By By TOM NYHUIS / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Buchanan held on to its first place position after Tuesday's Lakeland Conference softball doubleheader at Brandywine.
The Lady Bucks came into the afternoon competition with a 7-0 overall and 4-0 league record to face the Lady Bobcats' of Brandywine who came into the game with a 6-5, 3-1 record.
Brandywine knocked out seven hits in game one on their way to a 5-2 win. Buchanan bounced back in the night cap with a 3-0 victory.
Kendra Zache gave up four hits and struck out seven en route to the win. Zache was backed by her teammates at the plate as Delania Schroeder picked up two hits in the game, a single and a double and Jill Sater added a double.
Sater's double was the big hit of the game as she drove the ball to the centerfield fence with the base's loaded with Bobcat runners. Her hit cleared the bags to give Brandywine a 4-0 lead.
Lauren McCombs singled to score Sater from third for the 5-0 lead. The Lady Cats took a 1-0 lead in the fourth after Schroeder singled and a Lady Buck error allowed her to round the bags off a hard hit ball off the bat of Brooke Coshow.
"They made the plays in the first game," Buchanan coach Mike Welsh said. "And they made the plays in the second game too, but we also made some big plays."
Buchanan scored its two runs in the top of the seventh before the rally was stopped by Zache in the circle as she struck out Kayla Nelson to end the game.
Alexis Lenox was tagged with her first loss of the season as she struck out eight and didn't walk a batter.
In game two, Lenox tossed a one hitter on her way to her eighth win of the season. Zache gave up five hits and struck out seven in the loss for the Bobcats.
Buchanan pushed two runs across in the sixth as Jayme O'Bryant hit a one-out double. After Zache struck out Lenox for the second out of the inning Rachel Downs came through with a run scoring single and advanced to second on the throw to the plate.
Holly Lucas reached on an error moving Downs to third. A wild pitch by Zache allowed Downs to score the Bucks second run of the inning.
"We were hoping for a sweep," Brandywine coach Jim Myers said following the second game loss. "But we're not out of it yet they have to play Edwardsburg and a couple of other teams and we'll have to stay clean. It will be a challenge."
In the seventh Emily Ross added an insurance run as she smoked a deep drive over the right center field fence lifting the Bucks to the 3-0 margin. Lenox shut the Bobcats down in the bottom half of the seventh to preserve the win and improve their record to 8-1, 5-1.
"We came in here controlling our own destiny and we leave here still controlling our destiny as far as the conference goes," Welsh said.
First Game
Buchanan 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 – 2 4 2
Brandywine 0 0 0 1 0 4 x – 5 7 1
WP Kendra Zache
LP Alexis Lenox (7-1)
2B: Delania Schroeder (BR) Jill Sater (BR)
Second Game
Buchanan 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 – 3 5 1
Brandywine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 1 2
WP Lenox (8-1)
LP Zache
2B: Jayme O'Bryant (BU)
HR: Emily Ross (BU)