ELYRIA, Ohio (May 1, 2024) -- Rocky River was undone by five defensive miscues and strong Elyria Catholic pitching, as the Pirates fell to the Panthers 6-2 in Great Lakes Conference West Division action Wednesday.

Freshman hurler Kailey Tomasch held the Pirates scoreless on one hit through four innings. River did manage solo runs in the sixth and seventh innings but only after Elyria had taken a commanding 5-0 lead through five. Tomasch walked one and fanned eight while getting her 12 outs. Junior reliever Harper Morgan went the rest of the way for the Panthers, who remained undefeated in league play with the win.

Ava DeMooy started for the Pirates (11-9, 4-4 GLC West), and did well to box in an EC offense that went into the contest averaging nearly 10 runs per game. The Panthers (13-5, 9-0) got solo runs in the first and third innings and then a three-spot in the fifth. The three runs in the fifth -- and then a tack-on run in the sixth -- were all unearned. The Buccaneers committed three errors in the fifth, one in the sixth, and five in the game.

DeMooy was especially sharp against the bottom of the EC order and in clutch situations. The Panthers went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

Lillian Ciryak (double, two walks, two runs) and Jessica Conner (2-for-4, home runs, 2 RBI, stolen base) did damage out of the top two slots in the EC batting order.

Rocky River had seven hits in the game; all were singles. Juliana Benjamin had two of those hits. Benjamin has hit safely in nine straight games and is batting .412 (14-of-34) over that stretch. Maggie Heigle went 1-for-2 with two walks.

The Pirates are slated to play for a fourth straight day when they take on Geneva in a Thursday non-conference battle at Pirate Field.

by Skip Snow

# # # Pirates # # #