High school softball: Wellington off to good start, rolls over Avon Lake

WELLINGTON — It looks like Wellington is picking up right where it left off in 2019. The Dukes pounded out 11 hits and senior pitcher Payton Regal was dominant in the circle Wednesday in a 10-3 non-league win over Avon Lake. Wellington (2-1) scored three times in the bottom of the first inning with Regal and Brook Noss each driving in a run. Noss, a junior left fielder, had two doubles and three RBIs in the game. "In our first games I've been missing the ball a little bit and I haven't been hitting it where I need to," Noss said. "I think I made the adjustments today and I was able to get hits when my team needed me to." The Dukes, Division III district champions in 2019, also got two hits from Regal, Malie Oswald and three hits from junior third baseman Amy Greene. "We came out and hit the ball hard and found some gaps," Wellington coach Duane Sunagel said. "Avon Lake is a good team. I was happy with how the girls responded and put some runs together.. I was surprised we hit the ball as well as we did. It's so cold I thought anything we hit would just be a little dink." Regal held Avon Lake (1-4) hitless through 3 1/3 innings until Shoregals senior Mallory McClellan smashed a single off the fence in the deepest part of center field. Avon Lake's next batter, senior catcher Kylie Boutin, followed with her second home run of the year,a shot deep over the left field fence. The Shoregals only other run came in the sixth inning when Tessa Maxwell singled home Allison Peachman. "I don't think today was an indication of how well we can hit," Avon Lake coach Jana Peachman said. "We usually make better contact with the ball, then there were a couple times we ran ourselves out of an inning trying to make something happen." Regal struck out 10 and also drove in a pair of runs and scored twice. "I think I was hitting the corners really well today," Regal said. "I don't think the cold weather really messed me up at all. "When we're hitting the ball it really helps with the energy. Even when we're in the field everyone is really into it and encouraging each other." Wellington didn't rely on a big inning, instead it just slowly pulled awaywith two runs in the third, three in the fourth and two more in the fifth. "After having not played together in a couple years it's been really good to see how the girls are playing," Sunagel said. "We've got another doubleheader Saturday then we get right into conference play next week with Clearview on Monday and Keystone on Tuesday, so it's going to get tough for us. That's why it's so important to get all of these wins now." McClellan, who had two hits, was the only Avon Lake player to have a multihit game. Noss thinks the Dukes can carry their early season momentum into Lorain County League play and hopefully beyond. "It kind of helps to build momentum now and see what we can do so when we get late in the season and get into tournaments we'll have more confidence," she said. "If we can beat a Division I team that tells us we're a pretty good team as long as we're playing good defense, hitting the ball and staying smart on defense." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.