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Cosmos softball edges out Windsor on the road Kameron Towle Sports Hannah Crosby Springfield's Hannah Crosby pitched a complete game for the Cosmos in an 8-7 victory over Windsor on Wednesday. At the plate, Crosby had a single and a home run. Kameron Towle After getting out to a 5-0 lead, Springfield was able to hang on despite a late Windsor rally on Wednesday, edging out the Yellow Jackets on the road, 8-7. Madee Stagner got the Cosmos on the board early with a two-out, two-RBI single that knocked in Hailey Rabtoy and Hannah Crosby to take a 2-0 lead after the first inning. In the bottom of the second, Springfield was suddenly in trouble with runners on second and third and two out, but Crosby was able to get a strikeout to get out of the jam. In the top of the third with two outs and no runners on-base, Crosby hit a deep ripper to left-center and was able to round all the bases before the ball could back to the infield for an inside-the-park home run that put the Cosmos up 3-0. Springfield’s bats did damage again in the fourth inning. With two outs and runners on second and third, a passed ball allowed Laura Wentworth to score from third as Lizzy Chambers moved from second to third. Molly Leonard then singled to score Chambers and gave Springfield a 5-0 advantage going into the bottom-half of the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, Windsor had a runner on third with two outs, looking to put a run on the board. But, Crosby threw a filthy off-speed pitch that fooled the batter for a strikeout, and got out of the inning with no runs allowed. On the way back to the dugout, Springfield coach Andy Bladyka told Crosby, “That was the perfect time for the changeup,” and turned to a member of the crowd, saying, “She used to not have that… she worked at that.” In the bottom of the fifth, Windsor was finally able to break-through with a rally to get back into the game. Lexy Merril scored from third on a grounder from Angel Sutton. Carah Rugg then knocked in Sutton with a liner just over the second baseman’s glove, and advanced to second base on a passed ball. Jasmine Frazer then knocked in Rugg with a line-drive to right field. Sprinfield’s Juliana Albero-Levings was able to lunge and catch a foul ball to get out of the inning after Springfield allowed Windsor to sneak back into the game, 5-3. After a scoreless sixth inning, Springfield came out with a bang in the top of the seventh. With one out, Stagner hit a 3 RBI home run to left-center scoring Albero-Levings and Rabtoy. Stagner joked in the middle of the fourth inning, telling her father who was leaving the game, “I’m going to hit a home run, you’re going to miss it!” Sure enough, she did exactly what she said she would. Coach Bladyka, on Stagner, said, “Madee Stagner had a big day. She stepped up as a senior leader today.” In the bottom of the seventh, the Yellow Jackets made their final push. Rugg knocked in two runs with a triple. Then, on the next at-bat, Frazer knocked in Rugg with a double. Windsor gave it their all, but fell just short of catching the Cosmos. Windsor coach Heather Stearns, said, “I’m proud of my girls for not giving up. It would have been nice to score some runs earlier instead of waiting till the end to try to catch up. This was a step in the right direction after our loss to Hartford.” Coach Bladyka, on the win, said, “We’re happy to get our first win. We hung in there today. We had a couple of big hits when we needed them… the two home runs… Hannah had a home run and Madee Stagner had a big three-run homer that ended up being the difference. Windsor kept battling back today. They had some good at-bats against Hannah. Hannah overpowered them at the beginning of the day but they hung in there and they were tough today.” Knowing that it is just the start of a long season, Coach Bladyka said, “We still have a lot of things were working on defensively and we have some young kids at certain positions where we’re just going to have to grow into it. I will be patient with them. They need to work hard but also not be too hard on themselves. It’s gonna take some time and maybe some warm weather to grow into the team we want to be.” Rugg pitched a complete game for the Yellow Jackets, striking out 13 and walking 5. She also had a single, and the big 2 RBI-triple in the seventh. Frazer contributed two singles and a double. For Springfield, Crosby also tossed a complete game, striking out 10 and walking 6. Stagner had two singles and a homer and Crosby had a single and a homer.
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