Stratford rolls past Brookstone

Stratford head coach Jeff Treadway always likes to bring up something that his team needs to work on during his talk after a game.

And even after an impressive 6-1 and 9-1 sweep of Brookstone in the GHSA Class 1A private softball playoffs, Treadway had to bring up the fact that Stratford left 20 runners on base combined in the two wins.

But there wasn’t much else to complain about as the Eagles pounded out 31 hits on the night to advance to the Elite Eight to be held in Columbus next week.

Stratford will open up play Oct. 27 against Tattnall Square.

Three who mattered

Tori Dover: Stratford’s junior pitcher and No. 4 hitter pitched two complete games and allowed only 11 hits in the two games. She displayed pinpoint control, walking only one batter in 14 innings. She also went 5-for-8 at the plate with three RBI.

Alyssa Orona: The senior had four hits in the second game and drove in three runs to lead the Eagles to the easy win.

Morgan Mathis: Stratford’s left fielder had two excellent defensive plays in the first game and led a defense that made only one error in the two games.

Observation

Getting ahead early: Stratford was able to jump out to leads in both games. The Eagles led the first game 2-0 after three innings and then tacked on three runs in the fourth to open up a close game. Then in the second game, they scored four runs in the third inning for another comfortable lead.

Worth mentioning

Hitting is contagious: Orona, Dover, Evans McCook and Hannah Lovett all had five hits Wednesday, while Autumn Land had four hits, which allowed the Eagles to constantly put the pressure on Brookstone.

They said it

Treadway on making it back to the Elite Eight: “I would say it was a goal for this team to make it back to the final eight, because we have been there the last couple of years. When we hit the ball and play good defense, we are a pretty good softball team.”

Treadway on leaving so many runners on base: “I would say that is something we will have to improve on next week, but I am happy the way we hit the ball against a very good opponent.”

Dover on the early run support: “It is always great to have an early lead and get runs early, and it does relax me a little bit. I felt good the entire night, and I was happy the way I was throwing strikes.”

Dover on the teams feeling about making it to the Elite Eight: “I think in the middle of the season when we were struggling a bit, we would have said we would be happy to get back to Columbus. But we are playing much better right now and we feel like we are ready to do some damage.”

What’s next?

Stratford will play Tattnall Square, tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m. on Thursday in Columbus.