With nine returning players from the very successful 2021 spring season which saw the Lady Dawgs achieve MVL runner-up status, a sectional title, and the district runner-up before the end of their playoff stent, it is no surprise to see the team kick off the 2022 season with a bang including a five-game winning streak to open before losing by one late-inning point to Philo.
Taking over the helm this year for his first year coaching the Lady Dawgs coach Brian Sterling is definitely having a great season so far with the team coming out swinging quite literally as they have gained 57 runs so far in the season and they are only six games in. The girls opened the season with an impressive 8 – 5 victory over MVL rival Sheridan and moved on quickly to shutout River View and Morgan in the following two games. In a Saturday doubleheader, they dominated Tuscarawas Central Catholic winning the first game by a score of 16 – 6 and then coming back to win the second game with a score of 12 – 1 almost shutting out their opponents again.
In the River View game #6 sophomore Kierra Joseph had a fifth-inning grand slam to contribute to the 11-0 win by a mercy rule. For the game, she had four hits including a pair of home runs, two doubles, and seven rbi’s. That backed with the stellar shut-out performance of junior veteran pitcher #1 Belle Baughman made the game come together for the Lady Dawgs.
Following the winning streak for the girls, they met up with MVL conference foes the Philo Lady Electrics where they took the early lead with a run in the first inning and followed with another run in the fifth inning only to have Philo jump back with a three-run inning in the sixth that the Lady Dawgs could not recover from and the fell in the game by one point.
The rest of the season looks bright with the team aiming high at the MVL as they faceoff against last year’s MVL champs John Glenn in an upcoming game.