Goodrich strikes out 22 in doubleheader as Orioles split a twin bill with Benzie Central

“It’s always good to come back and win the second game of a doubleheader,” said Orioles head coach Siera Holmes. “I still feel we made too many mistakes defensively in both games, but tonight they were more physical than mental.

“We certainly weren’t perfect in our defensive rotations, but we ran our cuts and relays much better than we did last week, and that saved some runs.”

In the first game Lilli Goodrich pitched the first five innings, giving up nine hits, three walks and struck out 11. Jody Meisbenheimer relieved her and threw the final inning, allowing five hits and walking two while striking out one.

Leading the way offensively for the Orioles was Brynn Fortner who had double. Rebecca Szoboszlay, Bryann Cole, Katelynn Karnes and Meisnheimer each had a hit.

“We hit a lot of balls off the end of the bat, and didn’t put any pressure on the defense,” Holmes said.

Goodrich also went to the circle in the nightcap and picked up the win, throwing all six innings and giving up six hits while walking three and striking out 11 again.

She also helped her own cause, ripping a triple and knocking in four runs. Fortner collected one RBI and Szoboszlay had two singles.

“We took much better cuts, and when we had runners on base, we were able to get the timely hits,” added Holmes. “Lilli worked hard to keep us in it, and was able to get some big strike outs in the last two innings.

“So although we have some wrinkles to iron out, we can take several positives from tonight.”