By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Dowagiac varsity softball team kept its hopes of a Wolverine Conference championship alive on Tuesday with a sweep of visiting Otsego.
The Chieftains (15-5, 12-2 Wolverine) defeated the Lady Bulldogs 2-0 and 5-1 to remain two games behind league-leading Comstock.
Dowagiac has four conference games remaining, including a pair with the Lady Colts.
Freshmen pitchers Miranda East and Tara Sova again performed well for the Chieftains, giving up just four hits on the day.
East threw a no-hitter in the opening game with four strikeouts, while Sova scattered four hits in the nightcap with five strikeouts.
Offensively, Dowagiac did not hit the ball as well as it has been in recent games, but got enough hits to complete the sweep.
"Our bats struggled a little bit tonight against their young pitcher," Dowagiac coach Mike Behnke said. "In the first game, Tasia Diaz went from not playing (thumb injury) to getting released and accounting for our only two runs. In the second game, we executed some small ball in the first inning, including a suicide squeeze by Torie Lowe.
"Miranda and Tara pitched well again, including a no-hitter by Miranda, and our defense was wolid. We should get a good test from Portage Central today," he added.
Diaz was 2-for-3 with a double in the first game, while Felicia Hood, Allison Frontczak and Linzy Kling also had hits.
In the nightcap, Hood tripled and Lowe doubled for the Chieftains to go along with two RBIs. Diaz also drove in a run.
Dowagiac will host Portage Central in a non-conference match up today at 4:30 p.m.
First Game
Otsego 000 000 0 – 0 0 1
Dowagiac 000 101 x – 2 5 2
WP – Miranda East (D, 9-1) and Torie Lowe
LP – Molly Sleeman (O) and Whitney Lovett
2B: Tasia Diaz (D)
Second Game
Dowagiac 400 010 0 – 5 5 1
Otsego 100 000 0 – 1 4 2
WP – Tara Sova (D, 5-4) and Torie Lowe
LP – Molly Sleeman and Whitney Lovett
2B: Torie Lowe (D)
3B: Felicia Hood (D)
Record
Dowagiac 15-5, 12-2 Wolverine