Snep, Wildcats Blank Tippecanoe Valley SOUTH WHITLEY – Whitko softball rode its stout defense to a 3-0 victory over visiting Tippecanoe Valley Wednesday in Three Rivers conference play. Wildcats pitcher Ellie Snep posted a complete game shutout in the contest.
Snep decimated the Vikings lineup for all seven innings. She recorded nine strikeouts, walked two and allowed only two hits. Snep set the tone early, striking out three of the first five batters she faced. Tippecanoe Valley was completely stifled against the strong pitching, as they were held to under five batters in all seven innings.
Sydney Howard dueled Snep for the entire match, also throwing a complete game, but took the loss. Howard allowed one earned run off four hits in the game. Two more runs were scored off of Tippecanoe Valley errors. Howard also walked two but failed to record a strikeout in her six innings.
Between the pitching of Snep and Howard, the game had little room for offense. Sophomore courtesy runner Madison Smith was able to draw first blood after scoring on a Sarah Hewitt sacrifice fly in the second inning. Elizabeth Miller was able to increase the lead to two the next inning thanks to a Shianna Bradley double. Both Miller and Smith reached on Viking errors.
No player recorded more than one hit in the contest. Shianna and Harley Bradley each recorded one hit and one RBI for Whitko, leading their team offensively. Snep and Kayce Sims also generated offense for their team, with each delivering a hit. Most of the Wildcat offense came from their baserunners. Smith stole two bases in her only trip around the diamond. Snep, Miller, and Emalee Duggins added to the total with one steal each.
The Vikings struggled at the plate throughout the game as Snep disrupted any offensive rhythm. Kirstyn Yoder and Brayden Baney recorded Tippecanoe Valley’s only two hits of the night. Baney’s double in the second inning put her in scoring position, but she was left stranded after back to back groundouts. Yoder was disciplined at the plate, going one for two and drawing a walk. Kayle Long drew the other walk in the fifth inning.
Whitko has played strong defense all month and they certainly continued the trend last night. Over their last seven games, Whitko has allowed more than three runs only twice. They have two shutouts in the same time span. This has all come after an April 27 loss against Northwestern in which Whitko allowed twelve total runs on nine hits.
Whitko (10-6) will conclude Three Rivers Conference play today when they host Maconaquah. At 6-2 in the conference, the Wildcats still have a chance for a share of the league title with a win and a North Miami loss. Tippecanoe Valley (5-16) will look to end their season with a bang when they travel to Warsaw Friday.
