Aggressive Royals put Indians away

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In math, two negatives equal a positive. In softball, they equate to disaster and almost certainly define your fate.

That was the case for Sandwich -- bad offense and even poorer defense -- as it fell 7-2 to Rosary in the regional championship Saturday at Rosary.

The Royals (13-17) advance to the Rochelle Sectional, where they will face Sterling in a semifinal game Thursday.

"Offensively and defensively, this was probably one of our most confusing games," Indians coach Randy Malloy said. "We weren't getting it on either end-- mistakes both ways."

The Royals aggressive bats and baserunning pressured the Indians' (13-17) defense into six errors and a 4-0 deficit after three innings.

"That's something we've been focusing on all year -- taking the extra base and taking advantage of the other team's mistakes," Rosary coach Tara Tattersall said.

Leadoff hitter Brenda Rocha beat out two throws for infield hits, stole a couple bases and came around to score in Rosary's two-run first and third innings.

"(Coach) just told me to know that I can hit it and know that I'm better than the pitcher," Rocha said. "Having that mentality really helped me up there."

Rocha finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three stolen bases.

"Their leadoff batter was phenomenal, with a lot of speed," Malloy said. "That got them going right away. We had her 0-2 then she got on base and that started it for them and got them momentum."

The shortstop was also stellar defensively-- ending Sandwich's second inning with a throw to first after a ricochet off pitcher Jessica Fortier's glove, stranding runners at second and third.

With one out in the fourth inning -- and runners again on second and third -- Rocha calmly collected a ground ball and threw home to force out the Indians' attempt at a run.

Sandwich recorded 12 hits on the day, but stranded nine runners in scoring position.

"Getting that many people on base and not getting them (home) is really frustrating," Malloy said.

Credit also goes to Fortier who, despite struggling with some of her pitches, still managed to strike out five batters -- most in key spots -- and not allow any runs across until the last inning.

Danielle Chenko (2-for-4, double) had the big hit in the seventh for the Indians -- a two-run single with two outs.

"We were playing with some pitches, mostly the changeup" Fortier said. "It was working then not working. They were catching on when the count was 0-2 so we started throwing some screws and some rises."

Fortier also helped her own cause with RBI groundouts in her first two at-bats and scoring on an error in the fifth.

"My goal is always just to get on base and make contact," Fortier said. "See the ball, hit the ball. I got a couple RBIs and was able to contribute."

Courtney Classen was 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and two runs, while Lauren McNally was 2-for-3 with an RBI for Rosary, which totaled 10 hits at all the right moments.

Said Tattersall: "As long as we don't have any errors, we're tough to beat because we string hits together." Softball: Class 3A Rosary Regional