Dover softball's continues impressive season with victory over rival New Philadelphia

NEW PHILADELPHIA — With the postseason tournament draw quickly approaching, the Dover High School softball team is making a strong case for a top seed after posting an impressive 10-1 win over rival New Philadelphia before a large crowd Friday evening at Tuscora Park.

With their latest triumph, the Crimson Tornadoes elevated their record to 17-3 and they have won 16 of their past 17 contests.

“I am super proud of them, this was a great day of softball,” Dover coach Hannah Duff said. “I would like to see us go far in the tournament. I think this season we’ve really learned a lot and we’re coming alive.”

“They (the Tornadoes) are a solid team, I think they’re the best in their district right now,” New Philadelphia coach John Dupke said. “I told their coach I think they’re the No. 1 seed, and if not, I’ll be shocked.”

The OHSAA softball tournament drawings will be announced Sunday.

With the setback, New Philadelphia, which has played well throughout the year, is 10-7.

Dover defeated the Quakers by dominating in all three phases of the game, combining strong pitching with an explosive offense and some air-tight defense.

In the circle, Dover’s talented right-handed sophomore Kara Lint tossed a four-hitter while striking out 12 Quaker batters and walking just two. She upped her overall record to 10-2 with the complete-game win.

“It’s great," Lint said of defeating the rival Quakers.

She was asked about her favorite pitch to throw. “I’d say right now it’s the curve, but it really depends, because sometimes it changes,” she said. “The most strikeouts I’ve ever had in a game is 19.”

“Their pitcher in the circle, she was dominant tonight,” New Philadelphia’s Dupke said of Lint’s performance. “We’ve been hitting the ball pretty good all the way through the lineup and she had us off-pace and off-balanced.”

Offensively, Dover pounded out 16 hits and every player in the starting lineup contributed at least one hit.

“The girls make it easy,” Duff said of her team which is constantly improving. “They’re willing to learn and they want to be better. They’re a great group.”

Leading the way for the winners was standout Jenna Molk, who had two home runs, including a first-inning leadoff round-tripper over the right field fence. It set the tone for the evening.

Dover blew the game open in the fifth when shortstop Lainey Kohler stepped to the plate and sent a three-run home run over the left-field fence to give the visitors a commanding 9-1 advantage. Kohler finished with three hits, including two singles and a home run.

“Our lineup just did a fabulous job,” Duff said. “And our defense did a great job backing up our pitcher and catcher.”

Dover’s other top hitters included Olivia McCue (three singles and an RBI), Charlie Reese (single, double), Susie Peltz (single), Madi Bantum (single), Sara Klar (two singles and an RBI), Riley Bullock (double) and Madeline Fockler (RBI single),

“Our bats were much stronger this time,” said Duff, whose team defeated the Quakers 5-4 on April 5. “I think every single one made contact at some point and we had hard outs because we were scoring with two outs.”

Leading New Philadelphia on Friday was catcher Reese Loveday, who sent a towering home run over the left-field fence in the top of the third inning, which temporarily cut into Dover’s lead at 3-1.

Other top hitters for the Quakers were Sarah Ciereszewski (single), Madison Wright (single) and Kaitlyn Hughes (single).

“We’re in a tough district. There are about 12 teams with 10 wins or more, so out of the 20 in our district, it’s going to be a battle,” Dupke said. “If we want to get out of the district, we’re going to have to face these guys down the road and see what we can do in a couple weeks against them.”

Dover hosts West Branch on Saturday in an independent game, while New Philadelphia travels to Tusky Valley.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Dover softball scores impressive win over rival New Philadelphia