by RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

West St. John was shorthanded on Tuesday as it traveled to face District 9-1A leader Ascension Catholic. But the Bulldogs had no pity.

Host Ascension Catholic scored 10 runs in the third inning to polish off West St. John 15-0 by the 15-run rule.

It was the fourth straight win for ACHS (19-7, 3-0).

With many of West St. John’s players traveling with the track team to a meet in New York, it left the Lady Rams weakened against a team it could not afford to be so against.

“Going in, we knew we’d have to play our best softball of the year,” said West St. John Coach Brandon Dumas. “We made contact, but we couldn’t get the big hit.”

Deveny Baptiste (0-1) took the loss for West St. John (4-3-1, 1-1). She allowed 10 hits.

West St. John committed four errors on the day, contributing to its trouble keeping runs off the board.

“We can’t send her out there expecting miracles,” said Dumas. “Just get it over the plate. We have to make the plays behind her.”

The Lady Rams entered Thursday’s matchup with host Ridgewood in the same predicament, with only 10 active players.

This time, West St. John shook off an early 7-2 deficit to take a 10-9 lead at the top of the seventh inning, after Ciere Poche’s two-run triple. But it wouldn’t hold. The Golden Eagles scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to take the win.

Poche was 4-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, and three RBIs. Poche also had two steals.

 Tranell Mitchell notched an RBI. Chasity Everson went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two steals.

Baptiste (0-2) allowed five hits and four earned runs over a complete game performance.

West St. John had eight hits in the game. But those went along with eight errors, something Dumas says will be a point of emphasis headed into next week’s rematch with Ascension Catholic.

A six-run second inning by Ridgewood would eventually prove to be the Rams’ undoing.

“It’s frustrating, because it’s a game that we could have dominated,” said Dumas. “We gave it to them in the second inning.

“At the same time, I’m proud of the fight the girls showed. It would have been easy to fold and get back on the bus. They didn’t, and we almost won it.”