Staff
It was a reasonable night to take a walk—so the Big Grassy Lynx decided to take a whole bunch of them.
The Lynx had just eight hits but were the recipient of 19 free passes from the Fort Frances Herricanes, which paved the way to a 25-9 victory in Rainy River District Women’s Fastball League action last night at VanJura.
Darkness led to the game being called after six innings.
Big Grassy (2-0) was glad to take the casual route around the bases against the Herricanes (1-1), whom they eliminated in last year’s playoffs.
Leading just 4-3 after three innings, the Lynx exploded for four runs in the fourth (two on bases-loaded walks) and a whopping 11 in the fifth that included three runs scoring on wild pitches.
Nancy Indian earned the win—giving up nine runs on eight hits in going the distance.
She also fanned eight while walking four.
Micaela Jack was tagged with the loss, lasting just 3 2/3 innings after giving up eight runs.
Dana Ward had a tough day in relief, getting the last out of the fourth but then allowing all 11 batters she faced in the fifth to reach base and eventually score.
Laureen Hill pitched the final two innings.
In other action last night, the expansion Fort Frances Mud Dogs (1-1) scored their first-ever victory with a 10-5 upset over the two-time defending champion Red Gut Babes at the St. Francis Sportsfields.
Erica Paulsen tossed the complete-game victory while Tracy Morningstar took the loss for the Babes (1-1-1), who got a homer from Taylor Windego.
Meanwhile, the first-place Couchiching Lady Raiders improved to 3-0 with an 18-4 romp over host Northwest Bay (0-2-1).
Sydney Jones got the win while Darcy Smith was tagged with the loss.
The Fort Frances Juniors nearly made it two wins in a row but dropped a tight 16-14 decision to the host Sabaskong Cougars.
Candi Kelly earned the win for the Cougars (2-1) while Rylee Redford homered but suffered the loss for the Juniors (1-1).
The Manitou Blaze (1-1) got into the win column for the first time this season with a 25-17 win over host Sabaskong Tebinaak (1-3).
Karma Andy notched the win, with Jarrah Tom absorbing the loss.
The evening’s other game saw the Big Island Wildcats (1-1-1) secure their first victory of the season with a 19-10 triumph over the Dawson (formerly Pinewood) Diggers.
Candace Handorgan was the winning pitched while Alicia Anderson took the loss for the expansion Diggers (0-2).
Action resumes tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., with the biggest local clash involving the Herricanes at Couchiching to face the Lady Raiders.
The Mud Dogs will host Northwest Bay at the St. Francis Sportsfields while the Juniors visit the Blaze.
Red Gut travels to Sabaskong to face the Cougars, Tebinaak is home against the Wildcats, and Big Grassy hits the road to play the Diggers.
