefs return to action Monday when they host Novi at 4 p.m.