Sterling rolls past rival Dixon on diamond

STERLING – Taking advantage of aggressive at-bats and defensive miscues, Sterling rolled to a 15-0, four-inning win over Sauk Valley rival Dixon on Tuesday afternoon.

The Golden Warriors (4-0) sent 16 batters to the plate in an 11-run third inning to take control. Georgia Gallardo’s three-run double was the biggest blow of the inning, and Mya Lira, Lily Martinez, Lily Cantu, Rosie Cantu and Dasia Lewis also drove in runs.

[ Photos of Dixon at Sterling softball ]

“We just played with a lot of confidence, cheering each other on,” said senior catcher Marley Sechrest, who reached base four times, smacked three hits and scored twice. “We know that if you go up and maybe don’t get on base, the next person’s going to pick you up and you’re going to come back into the dugout to a bunch of teammates that are going to cheer you on.

“No matter how it goes, you’re going to have your teammates behind you, so it helps us just go up there with confidence every time, saying ‘I’m going to get a hit, no matter what it takes.’”

Martinez finished with an RBI single and a pair of sacrifice flies, while Lira added two RBIs. Eight different Warriors had hits; Lira singled and doubled and scored twice, and Kaity Taylor, Lily Cantu, Rosie Cantu and Madison Birdsley each scored a pair of runs.

Only three of Sterling’s 15 runs were earned, as the shorthanded Duchesses (1-1) committed 11 errors.

“We can’t win games if we give them extra bases and extra outs. We couldn’t field the ball, we couldn’t hit our cutoffs in the outfield, and that hurts. You can’t do that,” Dixon coach Candi Rogers said. “We knew they were going to hit, and I told the team we had to play defense. We’re missing three starters for spring break, and I have girls playing where they don’t normally play, so I know it’s an adjustment. But we’ve got to be able to play defense.”

Martinez was strong in the circle for Sterling, allowing just two hits and a walk in three shutout innings. Haley Janssen struck out two and walked two in an inning of relief, wiggling out of a jam as Dixon left the bases loaded in the fourth.

“It’s a lot different from last year [with veteran standout pitcher Sienna Stingley], but Lily’s adjusted and come up and really taken control of everything this year. She has a really good approach in the circle, and she always has her teammates picking her up,” Sechrest said. “One bad pitch, I’ll tell her to move on, or if it’s a close pitch, I tell her I don’t mind it and to throw it again. She has a good defense behind her, so I think just staying confident in that is big for her.

“We’re always letting her know that she’s got a good team behind her, so don’t be afraid to throw something over the plate and let the defense play it.”

Dixon pitcher Allie Abell struck out three, walked one and hit a batter while giving up 11 hits in 3⅔ innings. She stayed around the strike zone so the Warriors could put the ball in play, but the defense struggled to make plays behind her.

“Allie pitched well, threw a lot of strikes. She kept her head in it, and it’s tough to stick through that and keep working – but she did, and I’m proud of her,” Rogers said.

Bailey Tegeler reached base twice and made some nice running catches in center field, and Delaney Bruce had the other single for Dixon. Ayden Kinn drew a pair of walks, and the Duchesses had baserunners in all but one inning but couldn’t push anything across.