Fliers fend off Senecas in tournament tune-up

CLYDE – Putting two top-seeded teams against each other proved to be the training that each of them needed ahead of their respective district games coming up.Clyde (20-6) held off until the sixth inning to make big moves. The Fliers put six runs on the board to make it a game that Calvert didn't anticipate wasn't going to happen.Clyde took down the Senecas in its final home game of the season 9-2 Friday at Joe Wilson Field in Sandusky Bay Conference cross conference play."We finally started swinging at strikes, and we started making solid contact," Clyde coach Marc Marshall said. "We started stringing those together and it was just a matter of us getting those strikes and making plays."In the sixth inning, after Mya Stiefel hit a fly ball out to center field that was caught, Ella Howey came up to bat. Howey whacked the ball towards right field that smacked the fence for a triple. Ardriana Barnes-Ortmann then came up to bat and hit a single out to the same gap in the right field and got an RBI as Howey sprinted for home.Ariah Farrar came up to bat and the ball sailed towards the fence over center field. Teaghan Smith stepped up to bat and tattooed a ground ball between first and second.The team cheered thunderously as Taitum Jeffrey came up to bat. She got aggressive with the ball and whacked the ball over the fence for a home run. It also brought Barnes-Ortmann and Farrar to home base as well. Later, Smith and Ember Andres also added runs to the board."It took us a while," Marshall said. "What I liked most was that yes, they scored a couple in the first inning. We had ball drops that we shouldn't have, but then we came back and tied it up. I know it doesn't seem like much, but it does. Now we put them back to 0-0."Calvert (19-4) got the bats warmed up in the first inning. With two strikes from Jeffrey, Scarlett Faber hit a single to center field. Alyssa Rishty followed suit as she had one strike before hitting a single out to center field in the same spot. It wasn't until Addison King smacked a fly ball out to right field that the Senecas got their only runs in, with Faber running in first, followed by Rishty."Clyde is a really good team," Calvert coach Leah Bouillon said. "It's why we added them right before tournament time. They are a team that competes on both the offensive and defensive end. Our kids put the ball in play, but their defense was just outstanding. Yeah, we put two on early, and our defense held, but Clyde put the ball in play in the sixth inning, and you just have to keep competing."The Fliers responded back. Jeffrey tattooed a ground ball and reached first on an error after the ball was dropped. Smith, who had hit a double to right field, advanced to third base. Jeffrey stole second on a passed ball, and after Kennedi Long grounded out to third base, Smith scored the first run for Clyde, while Jeffrey ran to third. Jeffrey scored on an Andres fly ball. The fly ball allowed for her to reach on an error before advancing to third base.Howey scored the lone run in the fourth inning for the Fliers. After hitting a fly out towards the fence on the left side of the field for a single, she had to wait. Barnes-Ortmann hit a sacrifice bunt that was caught by Ava Eilrich and passed to Addison Sheets at first base. Farrar though wasn't going to let a teammate stranded. She hit the ball up the middle and that gave Howey just enough time to run for home."I'm excited to see what the bounce back will be from this," Bouillon said. "To play this level of competition before tournament time is a great thing for us."Clyde will be playing against Genoa on Monday, while Calvert will be playing Danbury.