PORTAGE - Continuing to improve upon her strong season, Monroe sophomore pitcher Natalie Dillon went the distance against Portage in a low-scoring game that helped push the visiting Cheesemakers past Portage 2-0 in a Badger conference game.
"We were happy with her (Dillon's) performance tonight," Buvid said. "What we see from Natalie is that she continues to grow. She really gets on her game when she is able to get her second, third, and fourth pitches over the plate, and tonight her change-up was working really well for her."
Both teams were held scoreless until the Cheesemakers striked first with an RBI single by Taylor O'Leksy that brought in Chandra McGuire. After a quiet fourth inning, Monroe again scored in the top of the fifth thanks to a clutch two-out RBI double by Kari Jordan, giving the Cheesemakers a 2-0 lead.
McGuire finished the night 2-for-2, reaching base four times. Senior Samantha Hose was 2-for-3 with one double and a single, giving the Cheesemakers seven hits on the night.
Despite the victory, Buvid feels that his squad can perform better.
"Portage is a very good team, (but) we didn't see their number one pitcher tonight," he said. "So it's a little discouraging to only score two against their number two pitcher. Offensively we are in a funk, (but) we will continue to battle and fight back."
"We were happy with her (Dillon's) performance tonight," Buvid said. "What we see from Natalie is that she continues to grow. She really gets on her game when she is able to get her second, third, and fourth pitches over the plate, and tonight her change-up was working really well for her."
Both teams were held scoreless until the Cheesemakers striked first with an RBI single by Taylor O'Leksy that brought in Chandra McGuire. After a quiet fourth inning, Monroe again scored in the top of the fifth thanks to a clutch two-out RBI double by Kari Jordan, giving the Cheesemakers a 2-0 lead.
McGuire finished the night 2-for-2, reaching base four times. Senior Samantha Hose was 2-for-3 with one double and a single, giving the Cheesemakers seven hits on the night.
Despite the victory, Buvid feels that his squad can perform better.
"Portage is a very good team, (but) we didn't see their number one pitcher tonight," he said. "So it's a little discouraging to only score two against their number two pitcher. Offensively we are in a funk, (but) we will continue to battle and fight back."
