Softball:
The Dover Girls’ softball team took on the New Philadelphia Quakers two times this past week. The first game was played away on “The Hill” at New Phila on April 1st. Starting pitcher Kara Lint struck out eleven batters throughout the game. The Dover Tornadoes took the win over the Quakers with the final score being 7-2. They scored five runs on five hits in the top of the sixth inning, while the Lady Quakers had a single home run to left field and one run batted in. Senior center fielder Charlie Reese received the“Player of the Game” from Big Z Sports because she was 2-3 with a double and two runs scored. She was awarded with a t-shirt and chocolate milk after the game.
The next day the two rivals met once again, this time with Jenna Molk on the mound. Molk struck out fourteen batters and only allowed two hits and one run from the Quakers. The Tornadoes took the win for a second time with a score of 3-1. Senior first baseman Susie Peltz received “Subway Player of the Game,” since she led in hits going 3-3 at the plate along with an RBI. She was awarded with a Subway gift certificate.
Senior Charlie Reese said this about her last Dover-Phila rival game: “ Going into the game, as a team, we felt confident. It was the win that ultimately showed the bond between my teammates and our ability to work together under stress. I was excited to find out that I was “Player of the Game. ” It was the best way to end my last Dover-Phila rivalry experience.”
Baseball:
The Dover Boys’ baseball team also played the Quakers two days in a row. The first time the two rivals met, the Tornadoes fell short 2-3. The Tornadoes overall had a strong eye at the plate collecting seven walks. Senior pitcher Colin Bruno struck out three batters and only walked two. Senior Caden Schie led the Dover Tornadoes with three hits in the first rivalry game.
The following day the Tornadoes faced the Quakers again, this time taking the win in a close game. The ending score was 7-6. In the bottom of the first inning, the Tornadoes led 4-0. The Quakers quickly turned the game over. scoring five runs in the top of the second inning. The Tornadoes quickly tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth inning. Senior Mason Grewell contributed to the win on the mound for Dover, allowing one hit and zero runs scored at the end of the game. Grewell made this comment about his last rival game, “Both Phila games I did very well and in the second game even shut them down to secure the win. The Dover Phila tradition will always be a part of me and will be a great memory of mine.”
Hunter Edwards secured the win in the 7th inning with a walk-off single to left field. Edwards received “Player of the Game” from Big Z Sports because of his last at-bat of the game. Edwards had this to say about the win, “When we played Phila the first time this year and lost 3-2 it was pretty heartbreaking knowing we could’ve won it. The next day when we played Phila again we all came together as a team and had great energy to start the game. As the game went on we had some struggles but came back and made the simple plays as it was a back-and-forth game. We had a high spirit going into the 7th inning tie game with our lead-off guys up. As they both got on base, there were no outs. I came up to the plate and hit a ball down the left-field line to secure the win. I got “Player of the Game” because of this play. It felt incredible to hit a walk-off against our rivals, we came together as a team and it was a great way to start the season.”
