By By SCOTT NOVAK / Edwardsburg Argus
The Dowagiac varsity softball team didn't have to look too far to find an extra game on Monday.
Chieftain head coach Mike Behnke talked to former Dowagiac coach Randy Brooks, who is now the head man at Cassopolis, to see if they wanted to play.
The Lady Rangers (20-6) and Chieftains squared off on Monday in a battle of two of the area's better squads.
In the end, Dowagiac was able to squeeze out a 3-2 victory over the Lady Rangers.
Dowagiac (14-6) was limited to just four hits by Cassopolis pitcher Symone Pompey. Chieftain senior Katie Roach scattered five hits to pick up her 13th victory of the season.
Roach struck out four and walked one. Roach also hit a batter.
Pompey was equally impressive as she fanned six and walked two. Only one of Dowagiac's runs was earned.
The Lady Rangers' Samantha Vlasiak had the game's only extra base hit, a double in the first inning when Cassopolis grabbed a 1-0 lead.
Dowagiac tied the game up at 1-1 in the top of the second, however, the Lady Rangers scored again in the bottom of the inning to reclaim the lead, 2-1.
The Chieftains, who will travel to Otsego today for a Wolverine Conference doubleheader, scored twice in the top of the fifth to pull out the victory.
"I was happy with the bottom of the order (Tasia Diaz, Felicia Hood, Calie Daniels) who led off that fifth inning where we scored two runs with a single, walk and single," Behnke, who missed the game on Monday due to an ejection at the Colonial Classic on Saturday, said.
"Our bats still had a little jet lag left over from Saturday's tournament, but we played well overall, getting good pitching and making no errors," Behnke added. "We will try and break out of our hitting funk tonight against Otsego."
Roach, freshman Torie Lowe, Diaz and Daniels collected the four hits for the Chieftains. Nikitas Nelson, Nicole Green, Vlasiak, Molly Vite and Emily Phillips had the hits for the Lady Rangers.
"It was a good high school softball game, both teams made plays," Brooks said. "They made a couple more."
Dowagiac 010 020 0 – 3 4 0
Cassopolis 110 000 0 – 2 5 2
WP – Katie Roach (D) 13-6
LP – Symone Pompey (C)
2B: Samantha Vlasiak (C)
Records: Dowagiac 14-6, Cassopolis 20-6