By Tim Wester
Correspondent
Union Grove junior pitcher Brittany Moore couldn’t have pitched any better last week.
Moore backed up a 12-strikeout no hitter against Waterford last Tuesday, April 28 with another complete game shutout victory against Delavan-Darien Thursday April 30.
Moore, who allowed no runs on just two hits in 13 innings last week, helped extend the Broncos winning streak to four with victories over the Wolverines and Comets.
“Brittany threw exceptionally well last week,” Union Grove coach Ryan Boylen said. “She has a nice change up and moves the ball around the plate well, and she certainly had both going for her last week.
“We’ve been a bit of an anomaly with the number of quality pitchers that we’ve had in the last eight years,” Boylen added. “Its not like we’ve cornered the market on pitching. We’ve just been blessed with good arms over the years.
The Wolverines had an up close view of Moore’s brilliance last week during Union Grove’s 10-0 victory.
Making matters worse for Waterford was the Broncos’ offense, which scored at least one run in each inning to post the commanding victory.
Claire Ryan led the way with two RBI, while Kalista Hribar, Bailey Thur, Taylor Clark, and Becca Moore each drove in a run to lead the onslaught.
“Against Waterford, our girls really roped the ball all game and I was happy with the way we played,” Boylen said. “Our lineup is strong 1-9, which can be good and bad. The good news is, there is always someone in the lineup that’s hitting, but the bad news is that we’ve haven’t had one game where everyone in our lineup is hitting at the same time.
“Hopefully that will come later in the year.”
In the mean time, the Broncos are continuing to rack wins while they wait to put their offense all together.
Union Grove provided Moore four runs of support during the Broncos 4-1 victory over Delavan-Darien last Thursday, April 30.
Ryan and Thur each blasted home runs against the Comets, while Sam Carey and Brooklyn Ottelien also drove in runs to back up Moore’s shutout performance.
“Against Delavan-Darien we hit the ball hard all day long,” Boylen, said. “In our four losses, we’ve had difficulty putting the ball in play and in general wasting some at-bats. But our girls have been coming on now and our game against the Comets was just another step in our improvement.”
Ryan, who hit her fourth home run in the game, has been spearheading the offensive resurgence.
The Broncos will need to play to their full potential today when it hosts Lake Geneva Badger. Union Grove will then travel to Wilmot next Tuesday for another tough Southern Lakes Conference battle.
“We’re getting into the teeth of our conference schedule now, so there upcoming games will certainly be a test for us,” Boylen said. “Hopefully we’ll be up to the challenge.”
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