Gilbert teams plagued by shortcomings at the plate

WINSTED — Gilbert hosted simultaneous affairs at home on Friday, April 15. The softball squad squared off against Northwestern, and the boys battled Wamogo.SoftballNorthwestern rode a perfect record into their game against the Jackets. After battling through the early innings, they generated a colossal offensive push late in the day to remain undefeated with a 15-3 win over Gilbert.Gilbert freshman pitcher Jaime LaChance managed to work through Northwestern’s top hitters and prevent an early Highlander lead, providing the opportunity for the Jackets to take a two-run lead in the bottom half of the first inning. The Highlanders quickly regained their composure at the plate, tallying a home run and a triple in the top of the second to take a 3-2 lead.Northwestern’s starting pitcher, Brittany Martel, supplemented her team’s offense with a scoreless Gilbert bottom inning in the second — a feat LaChance matched in the top of the third. As the crosstown pitching duel appeared to be heating up, Northwestern’s offense suddenly shifted from productive to merciless. The Highlanders added four runs in the fourth, then piled another six runs on top of their lead in the top of the fifth. The Jackets were unable to match Northwestern’s success at the plate and ultimately took a 15-3 loss at home.Northwestern turned in solid hitting with 13 hits. Kim and Liz Newkirk led the Highlanders with a home run and three RBIs apiece. Martel was very strong on the mound, striking out 10 to pick up the road win and help keep her team’s perfect record intact (4-0). Gilbert (3-2) struggled at the plate throughout the day, producing just two hits off singles from Zamis Fernandez and Jess Shotwell. BaseballAcross Walker Field, the boys hosted Wamogo in another close game that ended in an away team offensive explosion and a painful lack of hometown hitting.Wamogo was able to pick up a run in the first and added four more in the second after a vicious Gilbert outfielder collision provided the chance to cushion their lead with a few unearned runs.The Jackets responded in the bottom half the third, taking advantage of some shaky pitching from Wamogo starter Mike Odenwaelder. Two walks, a few bad pickoff attempts and a wild pitch allowed Gilbert to cut the lead by two and trailed 5-2 heading into the top of the fourth.Jackets’ starting pitcher Robert Weiss kept Wamogo scoreless through the fifth with the help of his fielders, allowing catcher Justin Morhardt to drive in a run off a single and chip away at Wamogo’s lead heading into the top of the sixth.Nate Marshall took over the labors at the hill and held Wamogo to just two hits through the final two innings while adding three strikeouts. Marshall unfortunately received little aid from his offense. Wamogo secured their advantage by adding three more runs through the final two innings and taking the 8-3 win at Walker Field.Odenwaelder led Wamogo from the mound and also at the plate, adding three of Wamogo’s 12 hits through the day, two RBIs and nine strikeouts. The Jackets tallied only three hits off singles from Devon Molway, Austin Brochu and Justin Morhardt, who added a RBI. Wamogo improved to 3-1 while the Jackets fell to 0-4.