LINK AND TITANS CONTINUE UNDEFEATED RUN

Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports Editor

04-26-09 - The Taconic Hills girls’ softball team continued their undefeated season in the Patroon Conference on Friday when they hosted upstart Hudson in Craryville. The Titans scored 3 runs in the first and 4 more in the second before adding their final run in the sixth en route to an 8-0 win. Each team committed one error while the Titans pounded out 10 hits compared to the Bluehawks’ 2.
 
Nicole Havlik and Elyse DeRuzzio each notched multiple-hit games for the Titans, with Havlik driving in 3 runs and scoring 2 herself, while DeRuzzio had the game’s only extra base hit with a double and scored twice while driving in one. Alyssa Van Alphen had the only other RBI with her lone hit and also scored two runs. Aleshia Link and Alexis McComb scored the other two Taconic Hills runs.
 
Link toed the rubber for the Titans and pitched the entire seven innings, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out an impressive 18. Her counterparts for Hudson were Emily Gaylord and Ashley Barnard. Gaylord threw four innings allowing 7 runs, 5 earned, on 9 hits. Gaylord also struck out 4 batters. Barnard struck out one batter in the two innings she pitched, while walking one and giving up one hit leading to the one earned run allowed.
 
Ashley Swithers and Jenna Turner collected the two hits for Hudson, both singles in the loss. Hudson falls to 2-4 in the Patroon Conference and returned to action Saturday against Coxsackie-Athens. The Titans improve to 8-0 in the league and next have a showdown against fellow unbeaten Greenville on Monday in Greenville.
 
"I like the fact that the team is hitting more line drives than fly balls," said Titans coach Angela Webster via email. "I believe that with each game they are becoming more confident and patient at the plate."