By By SCOTT NOVAK and ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Dowagiac varsity softball team did not fare well at the South Bend (Ind.) Clay Colonial Classic on Saturday.
Both Niles and host Clay handcuffed the Chieftains offensively.
Dowagiac (13-6) lost 2-0 to No. 8 ranked Niles in the opening game of the tournament. The Chieftains had just one hit in the contest.
Shelley Aurand's triple scored Demi Schrader, who had singled in the bottom of the fourth and broke open a scoreless game.
"We made the routine plays and got some timely hits," Lady Vikes head coach Jim Arnold said.
Jenna Ignowski tossed a one-hitter with 14 strikeouts to pick up the victory against the Chieftains.
Niles finished with six hits off of Dowagiac pitcher Katie Roach.
Dowagiac lost 2-1 to the Lady Colonials in the consolation game as it was held to just two hits.
The Lady Vikings (17-6) went on to capture the championship with a 3-0 victory over LaPorte (Ind.).
Ignowski pitched her fifth career no-hitter, striking out 10 batters in the final game.
In the consolation game, Dowagiac led 1-0 after two innings of play, but could not hold off Clay. The Lady Colonials tied the game with a run in the third inning and then won with a run in the sixth inning.
Clay had just three hits off of Roach, who suffered the loss.
Dowagiac had three hits, one of which was a triple by Torie Lowe. Brittany Bruens was 2-for-3.
"We continue to get great pitching and defense, but our bats didn't show up today," Dowagiac coach Mike Behnke said. "Katie made one mistake (against Niles) and they got an RBI triple out of it. We weren't prepared for Ignowski's speed, but will be if we face her again at districts.
"Against Clay, we just had a let down after an emotional game versus Niles. They got a timely two-out hit and we wereunable to," Behnke added.
Niles 000 200 0 – 2 6 1
Dowagiac 000 000 0 – 0 1 1
WP – Jenna Ignowski (N) 15-6
LP – Katie Roach (D) 12-5
3B: Shelly Aurand (N)
Record: Niles 17-6, Dowagiac 13-5
Niles 000 000 0 – 0 0 2
S. Bend Riley 010 000 0 – 1 2 0
WP – Dani Campbell
LP – Jenna Ignowski
Consolation Game
Clay 001 001 0 – 2 1 1
Dowagiac 010 000 0 – 1 3 1
WP – Julie Sutton (C) 5-7
LP – Katie Roach (D) 12-6
3B: Lowe (D)
Record: Dowagiac 13-6, Clay 9-13
Championship Game
Niles 000 021 0 – 3 4 0
LaPorte 000 000 0 – 0 0 0
WP – Jenna Ignowski (16-6)
2B – Jenna Ignowski (N)
3B – Heather Daniels (N)